Most people just see teeth 🦷, but I see a glowing ecosystem of all my passions: art, music, science, psychology, public health, global health, and education. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Why Dentistry? I decided to make an artwork to answer the question Watch my TedXTalk for a more personal version of the story To me, dentistry is like painting an artwork or composing a guzheng 古筝 song: both require sensitivity of touch, creative visualization, and the ability to sculpt not just the intricate details but also the larger symphony of what our mouth’s blank canvas can become: the smile. 😁 Dental art is also a science. It requires a thorough understanding of how dentistry’s “paints” react, solidify, and set according to different temperatures, moisture levels, time frames and mixtures, whether it is the chemical reaction of alginate (drawn as d-mannuronic acid and l-guluronic acid ), or the blue-light stimulated 3d polymerization of composite resin in restorative fillings. That's when my organic and inorganic chemistry knowledge 🧪 merges with my love for biology🧬 , from the aromatic ring in lidocaine improving lipid solubility, to fluoride-assisted remineralization of enamel (depicted as Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 +2F− → Ca10(PO4)6(F)2 + 2OH− ). One of my favorite “biologies” is microbiology. 🦠 The oral cavity is an entryway, living environment, and source of replication for millions of microbes (I’ve drawn a few: SARS COV-2, HIV, E. Coli, Pneumococcus, Diphtheria, Tetanus, etc ), some of which have sparked major epidemics and pandemics. This oral-systemic link is where my interest in science “flows” into the heart and lungs of my passion for public health. 🏥 I’ve seen how the mouth is often the first place to detect disease, cancers, and immune system dysfunction; how poor oral health is linked with heart disease, diabetes, COVID-19, Alzheimer's, and other synergistic diseases rooted in socioeconomic circumstances. 😷 Given that dental decay is the most common disease in the world, and that cumulative national costs 💵 for dental treatment in many countries are higher than those for cancers and heart disease, I hope to be advocating for policies that not only increase upstream prevention and integration (depicted by superior vena cava flowing up to globe ) but also prioritize resource conservation and our fragile relationship with Planet Earth. 🌎 Public health cannot be improved without improving oral health, but the “heart” 💗 (aortic artery flowing upwards in "Why Dentistry" artwork) of our health is also connected to our brain, which is where my love for psychology comes into the picture. 🧠 Our mental health influences oral health through biological channels (systemic inflammation and hormonal imbalance) and psychosocial channels (motivation, social habits, dental fear and anxiety). Meanwhile, our oral health reciprocally affects our mental health by impacting our ability to eat, talk, work, sleep, and smile: a key to confidence, identity, and social mobility. As a dentist, I hope to use tools of psychology to restructure phobias and integrate art and music therapy into dental settings--returning full circle to my favorite multi-colored “hues'' and “melodies.” 🎨🎵 The dental field is growing at such a fast rate. With a passion for teaching 📚, I hope shape the dental curriculum so that cultural competency is not just a strength but a fundamental core principle. So that mental-health informed dental care is always built from acknowledging social determinants of health. So that we can work collaboratively with all disciplines to tackle the global burden of oral disease. So when people ask me “why do you want to be a dentist?” I say that “not just a dentist but an oral health physician 🩺, an oral health advocate 💪, and an oral health educator 📖." And who knows--maybe I’ll be adding more pieces to my “why dentistry” painting in four years. About Me as an NHSC Scholar On September 8th, I received my official award letter from the National Health Corps Scholarship!! The National Health Corps Scholarship provides financial support for full-time enrollment in an eligible primary care health professions degree training program between 2 yrs and up to 4 school years, covering tuition, reasonable educational costs, and monthly stipends for living expenses. After graduation, scholars devote time practicing in a HPSA (health professional shortage area) for the years they receive the scholarship. I am very blessed for this unique opportunity. Dental disease is a neglected epidemic: more than 1/3 of low-income adults avoid smiling and face employment difficulties due to the state of their teeth. Dental pain has been reported to affect up to 30% of adults, which also impacts their ability to sleep, eat, work, and take care of their children. Right now, about 49 million Americans live in communities that have been designated dental professional shortage areas. It’s so important to address and fix the geographical shortages of dental providers, BUT we must also think about the roots of the problem: a segregated healthcare system, a treatment over prevention culture, policies that perpetuate other social disparities in education, food access, & more. Beyond just practicing in a HPSA, I hope to continue pushing for increased dental access and prevention/education on the upstream policy level. NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship 1/6 Click to see full perspective. Infographics explaining more about NHSC Scholarhip Learn how I've tackled global oral health Learn about my work in prevention and education Learn how I've merged art and music with dentistry . Learn how I conceptualize patient-centered care For more info about me, check out: My Publications Harvard Global Health Starter Kit co-author, 2nd author of bottle feeding case study My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown University Bookstore and featured on Columbia's Global Consortium of Climate Health Infographics Infographics that explain medical/dental concepts, tackle advocacy, and educate patients! Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! My Notes! You are free to download any of my notes, tree diagrams, and summary flow charts for medical and dental school! College Reflections My five key takeaways + lessons from Brown University: the goods, bads, and funs! Asian Identity Reflections on what it means to be Asian American and my struggles with my identity Music Compositions Performed 5 times in Carnegie Hall, 2 times in the Metropolitan Museum, 2 times in McCarter Theatre About Me! A little intro about me, my hobbies, my interests, and what inspires me! Contact Me Contact Me Send Success! Message received.

Hi I'm Bree (she/hers), an aspiring artist, musician, and dentist! I graduated from Brown, receiving a degree in Psychology (ScB) with Honors, and I am pursuing a DMD at Columbia College of Dental Medicine! Intro Teaching Event Planning Art Music Dentistry Contact Me About Me Introduction Hi I'm Bree, she/hers)! I graduated from Brown, receiving a degree in Psychology (ScB) with Honors, and I am pursuing a DDS at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine--read about my dental journey here ! My favorite animal (coincidentally my zodiac animal) is the dragon and I am the HUGEST fan of Studio Ghibili movies (Princess Mononoke is my <3). In my free time, I enjoy playing the guzheng ( 古筝), oil painting and digital painting, composing music, writing short stories, going on morning runs, learning Tiktok shuffles, and trying new sports like ice skating, frisbee, and ballroom dancing! Things I Like to Do! Teaching Teaching There's something magical about giving someone your knowledge and watching the crazily amazing things they do with it. I first fell in love with teaching in 2014 when I co-founded a guzheng class for children. Later, in college, I found an opportunity to work as a college counselor and essay editor with Princetonow Education Services, advising and helping students develop their passions. However, I always loved working with children. It's like planting a seed and watching it take root and grow up. So I joined a developmental psychology lab, Causality and Mind Lab at Brown, studying how children think, learn, and interact with the world. This past April, I finally finished my senior thesis on "Effects of Different Praise on Children's Motivation"!🦷 Event Planning & Student Government They say you'll forget your grades, but you won't forget your people. During my time at Brown, being Co-President of the Class of 2022 and a Orientation Leader gave me a wonderful and humbling opportunity to be a "Matchmaker" to create spaces and chances for new friendships and relationships 👀 to form (favorite memories include apple picking, ice skating, Gala, and the senior organ concert)! Now, at Columbia, I am the President of the Class of 2026 and work to continue to foster connections while communicating with deans and admin to best support our class! Event Planning Art To me, art is dreaming of weird things. Art is believing in yourself when no one else does. Art is reflecting on your tragedies and successes. Art is growing as a human. Art is confusing and messy and befuddling. Art is harsh and unforgiving but it can be comforting and lovely. Art is cool! View my artwork , watch my time-lapse paintings , or consider buying my artwork at the Brown University Bookstore! Art Selling Artwork at the Underground Market At the Create@Brown ArtMart Brown Bookstore Music I'm a musician and composer. Music has allowed me to connect with my culture. It has given me space to heal from my eating disorder. I'm always trying new ways to play my guzheng (古筝). Recently, I've discovered a new passion for music improvisation and spontaneous storytelling . Read more about my guzheng story or listen to my most recent compositions ! Music Spotify Dentistry Most people just see teeth, but I see dentistry as this glowing, overlapping, breathing ecosystem of all my passions: art, music, science, public health, global health, psychology, and education. Read more to find out about why I'm passionate about dentistry. Dentistry Hunterdon Family Dental Care Rhode Island Free Clinic Dental Associates of Rhode Island For more info about me, check out: Art Portfolio Time Lapse Art Music Compositions Why Dentistry Music Arrangements My Asian Identity Contact Me Contact Me Send Success! Message received. Spotify

View my work in advocacy and service, including implementing nation-wide voter registration contests, sprearheading scholarship programs, and leading community service projects teaching oral health to children and elderly, Anterior Crossbite Research Council on Advocacy ASDA District 2 Brown Pre-dental Society Advocacy and Service Projects Initiatives as ASDA National Council on Advocacy Chair In 2024-2025, I served as the Chair of the American Student Dental Association National Council on Advocacy, which represents the interests of dental students on legislative and regulatory issues that impact the dental profession. The council launches grassroots initiatives to promote action-oriented advocacy in support of dental students and the patients they serve. Lobby Day Prep Webinar Created a Lobby Day Prep Webinar and presented it across dental students nationally, which was redistributed and presented at the district level, covering topics such as: 1. Basics of Congress 2. ASDA lobbying victories 3. How lobbying impacts patient outcomes 4. How to be an effective lobbyist 5. Mock congressional meeting Other Initiatives Grassroots Initiatives • Connections with Legislative Liaisons. Council members held orientation calls, sent emails, and communicated with leaders to share information, answer questions, and serve as a resource. o Legislative coordinators scheduled quarterly virtual meetings with chapter legislative liaisons in their regions, named “Policy Huddles,” to share national advocacy updates and facilitate a space for conversations about local advocacy initiatives. o The council created a Google Drive folder for Legislative Liaisons to access PowerPoint templates for events, advocacy event ideas, ASDA Advocacy and Molar Bear graphics, advocacy guides, and more. National Initiatives Legislative and Regulatory Issues • The council determined ASDA’s support to sign onto 3 coalition letters regarding: o Support for the Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program o Support for tax policies that directly benefit small business dental practices, dentists, and dental students o Concerns with restructuring plans for the National Institutes of Health o Concerns with the ruling in Food & Water Watch v. EPA, which ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to provide stricter regulations for community water fluoridation • In addition, the council determined following bills to be displayed on ASDA Action noting ASDA’s support or monitoring status. These included: H.R. 1125 / S. 469 STUDENT Act, H.R. 1371 Student Loan Disclosure Transparency Act of 2023, H.R. 1731 LOAN Act, H.R. 1842 / S. 1004 Student Loan Tax Elimination Act, H.R. 4139 Student Loan Refinancing Act, H.R. 6077 POST GRAD Act, H.R. 1202 / S. 704 REDI Act-Deferring Student Loan Interest for Residents, S. 862 Restoring America’s Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act, S. 2172 Dental Loan Repayment Assistance Act of 2023, H.R. 590 / S. 109 Ensuring Kids Have Access to Medically Necessary Dental Care Act, H.R. 994 / S. 403 Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2023, H.R. 2410 VET CARE Act of 2023, H.R. 2413 Dental Care for Veterans Act, H.R. 2559 Strengthening Community Care Act of 2023, H.R. 3380 HEADs UP Act of 2023, H.R. 3701 Foster Youth Dental Act of 2023, H.R. 3843 Action for Dental Health Act of 2023, H.R. 1342 / S. 570 Medicaid Dental Benefit Act of 2023, H.R. 2569 DOC Act, S. 2402 Gateway to Careers Act of 2023, H.R. 1385 DOC Access Act of 2023, H.R. 1422 SMILED Act, H.R. 1671 Increasing Access to Dental Insurance Act, S. 1424 A bill to amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to improve health care coverage under vision and dental plans, and for other purposes, H.R. 3633 PREVENT HPV Cancers Act of 2023. Donut Forget to Vote Spreadheaded a successful ASDA National Advocacy Initiative called “Donut Forget to Vote!”, a voter registration contest aimed at encouraging dental students across the country to register to vote. Over 1,400 students participated, making it the largest turnout in any ASDA advocacy initiative to date. Each dental chapter submitted the names of students who registered or were already registered to vote. Chapters competed to achieve highest percentage of registered voters. The top three chapters were awarded monetary prizes—$150 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third—and featured in the ASDA Advocacy Brief. In addition to facilitating this contest, the Council on Advocacy developed: Voting “How to Vote” guide to support student engagement and participation, Voter Registration Drive Resources for Chapters. Encouraged students to look up the platforms of their representatives via ASDA Action, a site that allows students search up their congressmen and see how they voted on key issues. Barriers to Care Worked with Council on Advocacy to develop infographic series talking about barriers to care, including financial, geographic, cultural, insurance, and oral health literacy barriers. Created social media campaign collecting different dental students' submissions on barriers to care, what it means to them, and advocacy to address them. Council on Advocacy Initiatives as ASDA District 2 Legislative Liaison District 2 Advocacy Scholarship Spearheaded first District 2 Advocacy Scholarship Program This program ran from 2023-2024, open to dental students in New York and New Jersey. Designed a point-based application system to incentivize grassroots engagement, including events, legislator outreach, and social media advocacy. Award included Lobby Day attendance and a travel stipend. This scholarship program's goal was to: increase accessibility for attendance of advocacy events for students passionate and deeply involved in advocacy. encourage creative ways for students to use the scholarship, such as hosting events, creating advocacy designs, and promoting advocacy on social media. In 2025, put together a project proposal form to develop a district advocacy scholarship on the national level. Public Health in Dentistry Panel Organized a successful collaboration between ASDA and APHA (American Public Health Association) to host a Zoom panelist event highlighting different ways to get involved in public health, from private practice level to community to state to federal level. Total of 128 registrants and around 80 attendees. Learning objectives for students: Define different levels of advocacy and their relation to public health Advocacy on a patient level Advocacy on a community levet Advocacy on a federal level Understand different career pathways and ways to incorporate public health into their professional practice. (Examples: community health center, teaching/education in school, private practice, lobbying/policy, public health organization or state department) Recognize opportunities to get involved in public health and advocacy right now (population oral health management) - every dentist’s job. Examples: joining public health-focused organizations (APHA, NNOHA, AAPHD), educating patients, doing public health focused research, joining state dental organizations, attending lobby day events and bringing a public health focus to advocacy topics. Advocacy Pre-Dental Fellow Spearheaded Columbia ASDA initiative to recruit pre-dentals to work with our advocacy/ legislative committee to create infographics and raise awareness on dental advocacy topics and public health issues such as fluoridation, Medicaid, licensure, population based prevention strategies, and more! Here are past infographics designed by our fellows, posted on the Columbia ASDA instagram! Student Loan Reform Act Expanding the Medicaid Dental Benefits Act The REDI Act Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act Our presentations on oral health advocacy topics: Here is an example of a presentation we have used in the past to present to pre-dental societies! This past fall, our advocacy committee, together with pre-dentals, presented "Advocacy 101" to pre-dental chapters including UMich, Hopkins, UPenn, Tufts, Cal Poly Pomona, UConn, Northeastern, UNO, Hunter, Indiana, UC-Irvine, NJIT, UOregon, Brown, and USF. ASDA District 2 Initiatives as Brown Pre-dental Society President Oral Health Education for Children I started an initiative “Oral Health Education for Children” teaching local elementary schoolers about the importance of oral health, proper oral hygiene & dietary habits, and fluoride benefits through virtual games like kahoot and jeopardy. Concurrently, I was working with children and conducting research on praise at the Causality and Mind Lab. Praise is important in motivating children to maintain good oral hygiene and diet, so my research was informative in how I developed and delivered presentations to children. Oral Health for the Elderly In 2021, I spearheaded an initiative “Oral Health for the Ederly,” working together with the Oral Health Program at RI Department to provide oral hygiene training sessions to caretakers at nursing homes. Communicating with Dr. Zwethckenbaum, Director of RI Dept Oral Health, I worked on/revised a powerpoint on causes of gum disease & tooth decay, proper set-up and maintenance of teeth, dentures and partials, dealing with residents with dementia, parkinsons and paralysis, and identifying 10 types of oral pathologies. (worked with 46 nursing homes) Links: Powerpoint to train nursing staff Daily Oral Hygiene Record for Nursing Staff Monthly Oral Hygiene Record for Nursing Staff Brown Pre-dental Society More About Me! Why Dentistry About me as an NHSC Scholar, TedX Speaker, Advocacy Award Recipient My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown University Bookstore and featured on Columbia's public health website My Infographics Advocacy infographics featured on Columbia and Harvard ASDA pages. Music Compositions Performed 5 times in Carnegie Hall, 2 times in the Metropolitan Museum, 2 times in McCarter Theatre Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! My Asian Identity Reflections on what it means to be Asian American and my struggles with my identity About Me Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

Buy my artwork as prints in cardstock 12x18 and fine art linen paper 8x10. Framing options and shipping options available. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Buy Artwork - Bree Zhang Time Lapsed Art Portfolio Commissions Brunoscapes are now for sale via Brown University Bookstore ! Order Your Artwork Here Please reference MY PORTFOLIO for the name of the artwork you want to order. If you want to buy multiple pieces, please fill out the form multiple times (once for each artwork)! Please note the discount option if you are a Columbia or Brown student/faculty ! First Name Last Name Email Name of Artwork Choose a Canvas Size Choose an option Delivery method Choose an option Special Requests Include Hand-Signed Signature * Yes (Additional $6) No Address (if applicable) Order Your Artwork Thanks for submitting! You will receive an email in the upcoming days with more details More About Me My Publications Harvard Global Health Starter Kit co-author, 2nd author of bottle feeding case study My Infographics Advocacy infographics featured on Columbia and Harvard ASDA pages. My Asian Identity Reflections on what it means to be Asian American and my struggles with my identity Why Dentistry About me as an NHSC Scholar, TedX Speaker, Advocacy Award Recipient Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! College Reflections My five key takeaways + lessons from Brown University: the goods, bads, and funs! Music Compositions Performed in Carnegie Hall (5 times), Metropolitan Museum (2 times), McCarter Theatre (2 times) Pageantry Miss Chinese Pageant 2018 2nd Runner up, Miss Talent 2018, Laihing Jewelry Winner My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown Bookstore. Featured on Columbia Global Consortium of Climate Health ABOUT ME Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more music updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

I integrate music therapy to alleviate dental fear. I create animations, educational infographics, and artwork to address oral health and public health topics. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Music & Dentistry Art & Dentistry Art and Music Meet Dentistry Bringing Music into Dentistry In 2019, I started providing music therapy to patients in the RI Hospital Cancer Center. Through my guzheng, I realized the power of music as a common language to connect us, heal us, bring out stories and memories, soothe our fears. I wanted to bring music therapy into the dental field. Dental fear (or dental anxiety) affects approximately 36% of the population, especially prevalent in trauma victims or survivors of domestic violence, and is a reason why millions of Americans avoid the dentist . Yet delaying dental care results in the progression of dental disease that requires more invasive and painful treatments, furthering the cycle of dental trauma. RI Hospital Healing Through Harmony Volunteer Many suffering severe dental fear or anxiety require nitrous oxide or general anesthesia in order to undergo a procedure. I believed music could function as a low cost alternative, so I implemented music therapy at the Dental Associates of Rhode Island , an office I had been working at as a Practice Coordinator/Dental Assistant. "Thursday Tunes" on the Guzheng Every Thursday, at the beginning and end of the hour, I played the guzheng 古筝, the 21-stringed Chinese harp, as patients entered the waiting rooms, incorporating elements of music therapy such as receptive intervention, re-creation, improvisation, and composition.⁣⁣ Wireless Headphones, Customizable Playlists I set up an office Spotify account and wireless bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for each operating room. Rather than listening to a preset music playlist, patients had could select any songs they wanted through Spotify, or connect their own phone to the bluetooth headphones. Bringing Art Into Dentistry One day while dental assisting, I met a young girl who needed a root canal. Since she couldn’t understand English, I drew out the root canal procedure for her. I broke down the procedure into 4 simple steps, using arrows, check marks or x-marks, and happy/sad faces to convey meaning. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I believe a drawing can be worth a million. You can illustrate processes through time, distill complex pictures into simple components, combine elements while highlighting the most important parts. You can communicate across language barriers to increase health literacy and decrease dental anxiety, particularly for stigmatized procedures like root canals. It’s not always convenient to draw the full process of a root canal. When I searched online for short video animations, I discovered that these animations were all longer than 1 minute or were too hyperrealistic. Thus, I decided to create my own animation , distilled down into a simple digestible form—all under 30 seconds. This video is the first of my series of hand-drawn dental education animations, focused on being easy to visualize and understand even without sound. Art & Dentistry After making this video, I also became inspired to create short educational infographics on other dental topics (cavities, plaque, gum disease, fillings, pregnancy) for patients and their families at the Dental Associates of Rhode Island, trying to distill dental education into short bite-sized pieces of information. Below is a sneak peek, but check out my " Infographics " page to see the whole repertoire! Dental Artwork I also use artwork as a channel to discuss and highlight oral health and public health concepts. Records of Our Oral Ecosystem The tooth is a birth certificate. Similar to tree rings, striations in our enamel carry the topography of the changes and transitions.... Read More Reproductive Justice and Oral Health Access to dental care is about reproductive health and birth equity. Hormonal changes greatly increase risk of gum disease, and nearly 60-75% of pregnant people have gum disease..... Read More The Iceberg of Our Oral Health Oral health is like an iceberg. We see teeth as the visible “tip” of the iceberg, but we often don’t see the multidimensional “branches” required to.... Read More My Most Recent Hand-drawn Art and Video Animation: My Human - A Story of Oral Health Inequity A story of told from the perspective of a tooth who observes its human, Smiles, a young girl with a beautiful smile. Smiles suffers from tooth decay, which gets worsened over COVID-19 and eventually leads to infection and an abscess that takes her to the emergency room, with only one option: to extract the tooth. More About Me! Why Dentistry About me as an NHSC Scholar, TedX Speaker, Advocacy Award Recipient My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown University Bookstore and featured on Columbia's public health website My Infographics Featured on Columbia and Harvard ASDA pages, covering patient education Music Compositions Performed 5 times in Carnegie Hall, 2 times in the Metropolitan Museum, 2 times in McCarter Theatre My Publications Harvard Global Health Starter Kit co-author, 2nd author of bottle feeding case study My Asian Identity Reflections on what it means to be Asian American and my struggles with my identity For more info about me, check out: About Me Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

My reflections, struggles, and realizations about my Asian identity. A story of bananas, gaslighting, love, hate, internalized racism, guzheng, and more. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Banana Bree Love & Hate Not Like Other Asians Why am I Lonely? Claiming Soil What's Next? Just Like Other Asians My Asian Identity Banana Bree Phase Growing up, many children want to be astronauts, teachers, doctors. I wanted to be a “banana.” Yellow on the outside by default of genetics, white on the inside by choice. My mother always told me, “You can’t change your skin, but you can decide how you act." Living in a very white town, I took that as encouragement to push away my Asianness away. Asians = nerdy? I pretended to be stupid. My Chinese food = smelled "weird"? I ate school lunches. Asians = "unathletic”? I made volleyball my life. I called myself Bree Zang, the Americanized pronunciation of my last name “Zh āng” 张 (pronounced: J āhng). It never occurred to me to say it any differently. Why pronounce it correctly when people make a weird face then ask “why do you spell it Zhang when it’s not pronounced that way?” Funnily, the closest an American came to pronouncing my last name was when they asked “Did your parents drop pots and pans down the stairs and listen to the sounds to name you? Ding dong. Ching Chong. Bree Jong ?” I don’t name this experience to get pity for myself because this is a common Asian American experience. (“Oh, you got the slanted eye jokes?” “I got the jokes about eating dogs.” “Oh! You wanted to have blonde hair too?” “Blue eyes for me.”) I name this experience because I want to tell the story of how I tripped, fell, and found my way to my identity. It started with the 古筝 (guzheng). Love & Hate Love, Hate, Gaslight Up until highschool, I was always ashamed to let others know I was playing the guzheng, but things changed in 2014 when I began teaching guzheng at my Chinese School. There, I realized that if I wanted my students to be proud of themselves, I first had to first at least accept my Chinese background myself. So I started playing the guzheng in front of white friends, bringing it out during volleyball sleepovers as they recorded me on their snapchat stories. But instead of fully accepting my Asianness, I weaponized my Asianness. I used “I’m so Asian!” and as a way to be funny—a knife against myself. I acted in ways to jokingly confirm Asian stereotypes because at least I was getting attention from people, and didn’t attention mean that I wouldn’t be alone? Instead of fully accepting my Asianness, I commodified my Asianness. During college application season, I wrote my common app essay about teaching my guzheng students and spreading my Chinese culture. I painted myself as a girl who celebrated herself and the Chinese heritage sung by her students’ guzheng strings. I wasn’t lying. Everything written in the essay was true. But it’s funny how I could simultaneously love my Asianness yet be ashamed of it. I embraced my Chinese culture—calligraphy, music, history, language—but I was ashamed that my parents had accents or that I watched anime. I loved my guzheng, but still, I avoided performing solos in “Qipao” or traditional chinese wear because I thought Western gowns fit me better, made me look more beautiful. It was as if I selectively compartmentalized my Asianness into different drawers, rejecting, accepting, and hiding different slices of myself. "I'm Not Like Other Asians" This simultaneous self-love and shame led me to adopt a “I’m not like other Asians” attitude in college, similar to the “I’m not like other girls” attitude. Yes, I was proud of my Asianness, but no —I wasn’t like those other Asians who just hung out with their own Asian friends. I thought was different , I was “special.” I played the guzheng, not the piano or violin. I was heavily invested in arts and humanities, so not the typical Asian STEM pre-med (reflecting back, this fixation is extra r idiculous because almost every Brown pre-med I know is so multifaceted and eloquent in science and humanities). To assert my Asian-but-not-Asianness, I talked often about my guzheng, but I avoided large Asian gatherings and parties. I gravitated towards friends who were either white or other people of color. I even told myself “I can't have more than 1/5 of my close friends as Asians, but I can’t have 0 or else I’m too blatantly white,” as if my identity was a calculation, rather than an existence. Perhaps this is why, as a first-year, I started to feel a bit alienated and distant from my fellow Asians. Not Like Other Asians "Wait, why am I lonely?" It took little steps. It took reflecting on myself through art and music composition. Why I was lonely. Why I felt compulsions to avoid or seek out certain people. Recognizing these compulsions. Acknowledging that I was still on a journey to find peace with my identity, that I wasn’t the proud girl I wrote about in my common app essay. Why am I Lonely? Daydreams, 2020 It took meeting friends who were genuinely interested in not Bree Zang but Bree Zh āng. who were willing to venture beyond the tasty flavors of my culture but also the deeper grittier, darker parts. Who found pride in parts of me that I wasn’t proud of. It took meeting inspiring peers who were unapologetically wearing their own skin and identity. Listening to their struggles. Their realizations. Claiming Soil That's Not Solid One of my proudest moments in college was sophomore year when I made an artwork . selected for Brown University Science Center’s Annual Art Exhibit. At the exhibition’s opening talk, I decided—for the first time in my life—to say my last name 张 “Zhang” the real way. What does it mean to claim your name? To claim your space that—yes—you can belong here. Claiming Soil Sides of Me You Don't See , 2020 But what does it mean to return home every semester break and watch my mom trying to decide what food she can’t bring to work because 香菇 and 猪耳朵 “smell weird” to her American co-workers? What does it mean to still fight feelings of shame when my parents take too long pronouncing the words on a restaurant menu—and to remind myself that they’re not stupider because they have an accent. In fact, their accent makes them wiser and stronger. What does it mean being catcalled on the street and yelled at to “Go back to china?” and to be asked “do you eat bats?” while still feeling pressured to fit the model minority myth, which upholds a system that pits us against other people of color? What's Next? I still have a long journey ahead of me. While I fight for space, I must simultaneously recognize the space I take up . Being Asian, I have privileges that have been used to perpetuate racism and fabricate a racial hierarchy in America. Being East Asian, I have privileges that allow me to be represented and portrayed in the majority of the “Asian” experience, which tends to erase and marginalize other subgroups within the pan ethnic Asian narrative. I must continue to grapple with a history of colorism that persists in my own culture. I must continue to grapple with the concept of being Asian American not as a singular story but in a web of gender, sexuality, class, neurodiversity, generational trauma, and more. It’s a long journey ahead, but for now, I just want to focus on how far I’ve come. I no longer think “I’m not like other Asians .” What's Next? Stop Asian Hate, 2020 I Want to Be Like Other Asians I want to be like every other Asian because we’re all so cool, different, talented, inspiring, unique--and none of us are the same, and we can be hurtful, and we can be cruel, but we should be appreciated as human beings who encompass all these intersecting qualities. I know many of us are at different stages with our identity. I still struggle. Oftentimes, I feel the creeping fear as I slowly lose my language, as I forget certain words on my tongue because I haven’t used them in a while, and because I’m no longer speaking Mandarin with my parents as often. I try to remind myself to hold onto my words, to play the 古筝 more often, to savor my parents' cooking. Sometimes, I realize that my beliefs do not always align with some of the traditional Chinese values of our parents' generation. I realize I cannot deny their traumas and struggles that solidified their beliefs about conflict, social mobility, and equity. I realize I also cannot easily change their beliefs about mental health, gender, and sexuality. But I continue to have conversations to unpack, communicate, and translate. To understand them and have them understand me. It's an honor to be Chinese American, but it takes effort and intentionality to exist within both the "Chinese" and "American" without losing one or the other. That's the beautiful part of it as well. Just Like Other Asians Leveled Up! 😊 For more info about me, check out: Art Portfolio Time Lapse Art Music Compositions My Dental Journey Music Arrangements Buy Artwork Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for art/music updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

I make these infographics to connect the dental and medical curricula concepts, increase patient education, and address public health issues. Integrating Dental & Medical Curricula Other Advocacy Infographics Patient Education Infographics! Bree's Dental Infographics Connecting Oral Health with Medicine and Public Health At Columbia Dental, my first 18 months of dental school is with the medical school, in which we share the same classroom and lab with medical students. This didactic education inspired me to read, research, and make many infographics, seeking to connect oral health to the rest of the body, mind, and system we live in Integrating Dental & Medical Curricula Inspired by Immunology and Histology/Pathology Lectures. Inspired by Psychiatric Medicine Inspired by Pulmonary and Microbiology & Infectious Disease Diabetes Diabetes Diabetes Diabetes 1/9 Inspired by Biology Block of Molecular Mechanisms HPV Vaccine HPV Vaccine HPV Vaccine HPV Vaccine 1/10 Inspired by Immunology and Oncology! 1 2 9 1 1/9 Inspired by Genetics and Dental Anatomy. View the VIDEO HERE . 1 2 10 1 1/10 Inspired by Introduction to Global and Population Health Lecture 1 2 9 1 1/9 Inspired by Body Health and Disease: Neuroscience Parental Leave Parental Leave Parental Leave Parental Leave 1/7 Inspired by Data Science Lecture I had the wonderful opportunity to actually present this during a Data Science Lecture to my classmates! Tetracycline Staining Tetracycline Staining Tetracycline Staining Tetracycline Staining 1/6 Inspired by Pharmacology and Dental Anatomy Inspired by topics in Data Science about redlining, inflammation, chronic weathering Public Health and Advocacy Infographics! Other Advocacy Infographics 1 2 10 1 1/10 1 2 10 1 1/10 1 2 6 1 1/8 Addressing gun violence from a public health lense and focus These infographics were featured on Harvard ASDA's official Instagram Page . Detailing the full experience of Dental Lobby Day in Washington DC MLR Referendum MLR Referendum MLR Referendum MLR Referendum 1/7 These infographics were featured on Columbia ASDA's official Instagram Page . Eating Disorders Eating Disorders Eating Disorders Eating Disorders 1/3 These infographics were featured on Harvard ASDA's official Instagram Page . NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship NHSC Scholarship 1/6 Click to see full perspective. Infographics explaining more about NHSC Scholarhip 1/12 Patient Education Infographics! My Patient Education Infographics! I make these infographics to educate patients about how to best take care of their teeth, including concepts such as plaque, tooth decay, gum disease, fillings, sealants, halloween tips, types of dentists, infant oral health, pregnancy oral health, and the oral systemic link! 1 2 8 1 1/8 1 2 5 1 1/5 1 2 7 1 1/7 1 2 9 1 1/9 1 2 8 1 1/8 1 2 8 1 1/8 Fillings Fillings Fillings Fillings 1/5 Plaque Plaque Plaque Plaque 1/4 Gum disease Gum Disease Gum Disease Gum disease 1/5 More About Me! Why Dentistry How I found dentistry through psychology, music, art, public health, education, and more! My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown University Bookstore and featured on Columbia's Global Consortium of Climate Health Asian Identity Reflections on what it means to be Asian American and my struggles with my identity My Publications Harvard Global Health Starter Kit co-author, 2nd author of bottle feeding case study Music Compositions Performed 5 times in Carnegie Hall, 2 times in the Metropolitan Museum, 2 times in McCarter Theatre College Reflections My five key takeaways + lessons from Brown University: the goods, bads, and funs! Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! My Notes! You are free to download any of my notes, tree diagrams, and summary flow charts for medical and dental school! Pageantry Miss Chinese Pageant 2018 2nd Runner up, Miss Talent 2018, Laihing Jewelry Winner About Me Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

Check out my compositions, from guzheng (古筝) solos, to vocal songs with guzheng as instrumental, to orchestral music made for my Chinese Orchestra, MFCYO. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Guzheng Solo Guzheng with Vocals Orchestral Compositions Compositions by Bree Zhang Spotify Guzheng Solo Growing Up This song addresses the joy, sadness, and beauty of growing up. It begins with a prelude of introspection and then transitions to the main melody filled with fun and playfulness, representing the innocence and unreserved happiness of our childhood. The melody gets faster and faster, just as we barrel through life faster and faster from crawling to walking, to running, to sprinting, but then…⁣ ⁣ Suddenly, our childhood is shattered. Suspended in uncertainty, we glance around, realizing that the world as we know it isn’t the same. Moving forward, the song takes a deeper tune, one that may be filled with shades of sadness, guilt, heartbreak, anxiety, fear. Yet we still advance forward, step-by-step. We grow, finding strength in our weaknesses and fears, learning how to live with our own inner demons, creating beauty from shattered glass: that's what’s called maturation. And, sometimes, we may look back to our old childhood memories with a bittersweet yet hopeful smile. It’s never the same but we can reminisce and appreciate our old memories. Metamorphosis Just as a caterpillar transforms to a butterfly, this piece describes my metamorphosis from a fumbling young girl into a determined young woman. I used to have confidence issues and always felt like a secondary character. However, music, art, story-writing, and my interactions with my culture helped to provide stepping stones which I slowly climbed until I gathered enough “nutrients'' to crystallize and form a cocoon of confidence. In this song, my moment of “metamorphosis” begins (2:08 to 3:14) when I realize how far I’ve come. It’s like an awakening, building to a point where I break free from my chrysalis with newfound wings, flying through the world with speed, energy, and power (represented by the song’s sudden increase in tempo and excitement from 3:16 to 4:13). As I fly, I realize how vast the world is, how many infinite possibilities exist for me to explore. However, the most important part of my metamorphosis (represented by the song’s slower finish 4:38 to end) is remembering to rest my wings at the end of the day so that I have time for reflection and introspection. Thus, as I wrap up my song with a slower yet purposeful finish, I am filled with a satisfaction of how much I’ve grown. Returning Home When I was younger, my grandma came all the way from China to help raise me. Not only did she ensure I was healthy and happy growing up, she also taught me about my Chinese culture and heritage, instilling in me values of gratitude, patience, and resilience.When I was 10, however, my grandmother had to return to China due to her declining health, and she never came back to America again. I missed her very much for several years, wishing I could see her again and show her how much I’d grown since she left. And in 2017, I was given the perfect chance: I found out I was returning to China for a guzheng talent competition and that I would be able to reunite with my grandmother before the competition. I was so elated and excited that I decided to write a song dedicated to my grandmother called “Returning Home.” The first section of my song (0:00 to 2:39) symbolizes my longing for my grandma. The allegro portion (2:39-4:00), which features my technical skills, symbolizes my excitement and anticipation of meeting her after so many years of separation. I also paired artwork with this piece. The first three works in this sequence show key points of my relationship with her, whether it was feeding fish above a pond in my hometown, blowing candles during my birthday, or simply laughing together. The last work features my happy reunion with her. That day, I was able to perform the song for her in person, and the smile on her face was another moment that I wanted to capture in memory forever. Guzheng with Vocals Guzheng with Vocals Daydreams It was very difficult writing, singing, and making art for this song because it brings me back to a time filled with insecurities, fears, loneliness, and self-loathing, a time when I didn’t know who I was, when I pretended to be someone I wasn’t, floundering in search of an identity, surrounding myself with people but feeling quite lonely, chipping away at myself with sweet lies until I almost believed them. However, I’m really glad I finally finished it because now I’m able to look back and confront it. To the girl in this song (Me Of the Past), she would’ve never imagined herself living the life featured at the end of this song (artwork which I paint in saturated beautiful colors), so it’s just yet another “daydream,” a beautiful lie she repeats to herself in hopes of seeing change. But someday, it will come true, someday :) In Ten Years “In Ten Years” is about facing rejection, standing up from it, and moving forward with no regrets. I was inspired by the many college rejections I received over the course of December to early March my senior year (prior to getting into Brown, which I honestly never expected to get into given my college track record). Each result I received was a blow to my confidence, and I started to question whether I was really capable or talented or intelligent. However, I eventually knew I needed a change, and instead of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to channel my feelings into an actual song and do something productive with it. This song, “In Ten Years,” was born as a result. It was my first time composing a song that included vocals, singing while playing the guzheng, and shooting and editing the film. In the end, I was able to learn many new things, and I will continue to move forward with my head held high. Orchestral Compositions Orchestral Compositions A Mother's Love 🥰This music composition and series of 12 art pieces (titled “A Mother’s Love”) is a tribute to my mother and all the other beautiful mothers in this world who have given us irreplaceable support, wisdom, care, and love since the day we were born, from changing our diapers, to teaching us how to walk, to comforting us when we are sad, to cheering on our successes, to supporting us even when we leave home to explore the world. No matter how old I become, I will always keep my mother in my heart and remember all the sacrifices and hardships she endured to provide me opportunities to grow, learn, and love. I love you 妈妈. Dancing in Snowflakes - Bree Zhang 00:00 / 00:00 A Journey in Retrospect - Bree Zhang 00:00 / 00:00 Dancing in Snowflakes “Dancing in Snowflakes” is written for my chinese orchestra, Music From China Youth Orchestra. It describes the care, grace, and empathy we must have to interact with snow without breaking its purity—whether we are in elation and power or in stillness and quietude. Although the song does have western elements, it takes on a predominantly ethnic theme from the pentatonic scale. Furthermore, it features several individual solos, from Hulusi to Erhu to Liuqin to Guzheng, and these instruments build on each other in layers and layers, accumulating in volume and power just as snowflakes quietly and seamlessly decorate a landscape in their beautiful coldness. A main melody is integrated 5 times throughout the song, but it is rendered differently each time, sometimes appearing as a solo, other times being played by the whole entire orchestra. Regardless, the last melody (m. 60) is played by all the instruments that complement and support each other as one unit—just as snow sticks together and embraces the world in a single color of white. When I began this piece, I was also inspired by one of my favorite figure skaters, Evgenia Medvedeva, so I created an artwork that goes with it. See here for the time lapse drawing of the piece. A Journey in Retrospect “A Journey in Retrospect” was my first attempt at composition. I wrote it December 2016 for my orchestra (Music From China Youth Orchestra), and it was performed on June 3rd, 2017 at Drew University. Mixing elements of western and traditional pentatonic music, this song reflects the journey of a person’s life—and my own journey through composing. It begins with a prelude that introduces the central motif to set the mood and pace of the song, in the same manner an author would preface his story with some background. The prelude is followed by a jumpy innocent melody first played by plucked instruments—representing our shaky little steps at the beginning of a journey (m. 9). The melody is then repeated more richly and melodically by string instruments—representing out gradual maturation and development in our journeys (m. 17). Eventually, the song changes into a more powerful theme (m. 33) that is characterized by strength and willpower in the face of trial and tribulations- the melody builds in momentum until it reaches a climatic direct modulation key change (m. 44). Following the key change is a rich intersection of three different melody lines, and the song slowly falls in power until it repeats the prelude (m. 53), returning full circle, but this time, the prelude sounds different: it is deeper, more experienced, more reflective tone- just as we when we look back at the end of our journeys. For more info about me, check out: About Me Time Lapse Art Artwork My Guzheng Story Music Arrangements Other Performances Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more music updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify

My artwork features snapshots of daily life, bizarre surrealist dreamscapes, stories of self-reflection, identity-searching and love, narratives that question societal expectations and existing infrastructure set by cultural, gender, racials norms. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Dreams STEM in Art painting my school building Brunoscapes Snapshots in... Ordinary Meets... Social Commentary Family Love Identity Search Still Life Miscellaneous Copy of Art Portfolio 2 Portfolio - Bree Zhang Click each work to see its full description. Time Lapsed Art Buy Artwork Medical Illustrations STEM in Art STEM in Art These works are inspired by my STEM passions within biology, physiology, and genetics. They have allowed me to study, learn, and synthesize my knowledge in medicine and also given me opportunities to reflection on the healthcare field and my relationship to medicine, behavioral health, public health, and dentistry. Painting my school building painting my school building I decided to paint scenes of my school building! The Va gelos Education Center (also known to me as VEC), is not just a building where I go to lecture and study: it's a combination of the four elements of nature; it's a concert hall; it's a mural; it's a reservoir for creativity--where knowledge and conversations overlap and bring about meaningful growth :) Brunoscapes Honored to announce that I am officially selling artwork via the The Brown University Bookstore ! "Brunoscapes" are renditions of memorable locations at Brown, each associated with specific memories, feelings, and emotions of my undergraduate experience! Brunoscapes Dreams Dreams These dreamscapes and imaginary lands are rendered spontaneously without any prior planning, sketching, or reference photos. Like lucid dreaming, I let go of my inhibitions and allow my imagination to fabricate the landscape around me as I revel in the unconstrained fields of my mind and the different variations of creativity it can manifest. Snapshots in... Snapshots in Time The world as I see it is composed of snapshots of meaningful places, objects, and people that have emotional significance to me, no matter if they are happy, funny, sad, or tragic. I capture these moments in memory so that I can keep them with me forever, etch them forever in the molecular gaps between the threading of my canvas or paper. Without them, I wouldn't be Bree Zhang. Ordinary Meets... Ordinary Meets Unordinary These pieces retain the structural integrity of the ordinary world but transcend the constraints of reality. Some works are simply funny humorous, some are bizarre and outlandish, some are inspirational, some may be sad or frightening. Social Commentary Social Commentary My social commentary functions as activism and investigation within the intersectionalities of race, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity. It ranges from calling us to take voting action, to raising awareness about Anti-Asian Hate, to encouraging us to stand in solidarity against COVID-19, to analyzing female idealizations and expectations in relation to objectification, clothing, body image, and sexual violence. Tributes to Love Art and Music Combination Pieces Returning Home Family Love These 4 pieces are made together with my guzheng composition dedicated to my grandmother, called "Returning Home ." Each piece shows a treasured moment with my grandmother: feeding fish above a pond in my hometown, blowing candles during my birthday, laughing together, and reuniting with her after 7 years of separation. Go to My Compositions for the song and a more detailed description of my relationship with my grandmother. A Mother's Love This series of 12 art pieces (paired with my music composition “A Mother’s Love ”) is a tribute to my mother and all the other beautiful mothers in this world who have given us irreplaceable support, wisdom, care, and love since the day we were born, from changing our diapers, to teaching us how to walk, to comforting us when we are sad, to cheering on our successes, to supporting us even when we leave home to explore the world. No matter how old I become, I will always keep my mother in my heart and remember all the sacrifices and hardships she endured to provide me opportunities to grow, learn, and love. I love you 妈妈. 🥰 Daydreams (listen on Spotify ) Identity Search Search for Identity Art and Music Combination Pieces These pieces comprise the art background to my song, Daydreams (see music video ), which details my insecurities and search for identity. "Daydreams" goes hand-in-hand with my art piece below, "The Sides of Me Your Don't See." To the girl in this song (Me Of the Past), she would’ve never imagined herself living the life featured at the end of this song, so it’s just yet another “daydream," a beautiful life.. But someday, it will come true. ❤️ The Sides of Me You Don't See This 3-D interactive work, made in conjunction with Daydreams, explores my struggle to come to terms with my Chinese identity . Click inside the first picture for the description of this piece. This piece shows a 2019/2020 snapshot of my reflection. Read about my full journey at "My Asian Identity ." Still Life Still Life Practice pieces through direct observation using graphite or charcoal Miscellaneous Miscellaneous A combination of contests, commissions, master copies, fan art, and other pieces that do not fit in any of the categories above. Follow my art instagram account at @breez_art_ for more updates! More About Me My Publications Harvard Global Health Starter Kit co-author, New York State Dental Association author My Infographics Advocacy infographics featured on Columbia and Harvard ASDA pages. Why Dentistry About me as an NHSC Scholar, TedX Speaker, Advocacy Award Recipient Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! Music Compositions Performed in Carnegie Hall (5 times), Metropolitan Museum (2 times), McCarter Theatre (2 times) College Reflections My five key takeaways + lessons from Brown University: the goods, bads, and funs!