Support from Quesada Research Award helping Barrett Honors College student Joanne Ferrín fulfill her academic dream

Joanna Arteaga Ferrín is fulfilling a dream with support from a scholarship available exclusively to students in Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University.

Ferrín, an ASU and Barrett Online student majoring in museum studies with minors in art history, history and anthropology, received the 2024 José Franco and Francisca Ocampo Quesada Research Award, which funds student research that increases the understanding of Hispanic culture, influences the Hispanic community, and that promotes the interdisciplinary research work of Hispanic students.

“I am an older student who came back to school after being an adult for 11 years. Working full time, paying rent (now a mortgage), and working in a field that I fell into because of my associate’s degree in commercial art and advertising, I never thought I would have the ability to go back to school to pursue my dreams of studying art history and museum studies,” she said.

“The entire goal of this award is to give Latinx/Hispanic students the ability to reach for their dreams and achieve their goals. Receiving this award reminded me that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and you pursue it with passion and integrity,” said Ferrín, a non-traditional student whose professional background is in modern and contemporary art, marketing, content creation and graphic design.

The Quesada Award, which ranges from $500 to $1,500, is available to Hispanic students working on their honors thesis or any Barrett student whose thesis focuses on a Hispanic-related topic.

Research supported by the Quesada Research Award has included many subjects such as Hispanic access to health care, the effects of breastfeeding on obesity among Hispanic women, and the anthropological site of Teotihuacán near Mexico City.

The Quesada Award application, which is available on the Barrett Scholarship Portal, is now open and will be accepted until Oct. 31.

Ferrín used funds from the award for her honors thesis titled Interpreting Self: A Collection of Contemporary Oral Histories Exploring Generational Latinx Identity & Narrative. 

The project, including a digital exhibition and catalogue, will have oral histories from 55 first- and second-generation Latinx Americans in the United States focusing on their experiences related to migration, assimilation and transition. Each participant’s story is illustrated by a portrait of them made by Ferrín.   

“The project was inspired by my own experience of being part of the first generation in my family to be born in the United States. I am a Latina who always felt in-between two different worlds; no soy de aquí, ni soy de allá,” said Ferrín, a first-generation Cuban-American.

Ferrín encourages Barrett students to apply for the Quesada Award and has this advice.

“Don't be intimidated by the requests for budget and proposing your project's goals. The process of doing this will not only expand your horizons and fine tune your goals, but it also reflects the process for other projects you will have to present in the future for funding,” she said.

“When you are invited to speak to the (award) panel, your passion for your project will shine through even more after spending time breaking down exactly what you're aiming to do and why the award will benefit your project.”