2024-2025 Humanities Passion Projects

Mehrezat Abbas

Erinnerungskorb - Memory Basket

Immigration to the European Union has been rising for decades and seen massive 21st-century influxes, especially due to conflicts that have displaced millions. My project will record a moment of migration-borne change in the German identity by interviewing those experiencing it. I hope to attract participants of all backgrounds, including citizens of German heritage, descendants of immigrants, and recent immigrants alike. I will conduct street interviews in Munich and Berlin, posing three questions:

1. What is one important problem in Germany?

2. What is one important memory from your childhood?

3. What do you love about Germany?

These questions invite participants to reflect on their personal histories and their relationships with Germany in order to convey diversity as simultaneously personal, communal, and political. Interview responses will be presented in audio, photography, and as a woven basket to emphasize the significance of individual and communal experiences. I will compile photographic portraits into a book to emphasize the personhood of the participants, and the basket will contain an interviewee's memory on each strip. By blending traditional documentary with artistic expression, I hope to bridge the gaps between policy, identity, archival, and experience.

This project moves beyond nation-specific storytelling to demonstrate how human stories drive the creation of communal identity in any society. By documenting real voices, I aim to foster interpersonal understanding, contribute to archives of migrant stories, and present diversity as something we all participate in and create, together.

This project is generously funded by the Keck Center

Perce Alvarez

Sounds of a Land Left Behind: The Queer & Trans Immigration Experience

LGBTQ+ individuals are often defined by their ability to speak. We must speak for the validity of our love to be heard. We must speak for the acceptance of our gender expression to become real in the eyes of cisgender individuals. We must speak for our communities of color to be acknowledged. Speech is our greatest weapon and our most significant limitation.

This project explores uplifting the voices of a subset of the American LGBTQ+ community that often goes unheard: queer and transgender immigrants who migrated to the United States. By compiling existing audio archives of queer and transgender immigrants and conducting interviews with individuals involved in the queer immigrant community in Southern California, I will create an interactive audio website that serves as a small archive for queer immigrant voices in the United States.

The goal of this project is to create a holistic perspective by including interviews with individuals from different perspectives of the queer immigrant experience; individuals from countries of various origins, immigrants of multiple ages, children of immigrants, transgender immigrants, and community workers who advocate for queer immigration rights. Another focus of this project will be to identify what archival networks for queer immigrants already exist and what those archives may be missing.

Viviana Alvarez de la Cadena Garza

The Lottery of Life

“The Lottery of Life” is an art project inspired by my experience teaching an autobiographical writing class in a prison, designed to humanize incarcerated individuals through the creation of collages based on repeated patterns of their personal stories. This project seeks to foster empathy and encourage reflection on the unpredictable and often uncontrollable forces that shape people's lives and decisions. Life, much like a lottery, offers no guarantees, and the circumstances leading to incarceration often extend beyond individual choices. By visually representing the complexity of these narratives through collages that combine images, symbols, and words, the project challenges the reductionist view of criminality as a reflection of inherent "badness." Instead, it highlights the broader societal and structural factors influencing life paths. Through these works, “The Lottery of Life” invites viewers to not only consider the role of fate and circumstance in shaping the lives of others but also to reflect on their own lives. What experiences or opportunities have shaped their path differently from an incarcerated individual’s? Were their outcomes defined by personal choices, external forces, or a combination of both? By examining these questions, the project asks viewers to confront how much of their identity and circumstances are influenced by fate and how they might have been judged if defined solely by their mistakes or hardships. Ultimately, “The Lottery of Life” seeks to inspire compassion and a commitment to justice by challenging assumptions about criminality and human worth. It calls for a more equitable society where the "lottery" of life offers a fairer chance for all and reminds us of the shared humanity that binds us, despite the paths our lives may take.

Tlalnantzin Carlos

Lobo - An Aztec Story of Duality

As a Mexican-American deeply connected to my Aztec culture and tradition, I’ve always felt the roots of my heritage most vividly through danza. Usually practicing danza at least once a week with my family and community, the fast pace of college life and focus on my academic pursuits has left little time for me to practice the ancient traditions that have helped shape my identity. With my dance project, “Lobo”, I aim to connect the cultural richness of my heritage with a theme that resonates with everyone. As someone who is consistently fascinated and curious about the human experience, I wanted to choreograph a dance that would represent a universal internal struggle. The dance, Lobo, draws from Aztec symbolism to follow the journey of a soldier who confronts two wolves, each embodying opposing forces: one representing sentiment (the heart) and the other representing knowledge (the mind). Lobo is not a narrative of victory and dominance, but rather of balance and harmony - illustrating that the heart and mind, though often at odds, must ultimately coexist peacefully for true internal peace and growth. With indigenous cultures increasingly at the risk of disappearing, I believe it is important to actively preserve and share the beauty of my Aztec heritage with others. By sharing my culture through the storytelling of Lobo, I hope to foster an understanding, respect, and appreciation for traditional and spiritual practices that allow others to experience a part of my culture that words alone could not fully capture.

Logan Fang

Podcast Culture: The Masculinity Crisis

In recent years, the emergence of a new genre of “self-help” podcasts targeting young men has topped the charts of nearly all listening platforms. These podcasts, like those of Andrew Tate or Joe Rogan, center around cultivating masculinity and teaching their male listeners how to reclaim their manhood through rugged individualism, “hustle-culture,” emotional detachment, and physical fitness. This “podcast-bro” culture reflects a broader trend in the marketing of masculinity to male youth. In a podcast of my own, I will investigate portrayals of masculinity in mainstream listening culture and how podcasting has contributed to the rise of hypermasculinity over the past few years. My project will analyze the rhetorical techniques hypermasculine podcast programs use to appeal to young men, as well as how these popularized podcasting figures shape male attitudes about gender, success, and relationships today. Finally, I’ll examine the role these podcast programs and, accordingly, the young male vote, played in the recent election. In months leading up to the election, masculine podcast creators often featured conservative figures who used the platform to court the teenage male vote. During my own podcast episode, I will discuss the impact that masculinity and the podcast medium played in the past election.

Jennifer Florencio

Para ellas y para mí: The Silence That Feeds Our Rage

As the daughter of a Mexican mother, I have been taught that “Calladita te ves más bonita” (You look prettier when you are silent). As a Mexican American womxn growing up in a single-parent household, things were left unsaid. At a young age, I learned to understand that I was just the reflection of my family but was only there to be looked at, not heard. The silence that exists in Latine households is normalized and goes unnoticed.

I am deeply inspired by the work of womxn of color writers such as Audre Lorde and Gloria Anzaldúa. More specifically works such as, Your Silence Will Not Protect You and Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. This project draws on topics from these books such as the silence internalized by womxn of color, the rage that we are denied from having, and the efforts intended to keep us from speaking.  As womxn of color, we are forced to internalize sadness and anger without ever being given the option to put it to use. This project is therefore created on the basic question of, “Where does all this anger go?”

“Para ellas y para mí: The Silence That Feeds Our Rage” is an art magazine consisting of poems, collages, and short literature pieces. Through this project, I aim to tell my matriarchs and those who will continue our legacy, all the things that were left unsaid. All my thoughts, my experiences, and the words I have to say to them and to myself.

Grego Garavaglia

The Gauchos of Today's Argentina

Growing up in the western end of the Pampas of Argentina, I was deeply immersed in the gaucho way of life since I can remember. My nanny would always dress me as a little gaucho, with a boina and everything. There were so many things about my upbringing that resembled gaucho traditions, from attending rodeos, to living between horses and cows, to spending the weekends at my dad’s ranch. However, as a teenager, I began to grow distant from these customs. I didn’t like my small town anymore, and all I wanted was to leave, so I rejected everything that reminded me of my life at the time. My connection with the gaucho culture faded. I didn’t realize it until I moved to California for college where I began to appreciate my background. How could I have demeaned gaucho culture so much? Unfortunately, it might be a general issue in today’s Argentina. The history of gauchos is intertwined with the founding of Argentina itself, but with the increasing globalization of a highly urbanized country, many of the customs, values, and practices that defined gaucho life have been diluted. Younger generations often view the traditional gaucho lifestyle as outdated or irrelevant. This has a great impact on the gauchos of the countryside who seem to have been forgotten by most Argentines, although there are efforts to restore their place in society. I hope that this project contributes to the understanding and appreciation of this unique foundational nation within Argentina.

This project is generously funded by the Keck Center

Angeline Hu

A Musical Take on Cultural Loss as an Asian American

My first language was Chinese, a fact difficult to come to terms with now having only basic conversational skills in a vaguely American accent. I’ve lived a confusing dichotomy: I balk at drinking cold water and the number four, my favorite snacks are sunflower seeds and hawthorn flakes, and I can only cook chasao (char siu) and tomato egg noodles. But, I can’t express any of that in my mother tongue.

Yet, I’m not alone. Many second-generation Asian Americans, especially those raised in Asian-dominated areas such as the Bay area, experience a similar phenomenon. We grow up Asian, yet not truly Asian, where Ranch99 replaces Guangzhou’s bustling morning markets and Weee! replaces the quick, cheap delivery services in China.

My project is a musical take on the cultural loss Asian Americans face growing up, and how the loss can feel definitional in our identity. I will interview my parents, a variety of second-generation Chinese Americans, document places and objects that feel distinctive, and read four pieces of literature about the Asian American experience ranging from comedy to illustration. I will use this information to create a music video that describes the loss of Chinese language, traditions, foods, and knowledge, and how it contrasts and complements a lack of American identity, creating our distinct experience. By using vivid imagery and visual storytelling, I will channel my feelings, reflections, and experiences in the Bay Area as an American who is Chinese and a Chinese who is American.

Mehrin Khan

37 Days of Defiance: The Gen Z Revolution That Reshaped Bangladesh

This summer, I was in Bangladesh when the world went dark for us. For 37 days, we lived under curfews, media censorship, and internet blackouts as a historic youth-led revolution, the July Uprising, unfolded. What began as a protest against an unjust quota system turned into a life-or-death struggle after the government responded with violence. Thousands were injured, and hundreds lost their lives. My younger brother was among the injured, struck by rubber bullets and tear gas.

Despite the repression, my friends, neighbors, and I joined millions of young people who refused to back down. The chants of “Tui ke? Ami ke? Razakar, Razakar!” echoed through the streets, uniting strangers in a fight for justice. Together, we toppled a 15-year authoritarian regime, forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This was not just a protest but a movement that reshaped the nation, with students even selecting Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus as the interim government’s Chief Advisor.

This project is my effort to preserve that historic summer. Through a memoir and a digital archive, I will document the slogans, posters, and graffiti that fueled the movement. By translating and contextualizing these artifacts, I aim to ensure the sacrifices and resilience of my generation are never forgotten. This is more than a story of Bangladesh—it’s a tribute to the universal power of youth-led activism to bring about change, even in the darkest times.

This project is generously funded by the Keck Center

Carmela Labarda

Dolling up History: Colonial Catholicism on the Psyche and Beauty Ideals of the Filipina

Seated quietly on the wooden church pew, I found myself surrounded by depictions of light-skinned saints, their faces gazing down from the vibrant hues of the stained-glass windows. A statue of the Virgin Mary stood nearby in undisturbed reverence, her gentle features embodying an ideal of purity that transcended the spiritual and extended to the physical. Growing up around religious iconography, it has framed my understanding of beauty and presented a standard that felt far removed from my identity as a Morena. Beneath these standards was a reality rooted in the distinct cultural history of the Philippines– teetering between the intersection of East and West.

Catholicism, introduced during Spanish colonization, exemplified modesty as purity, elevating light skin and small features as the pinnacle of femininity. This was further reinforced under American governance, where Eurocentrism was embedded even deeper into the national consciousness. The Philippines had also absorbed influences from the East, to which earlier trade interactions with China, and later temporary occupation from Japan, similarly equated pale and delicate aesthetics to moral virtue.

Through this project, I aim to examine how these intertwined forces— religion, colonialism, and aesthetics—shaped the construction of Filipina beauty ideals alongside its enduring psychological impacts, culminating into a crafted collection of dolls and an integrative paper. I seek to contend with how these inherent standards correlate with self-perception, how Filipinas reconcile them with the modern commemoration of Morena essence, and how the ongoing tension between Eastern and Western influences continues to encroach the Filipina psyche.

Marilyn Ma

Interactive Infinity: AI as a Storytelling Partner in Video Games

Video games are a unique medium for storytelling, blending narrative and player agency in ways no other medium can. With AI unlocking unprecedented potential for dynamic interaction, new possibilities arise for role-playing games (RPGs) driven by character narratives.

My passion for storytelling in games began with Undertale. Set in a world where humans and monsters once coexisted, the game gives players the choice to fight or spare the monsters they encounter. These decisions create ripples that shape the game’s trajectory, leading to one of three, distinct endings. The emotional connections with the characters made every interaction carry real weight. Undertale pushed me to confront the consequences of my actions and demonstrated the narrative power of games.

What if game storytelling moved beyond pre-written paths, where every choice shaped a unique, unrepeatable story? Advances in AI, like ChatGPT-4, now enable NPCs (non-player characters) to respond contextually and evolve dynamically. Projects like Stanford's "Smallville," with AI-driven agents interacting in real time, highlight the exciting potential for revolutionary narratives.

I am inspired to explore how AI can redefine and co-create stories. My project envisions an infinite series of rooms guarded by AI-driven NPCs, each with evolving personalities and backstories shaped by dialogue and puzzles. These agents dynamically adapt to player interactions, becoming active story co-creators. The game’s looping mechanic, with subtly altered rooms, symbolizes humanity’s evolving relationship with AI. By merging narrative depth with AI innovation, this project questions how AI can forge emotional connections and reshape storytelling.

Thwahir Malafu

The Impact of Low-Income on Education: How the Competency-Based Curriculum Affects Families in Western Kenya

The introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya aims to provide holistic, learner-centered education that equips students with practical skills. However, its implementation has highlighted significant challenges, particularly for low-income families in rural areas such as Musembe and Lugari Sub-county in Western Kenya. This research compares Kenya’s CBC with education systems in countries like the United States and Finland. These global comparisons provide insights into how education policies, government involvement, and resource allocation can address inequities in rural schools. By identifying best practices from these nations, the study aims to inform strategies for more equitable CBC implementation.

The findings will guide policy recommendations and community-driven initiatives to improve access to quality education in rural Kenya. By addressing systemic gaps, the research seeks to empower families and foster an inclusive educational ecosystem that leaves no child behind. Ultimately, the study aims to bridge global knowledge with local action to promote educational equity.

This project is generously funded by the Keck Center

Milan Manfredi

ClassiCure: Connecting the Emotional Landscape of Classical Music through Machine Learning and User-Centric Design

Throughout childhood, classical music was my escape from the stress of school and life. Nothing was more grounding than meticulously working through scales, perfecting sticky passages, or luxuriating in a great recording's delicious depth.

Now in college, my music-playing is limited to weekly lessons and orchestra rehearsals at Pomona. Yet classical music remains my greatest escape, thanks to my ability to immerse myself in listening. Years of playing have given me a unique lens—a superpower to understand how composers weave notes, harmonies, timbre, and rhythmic structures to evoke the full range of human emotion. I can match music to any feeling: rectifying a failed test with Satie's somber Gymnopedie or celebrating a great race with Chabrier's exuberant Espana.

I want to make this superpower accessible to everyone. Classical music is often unfairly labeled as stuffy, boring, and inaccessible, occupying a haughty cultural position that seems designed to exclude. As composer Colin Eatok describes, "The hard, cold truth is that classical music in public places is often deliberately intended to make certain kinds of people feel unwelcome." These perceptions create formidable barriers, transforming the genre from an emotional conduit into an intimidating cultural artifact.

My passion project aims to democratize classical music by prioritizing emotional connection over technical expertise. By developing a machine learning platform that maps musical elements to specific emotional landscapes, I'm creating a bridge for diverse audiences—particularly younger listeners—to explore classical music through their own emotional experiences. The genre's beauty lies in its ability to be a wordless conduit of emotion, and now, listeners can build their own stories with unprecedented accessibility.

Nandini Patro

Patterns of Power/Powder: Women, Rangoli, and the Stories They Weave

When I was little, my grandmother would stay with us for many months. When I’d come home from school, our front porch would be decorated in powdered designs of different colors. Used to this, I adapted to stepping over the designs, careful to not ruin my grandmother’s hard work. This hard work is known as rangoli. In Indian households, rangoli is meant to symbolize the happiness and prosperity of a household. As an overlooked women’s art form, rangoli has always been an activity of collaboration and expression. I have early memories from every Diwali where my grandmothers, my mother, and I would sit outside on our porch crouched over and create lotus designs based on the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi. I never was particularly good at rangoli, but I want to get better.

For my passion project, I want to deep dive into the cultural background of rangoli and its relationship with women. In India, culturally, rangoli was assigned to women. I want to further investigate the role that rangoli has in gender roles. My project consists of a website with three features: a written portion investigating the origin of rangoli and its relationship to women, a tutorial section of three simple rangoli designs, and finally, a showcase of 7-9 complex rangoli designs that I will create along with a contextual written portion explaining each design's significance.

Pallavi Raju

The Compatibility of Sexuality and Religion in Pre-Colonial South Asia

When I came out to my parents in 2020, I remember crying one day because I thought my queerness was a sin in Sikhi. Sikh scriptures never explicitly mention homosexuality, but Punjabi and South Asian culture forces this identity into the shadows. However, it is obvious that there was a gap in-between modern understandings of the relationship between queerness and religion and pre-colonial depictions of homoerotism. The Khajuraho temple, which illustrates the peak of Hinduism in South Asia, and Ladies of the Zenana on a Roof Terrace painting from the Mughal Empire, which was the peak of Islam in South Asia, both have connections to queerness and sexuality. A visual depiction of the artwork was the only way to beautifully display my findings, which is why I opted to create a collage. I contextualized the art included in the framed collage in the brochure and used my findings to write a reflection, connecting my personal narrative to the research question. Not only is this project a commentary on the historical context of queerness in South Asia, but it has also allowed me the opportunity to explore my identities and reflect on how people like me navigate our sexuality in a culture that doesn’t openly accept queerness.

Phoebe Wolfe Lyons

Songs of Innocence and Experience: Examining Loss of Innocence Through Poetry and Illustration

When I was little, my parents would read me poems from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience before bed. The poems re-entered my life during the first semester of college. In a new bed, far from the comfort of familiar routines, I created my own tradition of reading William Blake before bed. Through my passion project I hope to explore the significance of Blake’s work in Songs of Innocence and Experience and how the practice of retrospection can shape the journey towards adulthood. Over winter break I will produce my own work in a similar format to Blake’s, creating a total of ten illustrated poems, five that fall under the category of innocence and five for experience. Each week of winter break I will examine a different topic present in both original volumes of poetry as inspiration for the poems I create. One of the key aspects of Songs of Innocence and Experience are the common themes examined from the two different perspectives. It is those commonalities that create a nuanced picture of childhood and adulthood. I will explore nature, religion, death, family, and imagination by analyzing Blake’s work, researching the philosophical themes at play, reflecting on personal childhood experiences, and interviewing friends and family about their memories and thoughts on the themes. This project will serve as both an academic and personal journey in understanding what changes in our view on life as we grow more exposed to the complexities of life.

Cleo Yan

Illuminated Blooms: A Dialogue Between Nature and Human Creativity

Inspired by the interplay between light and shadow, my project explores the fragile yet enduring beauty of preserved flowers illuminated by dynamic lighting. This project draws from my personal experiences with floral artistry and lighting design, as well as philosophical reflections on the duality of light and shadow. Rooted in the traditions of Japanese 花艺 (flower artistry) and the poetic sensibilities of Su Shi, the installations invite viewers to contemplate the hidden truths that exist beneath surface beauty and the fleeting nature of life.

Using preserved flowers and LED lights, I will construct installations that integrate light as both a physical and metaphorical medium. These pieces will cast intricate shadows, blending the organic shapes of petals with the ephemeral glow of light. My work reflects the duality of presence and absence, showcasing beauty while alluding to the deeper realities often obscured by perfection. Through this creative process, I aim to transform light and flowers into a shared language of fragility, impermanence, and resilience.

The deliverables for this project include high-resolution photographs and a short video documenting the creative process, as well as an artistic statement connecting the installations to themes of humanity, art, and nature. Flower Shadows seeks to inspire curiosity and appreciation for the delicate interplay between light, shadow, and natural beauty.

Christina Zogopoulou

Heritage in Motion: Greek Folk Dances as Cultural Memory and Resistance

I recently had a conversation with one of my friends who expressed her interest in Turkish and Greek folk dances. As a Greek and a dancer myself, I was surprised, since I have purposefully distanced myself from Greek folk dances because they have felt “too Greek” or old-fashioned for me. Even though I am very passionate about the contributions of dance in culture and history, when it comes to my own identity, I experience shame instead of pride. Having lived outside Greece for the past 5 years, I sometimes see the Greek diaspora connecting traditional folk dances to a more conservative Greek culture. As a result, many people–including myself–might relate folk dances to conservatism, while their history is in fact linked with resistance movements and community building.

This project will explore the transformation of different folk dances into expressions of everyday life, storytelling, celebration, and community from ancient Greece to modern day festivals named “πανηγύρια" (panigiria). I will explore the common themes that songs talk about including unity, love, and romance, highlighting traditional Greek values. Greek folk dances have also played a crucial role in preserving Greek identity, serving as a counter-narrative to assimilation or erasure. This is why I will research the significance of dances such as syrtos, kalamatianos, and tsamikos which functioned as a form of resistance, helping communities maintain their identity amidst invasions, dictatorships, and cultural domination.

Overall, this project aims to propose a new perspective that will allow me to reconnect with my roots by reframing Greek cultural dances from being rooted in nationalism to an expression of freedom, equality, and independence.