Connecting culture, psychology and career path

Adriana Villa was invited to Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, to participate in a three-day international Indigenous knowledge-sharing summit.

As an Indigenous psychology student, the experience allowed her to connect her cultural background with her interest in psychology and learn more about traditional approaches to healing. Participating in a traditional healing ceremony involving alternative medicine expanded her understanding of mental health, consciousness, and well-being. This experience strengthened Adriana’s interest in clinical research and inspired her to explore how different approaches to healing can be studied scientifically.

“I see this as a beginning of an opportunity to contribute to clinical research that expands our understanding of mental health and develops new possibilities for effective treatment”.

Villa is in her second year at CMU and comes from Bloomington, California, an unincorporated community in the Inland Empire.  She is an undergraduate Psychology major with an Intergroup Relations and Justice (IGR) minor.