Whispers from Above is a creative project that aims to normalize the conversation and validate the emotional experience of grief, through the use of art therapies. Art therapy can be expressive in which someone creates their own work, such as visual art, poetry, performance, music, movement, etc. Art therapy can also be receptive in which someone analyzes and understands someone else's artwork. This project was released on SoundCloud in order to make grief resources more accessible to all and to build an online community.<br/><br/>Whispers from Above worked with twelve poets, fifteen artists, six different interviewees, and multiple musicians to create a month of grief support. The finale piece of Whispers from Above was devised from the twenty-nine poems used within this month-long healing journey. All the individual poems were woven into a single devised poem to be presented as the final piece symbolizing that no one is alone in grief.<br/><br/>Whispers from Above is creative community exploration of grief, loss, and death in which we hope contributors, and listeners find solace and support. This series will exist on SoundCloud after March 27th, 2021 with a monthly release of a poem or interview accompanied by art, and music.

The history of Arizona is filled with ambitious pioneers, courageous Natives, and loyal<br/>soldiers, but there is a seeming disconnect between those who came before us and many of those<br/>who currently inhabit this space. Many historic locations that are vital to discovering the past in<br/>Arizona are both hard to find and lacking in information pertaining to what happened there.<br/>However, despite the apparent lack of history and knowledge pertaining to these locations, they<br/>are vitally present in the public memory of the region, and we wish to shed some much-needed<br/>light on a few of these locations and the historical takeaways that can be gleaned from their<br/>study. This thesis argues the significance of three concepts: place-making, public memory, and<br/>stories. Place-making is the reinvention of history in the theater of mind which creates a<br/>plausible reality of the past through what is known in the present. Public memory is a way to<br/>explain how events in a location affect the public consciousness regarding that site and further<br/>events that stem from it. Lastly, stories about a place and event help to explain its overall impact<br/>and what can be learned from the occurrences there. Throughout this thesis we will be discussing<br/>seven sites across Arizona, the events that occurred there, and how these three aspects of study<br/>can be used to experience history in a personal way that gives us a special perspective on the<br/>land around us. The importance of personalizing history lies in finding our own identity as<br/>inhabitants of this land we call home and knowing the stories gives us greater attachment to the<br/>larger narrative of humanity as it has existed in this space.

The privatization of prisons within Arizona has been a hot button issue and needs to be further analyzed to determine their benefits and expenses. To begin this investigation into the effectiveness of private prisons within Arizona and possible steps that need to be taken for its rehabilitation certain definitions and prior research need to be understood. Following this explanation, areas such as costs analysis across different types of prisons, liability rates across differing types of prison guards, and the differing psychology of different types of prisons can be examined to gain an overall assessment of the current performance of privatized prisons within Arizona. After this in-depth analysis of the current private prison system within Arizona, the flaws of the system will become abundantly clear and the solutions that should be implemented to alleviate these problems will be discussed.

This creative project is assembled in screenplay format, providing the blueprint for a feature film. The research consisted of reading numerous screenplays, breaking down movies scene by scene, and undergoing a rigorous revision process with Thesis Director Professor Greg Bernstein. The logline of Changing Tides is: After discovering a gold-filled shipwreck, five Floridian middle schoolers head out to claim their treasure when they learn that the largest hurricane ever recorded is heading their way.

This creative project is composed of two parts: a food map of Black and Indigenous food systems in Arizona and a written component analyzing the initiatives. The map is composed of thirty-five initiatives focused on agriculture, food preparation, food distribution, and traditional knowledge. Each initiative on the map has a summary of their work, a quote, and a link to their website to help viewers interact with and support these initiatives. The written portion contains an overview of some historical and current barriers for Black and Indigenous food systems and a database used to systematically analyze the initiatives for trends in demographics, focuses, goals, and barriers. This creative project aimed to assess barriers and opportunities for Black and Indigenous food systems while creating an accessible resource that compiles different initiatives within these communities.