Peyton Cabaniss

What was your Humanities contract about?

 My Humanities contract looked at health and medicine through a variety of lenses like anthropology, history, and linguistics with a particular emphasis in communication studies and sociology. My thesis examined how rites of passage in the first year of medical school shape the way med students perceive patients and develop their professional identity.

How did the Humanities program and Liberal Arts education benefit you?

 The interdisciplinary nature of the Humanities program was excellent training to enter public health, which is an extremely interdisciplinary field. Developing critical thinking and writing skills through my liberal arts classes as well as the process of writing my thesis strengthened research skills that I use all the time in grad school.

What was your favorite experience at UT?

 Being surrounded by peers with such varied academic interests and the Liberal Arts Council broomball game each semester.

Describe your career and how you found this position.

I’m currently halfway through the Master of Public Health program at the Yale School of Public Health. At Yale, I work as a research assistant for an addiction medicine physician on medical education projects that use improv theater-based pedagogy to teach residents communication skills. Medical education has always been an interest of mine, and I found this position by reaching out to faculty at Yale who eventually connected me with colleagues doing research in this field.