In early June, we gathered together in the EMU Crater Lake Rooms to honor and celebrate this year’s incredible group of undergraduate award recipients. Students were joined by their family, friends, and University of Oregon staff and faculty to share about their work, which ranged from religion and film projects, to healthcare and artwork of incarcerated Chicano men. Opening remarks and comments were provided by Audrey Lucero: Associate Professor in UO’s College of Education; and Chris Chávez: CLLAS Director and Professor of Advertising.
Undergraduate Award Recipients
Skye Grubb – Pano Art- Beyond the Success Story: An exploration of the Community, Care, and Testimonios of Incarcerated Chicano Men
Skye Grubb, an anthropology major, was awarded a CLLAS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for coursework she completed in HC 444: Top Latine Testimonios, a class taught by Professor Catalina de Onís. Skye’s class project focuses on Paño Art, which is an art style most often created by incarcerated Chicano men. Paño Art is typically sketched on handkerchiefs that reflect testimonials on how incarcerated Chicanos thrive in violent and hostile environments by creating strong sustainable communities. Through the use of Storymap, you can check out her work here! This project dissuades against the notions of ‘success,’ and ‘good’ when used within the framework to support damaging narratives towards Latino communities and individuals. The illumination of these issues were worthy of the 2024 Outstanding Undergraduate Awards!
Sebastián Ibáñez Sanhueza – Medical Interpretation and the Art of Storytelling
Sebastián Ibáñez Sanhueza, a Clark Honors Business student from Chile, was awarded a CLLAS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for coursework he completed in HC 444: Top Latine Testimonios, a class taught by Professor Catalina de Onís. Sebastian’s project is an autoethnographic research project that focuses on his medical interpretation experiences, multilingual sciences, and health communications. Through the use of Storymap, you can check out his work here! He also works diligently as a medical interpreter in Springfield for Volunteers in Medicine. He is also a frequent radio guest for Radio Poder!
Diego Solorio – Short Screenplay: “Chupacabra”
Diego Solorio, a Cinema Studies student and aspiring filmmaker, recieved the CLLAS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for a short screenplay he wrote in CINE 320: Beginning Screenwriting, a class taught by Alissa Phillips. His screenplay, titled “Chupacabra,” focuses on the generational trauma that can imbed deeply in machismo cultures by harming women and gender non-conforming people. The overall message is that it is possible to overcome the cycles of hatred that can be perpetuated through generation trauma and that the notion of positive mental health practices is important within Latinx and Latin American cultures.
Zoë McKeehan – Independent Study Project on the Sense of Community and Religion in Huilloc
Zoë McKeehan who is majoring in History and Religious Studies, and minoring in Spanish, received the CLLAS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for a project she completed in OSIT 388: SOC: Health and Human Rights, a class taught by Alex Alvarez. This unique and interactive project focuses on the indigenous peoples of Cusco, Peru, allowing for the insight on how Huilloc natives still practice religions that were brought by the Europeans (Catholic & Protestant), one of which religion is the Andean Cosmovision. It also observed how the community’s religious differences don’t separate people, but rather create a strong community within their culture. Learn more about Zoë’s project by accessing her work slides here!