Having adequate social networks and community connections is important for individuals, as it allows them to connect to resources, receive support from friends and family. This is especially important for individuals who identify with multiple minority identities, with this study focusing on LGBTQIA+ Latinx college students. The purpose of this study is to determine how individuals in social organizations, specifically ones that cater to specific minority identities, shift their multiple identities and self-presentation in response to the boundaries of membership and community. The study also looks at how they adapt these concepts to their social worlds, in which I describe social boundaries. Throughout the course of the study, by interviewing participants, observing their events, and analyzing the responses to the survey, it was found that queer Latinx students were interested in creating their own social worlds suited for their specific multiple marginalized identities. This was primarily due to participants acknowledging that due to the organizations focusing on only one aspect of their identity, they sometimes did not have the full support of their community. Participants also found that, by creating their own organizations, it allowed them to not only build their own support network but also provide one for other students. Even so, participants have also found that by making connections in their student organization and with friends within the greater LGBTQIA+ Latinx community at ASU, their interpersonal relationships have a higher determining factor in whether they feel connected to their respective communities, rather than through their participation in social worlds.

This was an audiovisual exhibit showcasing 10 participants' portraits, artifact photos & audio stories. In a world full of polarization in the media and bias, my thesis project strives to highlight the similarities in our differences with stories from people of all different ages, backgrounds & lifestyles. And what topic is more human than home & belonging? Additional info, audio & photos from the event can be found at the website used during the event: https://gsorian18.wixsite.com/sob-thesis2024

Mariachi music is a significant piece of Mexican culture that has been around since the nineteenth century. Although it was created in Mexico, mariachi is deeply rooted in the history of the United States. With a large population of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest, mariachi music has been both refined in the United States and ever-present as a staple of the Mexican/Mexican-American culture. Traditionally, the composition of a mariachi group is all male. Even today, mariachi is still a male dominated genre. In the early years of mariachi, women had no place in the genre, as musicians, composers, or directors. During the time when mariachi was forming and becoming a more defined genre, Mexican women were not considered able or skilled enough to do many things that men could do, just based solely on their gender. This included being a mariachi musician. A woman's place was not anywhere else but as a carer of the house and the family. This ideology has changed with time, with the incorporation of women in majority-male groups, mixed gender groups, and the invention of the all-female mariachi group. However, culture, language, and geographical barriers still play a significant role in the dynamics of mariachi music today. This creative project, which incorporates interviews of multiple women who currently perform in mariachi, culminating in an informational website, will explore and analyze these different barriers within the genre of mariachi, and will explore the culture of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in the United States.