![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/facepics86df7066d446e4facb5b13e14ee35b49b.webp)
Age
27
Gender
Gender Variant/Non-conforming
Ethnicity
Black/African, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Indigenous Peoples
Religion
Atheist
Hobbies and interests
Anatomy
Animation
Art
Art History
Drawing And Illustration
3D Modeling
Graphic Design
Animals
Biomedical Sciences
Biology
Ecology
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Sustainability
Running
Nutrition and Health
Knitting
Sewing
Hiking And Backpacking
Camping
Cooking
Reading
Environment
Academic
Anthropology
Art
Classics
Cultural
Design
Fantasy
Folk Tales
Folklore
Gardening
Horror
History
Leadership
Philosophy
Science Fiction
Science
Reference
I read books daily
Davi Pinero
1,285
Bold Points1x
Finalist1x
Winner![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/facepics86df7066d446e4facb5b13e14ee35b49b.webp)
Davi Pinero
1,285
Bold Points1x
Finalist1x
WinnerBio
Ever since I was in High School, I wanted a career that would allow me to pursue my passions both in Art, and Science. At the time I was misinformed by a guidance counselor that achieving a dream where I got to engage both with Fine Art and Science would be impossible. I believed it, until I learned about Medical Illustration.
Growing up, I rarely saw people of color depicted in medical illustrations. This is a problem because it can alienate us from our caregivers, and make epidermal conditions and symptoms harder to diagnose.
Medial Illustration is such an esoteric discipline that I believe diversity in the field could positively impact the way people of color are seen and diagnosed by medical professionals as a whole. My family doesn't have a lot of money, but I have a bright future, and I'm looking forward to it no matter what.
Education
Rochester Institute of Technology
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Medical Illustration and Informatics
GPA:
3.9
North Central Michigan College
Associate's degree programMajors:
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
GPA:
3.9
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
Career
Dream career field:
Arts
Dream career goals:
Medical Illustration and 3D Modeling
Illustrator
Concretti Design Studios2022 – 20231 year
Arts
Concretti Design Studios
Computer Artwww.concrettidesigns.com2022 – 2023North Central Michigan College
Life DrawingStudent Showcase at The Crooked Tree Art Center2019 – 2022North Central Michigan College
Art Criticism2019 – 2022North Central Michigan College
Animation2020 – 2021
Public services
Advocacy
North Central Michigan College — Interviewer, Video Editor2021 – 2022
Future Interests
Advocacy
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Gender Expansive & Transgender Scholarship
WinnerI don’t really think they get it. What it feels like to be on the outside of the perceived ‘majority’. To have to pay more for a single dorm, or go without housing, because in a gendered system, the faculty don’t know where to put you. To anxiously email professors before the first day of school. Hoping that they get your name right during attendance so they don’t out you in front of the entire class. The fear that you will not be welcome in clubs or activities, that you will be embarrassed if you raise your hand to speak, or that you will be denied Federal Financial Aid because you legally changed your name and gender marker. I’ve experienced all of these, especially the last one, because of how my society devalues me. Which perhaps is how I found a refuge, in art, and science.
Art is easy to understand. Queer people tend to gravitate towards it like moths to fire. The things that make us different are often celebrated in the art world, where people are more open-minded, more creative, and more accepting than many of our peers. Science though? Why was I drawn to that? Well, not to answer a question with a question, but have you ever had a perfect raspberry?
Soft, like velvet, and perfectly sweet. Those irresistible ones, that a person could eat like candy. I’m sure plenty of people have had unimpressive berries too. Those ones that look ready to eat, but that offer only a slightly tart dullness. Like a sample-sized LaCroix.
Not everyone knows that the difference between these two kinds of berries is the number of pollinators they have.
The number of moths, bees, birds, and butterflies that touched their lives, when they were still flowers.
Diversity, in all things, is and always has been the flavor of life on Earth.
It makes us stronger, it makes us smarter, and it makes the planet as a whole a more beautiful place to live. In science, I found beauty in diversity, which means I was able to find the beautiful things about my Afro-Latino, trans, nonbinary self. Art and science inspired me to pursue Medical Illustration at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Medical illustration is important because it is used in educational literature to show healthcare professionals what to look for, to treat and diagnose their patients. Unfortunately, like many of the resources in the education world, many of these diagrams cater to the cisgender, heterosexual, white perceived majority.
When I graduate from RIT, I aim to create Illustrated Medical Resources that represent people like me. People of color, trans bodies, and queer family structures. I want to play a role in making The United States a place where gender-nonconforming people and people of color do not have to worry about being misdiagnosed because of prejudices, or lack of resources, in health science.
Because of the way I look, I have never been able to hide. I am a five-foot-tall firework of curly hair. I am a burnt sienna wildfire in a white-washed forest. This means that whether I want to or not, I make an impact everywhere I go. That is why I will create illustrations of LGBTQ+ people, and Medical Concerns that are unique to our community. So that we can have better, more comprehensive medical care. Which includes doctors who are used to seeing us, in all the shapes, colors, and sizes we come in.
Godi Arts Scholarship
Drawing has always been like breathing to me. Ever since I could pick up a pencil I was so fascinated in the world around me, that the only way I could express my awe was through my creativity. When I was younger, this adoration for nature, culture, and biology seemed at odds with the options I knew were avalible to me. I was told over and over again that I could choose science or art, but not both; and that they were opposite disciplines.
At first, I chose science, and was enrolled in premedical sciences at UNLV at 16 years old, after graduating from West Career and Technical Academy. Even though I was getting good grades, I was miserable, and could not thinking about how eager I was to be able to retire and paint for the rest of my life. At 18, I finally realized that if I was day dreaming about retirement, I was probably in the wrong field. I dropped out of school, which drove a rift between my mother and I.
That rift motivated me to go out on my own, in an attempt to find out who I was. During that gap, I moved to a small town in Michigan all on my own, and started taking art classes at the local community college just for the hell of it. I loved it. Art filled my soul. It made me feel like a flame, splintering over an Old Growth Forest, and stimulating new growth from seeds left in the ash in my wake. I imagined myself as an animator, as a concept artist, as a character designer, and when I got my first job in graphic design after I got my Associates Degree, I was over the moon.
Except, after I started it, I realized once again, that I was in the wrong place. I was an intern at a high end design studio, and even though I was praised for my work, in product design and advertising, it all felt hollow. I would escape into the wild world of microbes, and environmental science. Entemology and anthropology through nonfiction books. It was a love affair with an old flame. My dive into the sciences, and I wondered if I had made a mistake. I decided that perhaps I should look for other jobs, and that was when I discovered Medical Illustration.
Medical Illustration is a job that combines both of my greatest loves. Science, and Fine Art. Furthermore, it is such an esoteric and specialized field that people like me; queer people of color, are not often represented in the diagrams and designs. The more research I did, the more I felt like I had finally found somewhere I belonged. Not just because I would be doing what I was passionate about, but because I truly feel that with my diverse experiences and perspective, I stand to truly make a difference. Brown and queer bodies are very often misunderstood, and misdiagnosed by medical professionals, and I believe that comes, in part, because we are not as present as the straight, cisgender, white images in educational literature.
I come from a poor family, but even if I do not get this scholarship, nothing will stop me from pursing Medical Illustration at The Rochester Institute of Technology. Especially since RIT is one of five colleges in North America that offer an accredited Medical Illustration BFA and MFA program. This is my calling; and until I can open any medical textbook and see someone who looks like I do, I have no intention of slowing down.