“My name is Aaliyah Henderson. I’m a senior at the University of Utah, double-majoring in political science and health, society, and policy, with a minor in anthropology. My research interests lie at the intersection of social behavioral science and public health. Specifically, I am interested in how structural inequality shapes the health outcomes of marginalized communities.
Last summer, I participated in the H.A.P.P.I.E.S.T. program (Health, Air Pollution and Population Initiative in Education and Science Training) through the Office of Undergraduate Research. I was mentored by an excellent graduate student, Sasha Mader, and Professor Jeff Rose from the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Together, we explored how LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness create and sustain community. This work was later published in the undergraduate research journal RANGE.
The research focused specifically on LGBTQ+ youth experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the Salt Lake Valley. This population faces serious physical and mental health risks, ultimately made worse by limited resources and the coupling effects of being part of two marginalized groups. Using an exploratory qualitative design, with semi-structured interviews, we looked at how these young people define, create, and sustain community. This type of study allows us to more deeply understand the complex situations that many people face.
Participating in this research experience was especially meaningful to me. I grew up in Kearns, Utah, a community made up largely of marginalized populations, where I saw firsthand how communities were mistreated and misrepresented. Coming to the University of Utah and developing more complex ways of thinking about the world has deepened my understanding of why this happens and what it might take to change it. I’ve come to see research as a form of advocacy, a way to make communities like the one I grew up in more visible, more supported, and more cared for.
Looking back, this experience has been both affirming and humbling. Each opportunity I’ve had has helped me grow in confidence and clarified what I hope to achieve in the future. I’m still figuring a lot out, but I know I want to use whatever I learn—from research, in the classroom, and from lived experience—to create change that actually works for people, not only for the community I come from, but for all disenfranchised communities.”
— Aaliyah Henderson, senior double-majoring in political science & health, society, and policy