It’s well known that college years present an opportunity for self-discovery and the chance to craft a unique identity. Katie Cobian, a graduating Chicano/Latino studies senior and recent recipient of the Alice B. Macy Outstanding Undergraduate Paper Award, took this opportunity and ran with it, utilizing her time at UCI to become more acquainted with her Chicana roots. By doing so, Cobian found her passion for her identity crossed over into research; her award-winning paper examined how individual socioeconomic status and culture affected stress responses in Latinos. Focused on the role of culture in relation to the mental health of the Latino community, she has traveled to Puebla, Mexico to study through the Mental Health & Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) program and is an active member of the Phi Lambda Rho sorority—a relatively new sisterhood for the UCI campus that promotes Chicano pride. Here, Cobian discusses her dedication to her research, culture and plans for the future.
 
Q: What made you decide to pursue your current field of study?
I have been a research assistant in the culture, relationships and health laboratory under Dr. Belinda Campos for 4 years and am currently the lab manager. It was in this lab that I realized I wanted to study culture and its relation to mental health in Latinos, and it was in MHIRT where I realized there is a need for culturally competent researchers in the field.

Q: What were your thoughts upon finding out that you received the Alice B. Macy Outstanding Undergraduate Paper award?
I was extremely humbled, yet excited. Chicano/Latino 101 and 102W were two of the most challenging classes I have taken and it felt great to realize that my hard work was recognized.

Q: What do you plan to do after finishing your degree?
After UCI, I will be attending UCLA’s Community Health Science master in public health graduate program. I chose the MPH route because I feel that there is a discord between mental health and the practicality of public health. I want to help combine them so that I may provide the best mental health services to minority populations.

Q: What would you consider your biggest accomplishment at UCI?
Though there are many noteworthy accomplishments that I have achieved at UCI, I would have to say that becoming a part of my sorority, Phi Lambda Rho, would have be the biggest. Through this organization, we have been able to create a home away from home for sisters while promoting our cultural pride. We have done many great things on campus including Banda Night (a cultural awareness night), where as many as 150 students come out to dance to traditional Mexican music at the student center. This has created an open space for us to celebrate our culture at this institution. Overall, the women that I have met through this organization continue to inspire me to continue with my goals while representing my culture with pride.

Q: Where can you most often be found on campus?
I can be found in my “cave” in the Chicano/Latino studies department kitchen. I get all of my best work done there, plus my lab is on that floor so the Social Science Tower has become my second home. Or you can find me talking to random people on Ring Road for hours at a time (my friends know this is true).

—Bria Balliet, School of Social Sciences

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