Alcaraz, Jenin

 Hello everyone! My name is Jenin Alcaraz, (pronounced Janeen), and I am a Molecular, Cell, Developmental biology major in my junior year. My pronouns are also she/her/hers. I am a first-generation college student with a Mexican-American background and because of that, I am very interested in learning more about the history and culture of Mexico so that I can connect more with my roots. I have not really been exposed to the art of Chicanos or Chicanas and so it is something I definitely want to learn more about and something that I want to cherish. I do enjoy being creative and I even started my own handmade jewelry business where I made jewelry out of clay and resin, and so it is exciting to be able to see what creative art was made by Chicana artists. I also think it would be interesting to learn how to analyze the art to see how it represents the events at the time it was made or the emotions of the artists. 

 I am personally a predental student so I am hoping to go to dental school in the future because I am really passionate about helping others maintain their health while supporting communities with a lack of resources. I live in Compton, California and it is evident how little importance is placed on oral health and how the community lacks education on the topic which has led to severe issues regarding people's dental and oral stability. My hope is to also start a program in underrepresented communities where we educate people on oral health and stress the importance of proper care. I am also currently in a lab where we do research on novel proteins that may have an effect on a group of diseases known as ciliopathies. These diseases can be very detrimental to one's health and so I am studying the proteins to understand their characteristics. 

I read “Conditions for Producing Chicana Art” and thought that it was a very thought-provoking piece because it highlighted points that I see in my community today. In my own family, I notice that women are often expected to take on that homemaker role where they only cook, clean, and care for children. Working or following other passions is not considered as important as the “traditional” role. As a result, it has also made it more difficult to break that mold and for Chicanas to become more prevalent in the art world. I think that it is upsetting to see because the lack of prominence of Chicana art does not signify a lack of talent and so I hope that Chicana art continues to become more prevalent and that women can break those barriers that have been placed on them.