View my publications and current research, including topics on bottle-feeding, eating disorders, global health, oral health education for medical students, and more. Research Publications Research in Progress Art and Writing Publications Bree's Research Publications “Eating Disorders and Oral Health” Zhang B, (2024) "N Y State Dent J November 2024," The New York State Dental Journal: Vol. 90 No. 5., Article 3. “COVID-19: Global Lessons for a Global Profession” Zhang B., Zokaie T. Module 7: COVID-19- Global Lessons for a Global Profession In: Toward Competency-Based Best Practices for Global Health in Dental Education: A Global Health Starter Kit 2nd Edition. Senior editor Seymour B., Assistant editors Clem B, Ramesh N, Suri D., Advisory editor Barrow J. “Does the position of a bottle during infant feeding influence the jaw's postural position?” Zhu H, Zhang B, Rosivack RG. Does the position of a bottle during infant feeding influence the jaw's postural position?. J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2019;37(4):405-408. doi:10.4103/JISPPD.JISPPD_91_18. Research and Grants in Progress Research in Progress Oral Health Education for Ob/Gyn Education Worked alongside faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to develop an educational module focused on integrating oral health into prenatal care. This project was supported through a 2024 Columbia University Provost Grant for Innovative Course Design ($2,000). The curriculum was designed for Ob/Gyn residents and medical students to improve learner knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding oral health screening and referral, and to increase oral health integration. Results from this work have been accepted for presentation at both the National Oral Health Conference and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) CREOG/APGO Annual Meeting. Oral Health Education in Pediatric Medical Training Partnered with faculty involved in Department of Pediatrics in the Columbia University Irving Medical Center to develop and deliver educational module within medical students’ Major Clinical Year pediatric clerkship. This initiative aims to enhance medical students' knowledge of pediatric oral health by equipping them with essential skills to recognize, prevent, and manage common oral health issues, including oral health screening, anticipatory guidance, and referral practices relevant to pediatric populations. Data collection has been completed and a manuscript is currently in preparation. Eating Disorders Education: Leveraging E-Learning and AI Simulated Patient with ChatGPT Education Collaborated with psychiatry and dental education faculty to improve training on the identification and management of patients with eating disorders. This work was supported through a 2025 Columbia University Provost Grant for Innovative Course Design ($2,000) and focuses on developing innovative educational approaches for dental learners. The project combines 1) delivery of an interactive educational module 2) artificial intelligence-based simulated patient encounters, allowing students to practice sensitive conversations surrounding eating disorders in a safe learning environment. Virtual Reality Environment for Dental Anatomy Education Designing immersive virtual reality (VR) learning environment designed to enhance dental anatomy education for 1st year dental students. The project involves creating anatomically accurate 3D tooth models and interactive learning activities, guided by principles of mental rotation, cognitive load, embodiment, scaffolding, and immersive learning theory. Students identify key anatomical landmarks, organize teeth within the dental arch, and engage in gamified learning experiences that encourage spatial reasoning. The Association Between Asthma and Oral Health in Adults: NHANES 2021-2023 Cross-Sectional Analysis Conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 2021–2023 data investigating the relationship between asthma and oral health among U.S. adults. After adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and health-related confounders, asthma was associated with 41% higher odds of fair or poor oral health (adjusted OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.16–1.72). Findings support the integration of oral health into chronic disease management. Results have been accepted for presentation at the National Oral Health Conference; the manuscript is currently under review at the Journal of Public Health Dentistry. Politicization and Policy Change in Community Water Fluoridation: State Legislative Trends in the United States, 2025 Conducted a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of fluoride-related legislation introduced across the United States during the 2025 federal policy transition, examining legislative trends, political sponsorship, policy focus, and enactment outcomes. Identified increasing legislative efforts to restrict community water fluoridation and characterized emerging policy patterns with implications for dental public health advocacy. Results from this work have been presented at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Birnberg Conference. Manuscript was submitted to the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) and invited to revise following peer review. Narrative Medicine and Diverse Dental Needs Funded by the Lipton Narrative Medicine in Dentistry Fellowship to investigate the integration of narrative medicine principles—including listening, reflection, communication, and compassion—into dental education. Conducted a mixed-methods needs assessment evaluating dental students' preparedness to care for diverse patient populations, identifying significant gaps in preparedness for trauma-informed care and care of patients with special health care needs. Findings informed recommendations for experiential learning, communication training, and culturally responsive curricula. Results were presented at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Birnberg Research Conference, and contributed to a manuscript, "Dental Student Perceived Preparedness to Work with Diverse Patients," currently under peer review at the Journal of Dental Education. Medical Illustrations My scholarly work also includes medical illustration, which has supported academic scholarship and scientific communication across multiple disciplines, including neurosurgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontics, and facial cosmetic surgery. Recent and ongoing projects include: Aesthetic Correction of Submandibular Gland Ptosis with Partial Submandibular Gland Resection via a Submental Approach (2025) - with Dr. Artem Krutyansky Stellate Ganglion Block for Treating Cerebral Vasospasm and Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (2023) - with Dr. Travis CreveCoeur Handgrip Strength Testing in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) - with Dr. Travis CreveCoeur Periodontal Surgical Techniques for Canine Coverage with Fibroguide (2025) – with Dr. Karim el Kholy•Controversies in Facial Cosmetic Surgery (2026) – with Dr. Artem Krutyanksy and Dr. Ryan Kelm Art and Writing Publications View Medical Illustrations More About Me Why Dentistry How dentistry merged art, music, biology, chemistry, public health, and more My Art Portfolio Sold by Brown University Bookstore and Columbia University Bookstore 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 and art to heal, educate, collaborate, and advocate. 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

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

Bree Zhang competed in the 2018 Miss Chinese Pageant and achieved Miss 2018 2nd Runner-up, Miss Best Talent 2018, and Laihing Jewelry Show Winner. Miss Chinese Pageant Overview In summer 2018, I was selected as one of the 13 Finalists for Miss Chinese Pageant among hundreds of applicants. The pageant involved three months of training, a tour in San Fransisco, a talent show in Sand Castle, NY, a jewelry show in Flushing, NY, and the final show at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. My accomplishments in the Pageant include: Winner of the Laihing Jewelry Show 2018: I won the best jewelry presentation award, which included: 14 karat gold necklace and the chance to wear and present the most expensive jewelry in the store, a Forever Mark diamond set more than 1 million dollars. Miss Best Talent 2018: During the talent show, I made it into the Top Five Talent with guzheng and won the Group Talent Award with live acrylic painting. During the final show, I performed on the guzheng, a 21-stringed Chinese Harp, playing a self composition I wrote for my grandmother while featuring my digital art paintings on the large screen background. Miss Second Runner-up 2018: I placed 3rd place overall at the Final Show in Mohegan Sun, which included several segments: evening gown, swimsuit and Q&A, Qipao walk, and the final five Q&A. Pictures San Fransisco Tour Day 1: Napa Valley and Newton Vineyard Day 2: Palace of Fine Arts Day 3 and 4: City Hall and Golden Gate Bridge Talent Show Laihing Jewelry Show Final Show at Mohegan Sun Fashion Show Evening Gown Talent (Guzheng Performance) Qipao and Final Awards For more about Miss Chinese Pageant, you may follow them on social media! Website Facebook Instagram For more info about me, check out: About Me Time Lapse Art Artwork My Guzheng Story Music Compositions Other Performances Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more updates!

Watch my performances of traditional Chinese pieces such as Spring Comes to the Snowy Mountain (雪山春晓), Song of the Dong Ting Lake (洞庭新歌), Peacock Flies from East to West (孔雀东南飞). Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Solo Duet and Ensemble Other Instruments Traditional Chinese Pieces Performed by Bree Zhang Guzheng Solo Spring Comes to the Snowy Mountain - Unknown Artist 00:00 / 00:00 Spring Comes to the Snowy Mountain 雪山春晓 Composer: 格桑达吉，范上娥 Recorded on October 15th, 2017 The Peacock Flying Southeast 孔雀东南飞 Composer: 郑德渊 Re-arranger : 邱大成 Drew University Concert Hall June 3rd, 2017 Music From China Youth Orchestra Rainbow Concert Spring Comes to Lhasa 春到拉萨 Composer: 史兆元 Drew University Concert Hall May 31st, 2015 Music From China Youth Orchestra Rainbow Concert Gui Zhou Yao 贵州谣 Composer: 姚宁馨 The College of New Jersey Concert Hall November 8th, 2014 NJMTA Young Musician's Competition Winner's Recital Xiang Shan She Gu 香山射鼓 Composer: 曲云 Hong Kong, China August 13th, 2013 The 3rd International Zheng Contest 11-14 Age Group Guzheng Duet and Ensemble Duet and Ensemble The Dance of the Amei Tribe 阿美族舞曲 Composer: 台湾民谣 Rearranger: 顾冠仁 The Hindu Temple Society of Northern America in Flushing, NY February 25th, 2018 Chinese New Year Festival 春节晚会 Additional Performer: Emily Yang Hanging Red Lanterns 挂红灯 Composer: 周成龙 McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ February 8th, 2014 Chinese New Year Festival 春节晚会 Additional Performer(s): Grace Chen, Jennifer Zhang, Joyce Lu, Emily Yang, Angela Weng, Sabrina Ngan, Jiongnan Liu, Jacqueline Hua, Bonnie Hu. The Song of Spring 春节序曲 Composer: 李焕之 McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ February 8th, 2014 Chinese New Year Festival 春节晚会 Additional Performer(s): Grace Chen, Jennifer Zhang, Joyce Lu, Emily Yang, Angela Weng, Sabrina Ngan, Jiongnan Liu, Jacqueline Hua, Bonnie Hu. Guzheng with Other Instruments Other Instruments Fisherman's Song at Dusk 渔舟唱晚 Composer: 曹正，朱郁之 Huaxia Bridgewater Chinese School January 31, 2016 Chinese New Year Festival 春节晚会 Violin: Joyce Lu For more info about me, check out: About Me Time Lapse Art Art Portfolio My Guzheng Story Music Compositions Music Arrangements

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 My Academic Vision I am currently pursuing a unique interdisciplinary training pathway at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine as the first student in school history to pursue a triple degree DDS/MPH/MA program. I am passionate about public health, health policy, dental education, interprofessional collaboration, and technology innovation. One of my primary interests is dental education and understanding how to better prepare future providers to deliver compassionate, culturally responsive care. My research examines how to improve training for patient populations who often receive limited attention within traditional dental curricula (e.g. patients with eating disorders, history of trauma, special needs). I am also passionate about leveraging technology to improve learner engagement and patient care. Through my Masters of Education, I have conducted scholarly projects in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and digital educational platforms. My work in public health and policy is informed by my clinic experience, where I experience how policy decisions influence access to care, insurance coverage, and prevention strategies. My appointments on ADA National Fluoridation Advisory Committee and NYSDA Substance Use and Well-Being Committee provide me valuable exposure to how policy impacts our patients. Through my research in fluoride policy and asthma disparities, combined with my lobbying experience and consultant roles in organized dentistry, I hope to contribute to evidence-based policies that improve population health. A central theme throughout my work is interprofessional collaboration. This goal has shaped projects including oral health education for OB/GYN residents, oral health education for for pediatric medical clerkships, and creation of an eating disorders educational module that incorporates perspectives from dentistry, psychiatry, psychology, and primary care. As someone with a creative art and music background, I have also used both art and music to bridge interprofessional gaps in Columbia University and foster cross-school collaboration. As a National Health Services Corps Scholar, I plan to be practicing in a federally qualified health center after graduation, working with medically complex patients and serving as a safety net provider. As I consider my long-term careers goals, I hope to: 1. Practice clinically in a combination of private and public practice (FQHC, free clinic) 2. Contribute to organized dentistry and shape dental policy through leadership & advocacy. 3. Teach in the future at a dental institution, continuing my contributions to research, curricular innovations, and interprofessional collaboration. Why Dentistry Watch my TedXTalk for a more personal version of the story I wrote and made this artwork "Why Dentistry" in 2022, but reading it now, this still holds true. 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) of our health is also connected to our brain, which is where my love for psychology comes into the picture. As a Psychology major, I understand that 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. Reflecting on My MPH Click on each image to access my full reflection For more info about me, check out: My Research Fluoride Policy, Eating Disorders, Interprofessional Collaboration My Notes! You are free to download any of my notes, tree diagrams, and summary flow charts for medical and dental school! Dental Art & Music How I combine music therapy and art to heal and educate patients! Music Compositions Performed 5 times in Carnegie Hall, 2 times in the Metropolitan Museum, 2 times in McCarter Theatre 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!

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 Guzheng Solo Compositions Returning Home This piece is dedicated to my grandmother, who travelled to America to help raise me when I was a child. She instilled in me values of gratitude, patience, resilience, and the art of listening. However, as the years went by, 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, wishing I could see her again. 7 years later, I was given the perfect chance: I found out I was returning to China for a guzheng 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. 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. Metamorphosis Just as a caterpillar transforms to a butterfly, this piece describes my metamorphosis into a determined young woman. Reflecting back on myself in high school, 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. Growing Up This song addresses the joy, sadness, and beauty of growing up. It begins with a main melody filled with fun and playfulness, representing the innocence and unreserved happiness of our childhood. The melody grow faster and faster, but then it shatters. Moving forward, the song takes a deeper tune, one that may be filled with shades of guilt, heartbreak, anxiety, fear but it symbolizes advancing forward, step-by-step. grow, finding strength in our weaknesses and fears, learning how to live with our own inner demons. Eventually the song returns to the original tune, but a little more mature now, representing how we may look back to our old childhood memories with a reminiscing and appreciate our childhood. Improvisation This song addresses the joy, sadness, and beauty of growing up. It begins with a main melody filled with fun and playfulness, representing the innocence and unreserved happiness of our childhood. The melody grow faster and faster, but then it shatters. Moving forward, the song takes a deeper tune, one that may be filled with shades of guilt, heartbreak, anxiety, fear but it symbolizes advancing forward, step-by-step. grow, finding strength in our weaknesses and fears, learning how to live with our own inner demons. Eventually the song returns to the original tune, but a little more mature now, representing how we may look back to our old childhood memories with a reminiscing and appreciate our childhood. Guzheng with Vocals Compositions Guzheng with Vocals Daydreams One of my first pieces I composed which involved guzheng and vocals. 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 :) 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 “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. Dancing in Snowflakes - Bree Zhang 00:00 / 00:00 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. A Journey in Retrospect - Bree Zhang 00:00 / 00:00 Music Accolades Performance Locations United Nations Headquarters (2025) First Baptist Church of America (2022) Carnegie Hall (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) Metropolitan Museum of Art (2015, 2016) McCarter Theater (2015) Drew University (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) Rutgers Nicholas Center (2014, 2018) Westminster Choir College (2016, 2017) Awards and Honors Dr. Lorna M. Breen Annual Lecture Performer (2025) Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Class of 2028 White Coat Ceremony Performance (2024) Brown Commencement Baccalaureate Soloist Performer (2022) Gold Prize, Sinovision Television Teen's Talent Competition (2017) Self-composition "Journey" and "Dancing in Snowflakes" performed by MFCYO Orchestra at Drew University (2017-2018) 4th Place, Central China TV Talent Competition (2017) Grand Prize, National League of Performing Arts Young Musician's Showcase Competition (2015) 1st Place, Princeton International Chinese Music Competition Award (2014) 1st Place, New Jersey Music Teacher's Association Young Musician's Competition (2014-2016) About Me Art Process Videos Artwork My Guzheng Story Medical Illustrations Infographics

Witness my art-making process through time-lapse videos, including medical illustrations, social commentary, and landscape videos. Bree Zhang - Aspiring Artist, Musician, Dentist Time Lapse Art Videos by Bree Zhang Click on each icon to watch full video Featuring Lulu and Olive, the comfort dogs at the former dental office I used to work at, the Dental Associates of Rhode Island, who make our office a welcoming home and help alleviate patient fear and anxiety. Imagine an alternate parallel universe where human and animal relations are flipped, where humans are raised like cattle and their body parts eaten for dinner under romantic starlight. The timelapse can be accessed at the very end of the video after the cow conversation finishes. Whenever I walk down to India Point Park in Providence, RI, I am mesmerized by the quiet beauty held within the stillness of water, especially during the winter when snowy white seems to blend into the sky. It brings me back to an old dream that inspired my first oil painting in 2016, where I was sitting along the edge of a dock, staring out at an expanse of a frozen lake and a red forest laden in white snow. 5 years later in 2021, I am reflecting on that dream: both the feeling of loneliness that comes from being in your own thoughts and the feeling of calm contentment as I watch the birds that I am not alone right now. I was inspired to make this piece after re-watching Howl’s Moving Castle. This artwork is an oath to myself to always be an artist, whether I’m 19 years old or 91 years old. After all, there’s something beautiful and powerful about art for all ages, allowing us to express our inner thoughts, emotions, feelings and values, from facing fears and insecurities, to capturing moments of love and happiness, to exploring ourselves and the world around us. Even when I grow old and lose my physical capabilities, I hope to retain a youthful mind and a spirit of an artist, just as Sophie did in Howl’s Moving Castle :) In this artwork, I crafted this city and its inhabitants without references, drawing random buildings and structures as I saw fit. I let my imagination guide my pen in a direction I had no idea where I'd end up, in the same way as the girl who lets her imagination take her away to a faraway place she yearns for. This piece is actually made in conjunction with a book I was working on in high school “The Nameless Novel’s Secret.” The artwork features elements and symbols of this novel, which will make sense as the plot unfolds and unravels. Inspired by Evgenia Medvedeva, one of my favorite figure skaters, I made this digital artwork, which is paired to the music I composed for my MFCYO orchestra. This video features a speedpaint time lapse of my entire process from a blank canvas to the finished product. For a more in-depth description and full score of the music, see here . This artwork is dedicated to Vincent Zhou, whom I feel a close connection to as an ABC and someone born in the year 2000, the year of the dragon. Overall, I'm inspired by his athleticism and intellect, and I wanted to convey it here in the power, strength, and resilience of the dragon, which represents his zodiac and mine. For more info about me, check out: About Me Art Portfoio Music Compositions My Guzheng Story Music Arrangements Other Performances Follow my art instagram account at breez_art_ and deviant art account at bubba-bree for more updates!

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. Donut Forget to Vote Spearheaded 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. In addition to facilitating this contest, the Council on Advocacy developed: Voting “How to Vote” guide to support student engagement and participation. 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. 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. 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. Barriers to Care Worked with Council on Advocacy to develop infographic series on barriers to care, including financial, geographic, cultural, insurance & 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. 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. Learning objectives for students: Define different advocacy levels & relation to public health 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. 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: Student Loan Reform Act Expanding the Medicaid Dental Benefits Act The REDI Act Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act 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 used to think Brown was the color of “💩” but you can only create that color by combining all colors of the rainbow. Brown has been my canvas. Each semester has been a wandering collection of dissonances and consonances. Read my 5 Main Takeaways Below: Reflection 1 Reflection 2 Reflection 3 Reflection 4 Reflection 5 College Reflections I used to think Brown was a poopy💩 color, but you can only create that color by combining all colors of the rainbow. Brown has been my canvas. Each semester has been a wandering collection of dissonances and consonances. Read my 5 Main Takeaways Below: #1 The Best Teachers Are Bandages, and the Best Bandages Come From Our Friends. College can be a journey of figuring out how to patch myself up from falls and scrapes but oftentimes not even knowing where these scrapes and cuts are. Throughout college, I struggled with a combination of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, which triggered depressive episodes after binges and manic episodes when I starved myself in punishment. There were moments when I felt invincible and so productive so no sleep and keep going because your creative juices are flowing and no--you can't stop--you can't sleep anyway--stomach empty--you're so light you could fly away-- Then, moments when I struggled to get out of bed and do basic things like wash my face. Moments when I didn’t want to wake up from sleep. Moments when I hated myself so much and felt so useless for hating myself and not being able to do the simplest daily things, then hating myself all over again and thinking I did not deserve people’s admiration. The scary thing about falling is that it’s sometimes not the injury that hurts the most but the painstaking process of trying to get to your original pace. There’s an insidious voice that keeps comparing yourself to your best version and reminds you’re so much slower and wobbly and graceless. But the beautiful thing about falling is that the journey of crawling up teaches you so much. It’s taught me that friends and loved ones have always been my best bandages. They give me shoulders to cry on and hands to hold when I don’t feel grounded. They remind me that I’m still Bree. Sometimes, learning how to be vulnerable means allowing your friends and loved ones to see you under a spotlight when you haven’t put on your protective skin, so you feel flayed and disgusting and ashamed because this version of you will always exist in their memory. But sometimes, learning to be vulnerable means that you have hands that can put bandages in places you can’t easily see or reach. And unlike your bandages, these bandages come without self-contempt and are so purely filled with love and care that you start to feel like everything’s going to be okay. Because it will be <3 Reflection 2 #2 Inspiration is everywhere in the community, and everyone has a Mary Poppins Bag. I believe that I am a collection of the wisdom of each person I’ve met at Brown. As they say, the beauty of the Open Curriculum is that no two people are taking the exact same track of courses, meaning that there is less room for competition/comparison and more room for vicarious learning, exploration, and super cool conversations. I don’t need to take 20 classes to obtain knowledge from 20 classes. By talking with peers, I get “TLDR” glimpses of the most thought-provoking topics in way more classes, and we exchange these glimpses across our real world reflections. If what people are studying is cool, what they are doing is even cooler. Everyone I know seems to carry around a Mary Poppins bag: a bottomless pit of talents and accomplishments that they usually keep humbly hidden but pull out on special occasions, ceaselessly surprising me. Like just when I thought this person couldn’t be cooler as a STEM icon, but wait—they also won an award for their cutting-edge research—but wait—they’re also a kickass dancer—but wait—and they’re also involved in acapella and have a voice of gold? In fact, my admiration for my peers solidified even more after seeing everyone's senior theses, capstones, and extracurricular final projects. The spark in someone’s eyes is most beautiful when they talk about something they love, something to which they’ve devoted so much time, tears, and energy. The reason I am the way I am is because of this Brown community: they’re always inventing, deconstructing, designing, collecting, fighting, advocating, teaching, learning, providing—-and inspiring me to do better. #3 It’s never too late to start a hobby, or to revisit one that you’ve tucked away. Success is not always accomplishing something but enacting an intention to start something . As someone who has always been a checklist person who likes the feeling of "finishing" things I'm good at, I really had to learn how to reframe my mindset throughout college. I'm happy to say I finally got really comfortable with this by my last semester at Brown, where I was welcomed into the frisbee, ballroom dancing, and ice skating communities. Feeling "comfortable" in unknown spaces cannot happen without empowering and nurturing people. Ballroom dancing was completely new to me. Even when I started out as one of the worst dancers, these people gave me a home and never judged me, only uplifted me. Frisbee and ice skating were sports I’d tried as a first-year (but then stopped for 3 years due to time commitment). The fact that I felt welcomed so warmly despite my hiatus showed me that it’s okay to step back from things, to leave for a few years, and it’s okay to join again when you’re ready. When time is ticking, it’s easy to get caught up in the end. I only had 2-3 months to enjoy these communities before graduation. While sometimes I lamented how I should’ve joined/re-joined these sports earlier, the experience taught me how to savor each moment because it’s happening (and not because it’s disappearing), to be comfortable with not knowing things and asking for help—because help is always there. Three of my most exciting moments were when I did the Bronzie Cha Cha group number at the Phoenix Ball, when I performed a solo at Brown Figure Skating Club’s Annual Ice Skating Show, and when I played in my first Frisbee Scrimmage with another college team. I am proud of these moments not because I was the best performer/player (in fact, in ice skating, I was the worst) but because I went out and tried my best. Reflection 3 #4 No battle plan survives the first contact with the enemy, so learn to have fun while the plan fails. Lots of us are perfectionists who try to avoid perfectionism but unwittingly stray towards perfectionism if left unchecked. Perfectionism is what makes us good at what we do because we hold ourselves to high expectations. However, it also makes us stressed out, especially if the work is not what we expect. This is why my involvement in CCB (Class Coordinating Board) was such an amazing learning experience for me because no matter how much you try to perfect your "battle plan," unexpected problems arise. Perhaps the weather is freezing, and the crock pot you need to melt the caramel (for caramel covered apples) doesn’t heat up, so someone on your board needs to run to the Blue Room with a tub of Boiling hot water to get the caramel to melt. Perhaps there’s glitches with a platform you’re using, and you embarrassingly have to send out a classwide email again apologizing for good-old “technical difficulties.” Perhaps delivery costs increase. The power fails. A few staffers get sick. A vendor backs out. Equipment doesn’t work. The question isn’t a matter of “if” but “when” and “what” will go wrong—whether it’s a mistake you made or an uncontrollable external factor. So an important lesson CCB taught me (and something I’m still striving towards) is how to adapt, go with the flow, laugh and bond over our failed battle plans, and accept that no one is going to ever be completely satisfied with your event, or you—and that’s okay. After all, the enemy of a “battle plan” is just life, and life will always give you unexpected lemons and things to be salty over. But if you stop seeing life as an enemy, you can slice up the lemons, gather some salt, and have fun taking tequila shots. Reflection 4 #5 Don’t wait until you’re leaving to start making a bucket list. 4 years feels so short. So very very short. Sometimes, I wonder “If COVID-19 hadn’t happened, would I have had a better college experience?” Reasonably, a voice in my head says: “Yes, of course. You lost almost 2 years of college. You struggled during the virtual semesters without much social contact. You saw lives disappear in the blink of an eye, neighbors, family acquaintances, more.” But I also see another side to COVID-19. COVID-19 made me who I am in college. I learned how to be alone. I learned to navigate challenges and tensions with my family that emerged from the pandemic and politics. I learned to appreciate the moments I have with my loved ones. To never take anything for granted because even the most stable rocks can be shattered in an instant: a relationship, a friendship, an experience, an education. It’s the same with college. When I came back to in-person school my senior year, I made a Senior Bucket List, and I wrapped myself in a craze to complete all the items. But then it hit me. Why is it that we only make a real bucket list when we’re about to leave somewhere? Aren’t the experiences listed in our bucket list things we have always wanted to do? Why can't we cherish these experiences sooner? How many times did I really explore downtown Providence? How many cuisines on college hill did I really try? How many challenges did I really complete? How many moments with friends did I pass up because I wanted to focus on studying? We often don’t realize how much we appreciate something until it slips from our fingertips. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying “hold on tighter so it doesn’t slip.” We all have to let things slip away to move on—after all, our hands can only hold so much—but we should be more intentional while these experiences are around and easily graspable. This way, we’re not simply just letting retrospection paint an experience in a positive light. We’re actually existing in that experience—appreciating it even if we can’t see the beauty yet. Reflection 5 Senior Year Bucket List Green are completed items. Red are uncompleted items. Dance on pole Get on rooftop Participate in Jazz jams RISD Wintersesssion Polar Plunge with BOC Visit Newport Visit Block Island Witness Naked Donut Run Try an edible (make art while high) Visit RISD Museum Make at least 10 Brunoscapes Hammock somewhere on campus Get back into Ice skating Hiking somewhere NOT in Providence Attend a Gendo Taiko Workshop Join Frisbee again! Attend a Nelson fitness class (cardio core, body combat, 305 dance) Study in GCB (with laptops out) Join Ballroom dancing Ratty challenge Go to all you can eat hotpot with CSA Go to Beach SciLi challenge Go Rock Climbing Watch Dance Shows Mezcla Fusion Impulse Daebak SKINNY DIPPING Do something weird for Senior Talent Show Watch theatre productions RENT Sweeney Todd Company Louis challenge Sleep on 10+ locations on campus Watson Leung Andrews dining Emwool lounge Faunce fishbowl Sears Lounge Metcalf third floor Friedman Main Green Scili Scavenger HUnt Friend group senior Boston trip Drink wine in 10+ major buildings on campus. Faunce Rock The Hay Sayles Salomon University Hall Macmillan Sears Ratty Friedman Vdub Andrews Thesissssssss Watch Waterfire Sell prints of my artwork. Try aerial acrobatics workshop Perform at in-person concerts Lunar new year Underground Thursdays Sounds@Brown Senior Week GRADUATE YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! For more info about me, check out: Art Portfolio Time Lapse Art Music Compositions My Dental Journey Music Arrangements My Asian Identity Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more music updates! Follow me on Spotify! Spotify