Esther Ayers

Hometown: Onsted, Michigan

CLS Affiliation: CLS PhD Student

Current Status: Doctoral Student

Graduation Year: May 2023

Majors: Chicano/Latino Studies

Celebrating Esther: 

During the fall term of 2020, Esther presented at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) International Conference. In her keynote speech entitled "Community is at the heart of what keeps us together,” she shared her testimonio with mental health and how mental health has influenced her life and research. Also at AEE, she presented a paper at the Symposium on Experiential Education Research (SEER) entitled "A literature review of adventure therapy with latinx youth in community-based settings: Implications for research and practice." This presentation was published in the SEER book of abstracts. 

What advice/tips/consejos would you give students in terms of navigating school? Paso a paso, one step at a time. Also,  as you navigate the academic process, finding creative ways to take care of yourself will be vital. Incorporating these creative coping tools into a regular routine will  also be equally important. I personally find listening to uplifting music, conducting physical activity on a regular basis, and connecting with my spirituality as helpful tools—I work on incorporating these tools into my daily routine.

What are your professional/career aspirations?

After graduating, I aspire to be connected with online courses where I can teach remotely, and conduct research on imperative topics such as mental health, Latinx youth/young adults and strength based interventions. 

What (or who) inspires you? 

My community, family, and mentors inspire me. One of my mentors that I met last summer suggested that I stay grounded in the reasons for my research. And for me, it goes back to the basics. I am doing my research because mental health is my passion, and I am doing it for my community, the Latinx community. I have found stories of the CLS—both faculty and students— have been very inspiring, motivating and empowering.  All of these elements combined give me animo to seguir adelante!!!

To learn more about Esther, visit her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-ayers-59b89a65/ 

You can also view her CV on the CLS webpage: https://clstudies.msu.edu/directory/directory-ayers.html 

You can also follow Esther and her work on Twitter by using the following handle: @AyersEst