We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Justine Bautista. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Justine below.

Justine, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to present at The White House and to meet with President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Selena Gomez to discuss youth mental health and technology. This moment changed both me and my career endeavors entirely and shaped a lot of my current perspectives on mental health and research. The opportunity came as a result of my research and work with Asian Mental Health Collective, who was also a part of the event at The White House (The Mental Health Youth Action Forum). Once I had heard that I had been invited to attend the event, which was sponsored by MTV and the Biden-Harris Administration, I was both ecstatic and nervous. There is always a constant voice in the back of my head that tells me that it was just luck or not a deserved honor, but since that event, that voice has softened up a bit. Since then, my perspective on research has become much more holistic and I’ve realized that, in order to create effective change, we need all hands on deck. I’ve been making an active effort to connect and have conversations with stakeholders across different backgrounds and organizations to figure out mental health solutions for youth and what that could look like in the digital age.

Justine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Justine Bautista and I am a PhD student, researcher, and mental health advocate. I attended Chapman University for my undergraduate studies where I majored in Psychology and in Integrated Educational Studies. I currently am in my 4th year at the University of California, Irvine and my research focus lies at the intersection of youth and emerging adult mental health, technology, and diverse communities. I have worked with organizations like The Trevor Project, The Upswing Fund, and most notably Asian Mental Health Collective, who I continue to work with. Currently, my work focuses on building tech solutions by and for the community to help support their mental health needs. I am currently working alongside Novia Wong (also a PhD student at UC Irvine) and with our mentors, Dr. Stephen Schueller and Dr. Madhu Reddy, to work with AMHC in creating alongside community members.

I am most proud of the community connections that I have made along the way. A lot of my inspiration for my work comes from the community members, nonprofit organizations, and from peers. I also am most proud of my own personal background and the opportunities that have been afforded to me as a result of my family’s hard work!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Up until I began attending college for my undergraduate studies, I was never very confident in virtually any of my abilities. I could never put my finger on something I was exceptionally good at or passionate about. And I think I always struggled with this throughout high school especially. There was a constant feeling of just being barely good enough, but not exceptional. I had always wanted to be one of the kids that was super smart and involved or was known for doing well at X thing, but I was terrible at sports, was smart “enough” in school, and didn’t have any exceptional talents. Once I got to undergrad, I had to unlearn that I needed to be exceptional and, funny enough, that was when I started actually feeling successful. I ended up having more drive to work hard and get good grades when the underlying pressure to be the best at something was gone. And instead, I feel like I was fueled instead by a genuine curiosity and desire to learn and to be passionate about gaining new knowledge. This is what eventual lead to my desire to pursue a PhD and do research.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Training and knowledge is definitely at the center of being a good researcher and you obviously need to have foundational knowledge of research methods, statistics, etc, but you can’t do good research without having a “Why”. You really need to understand who exactly you’re doing the research for and whether or not that community would benefit from it. So, I think doing research just for the sake of it isn’t very helpful. It’s really about understanding what the community needs and what your place is in all of that. And when you apply to graduate school or submit research proposals, that’s where that “why” really shines through. People know when you truly care about the work and the people it will affect.

Contact Info:

• Website: justinebautista.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-bautista-m-a-5a19b6138/

Image Credits
Photo courtesy of The White House Representative Katie Porter