Trish Sachdev is a junior at NYU Gallatin studying creative communication for people and the planet. “I believe in the power of creative expression for healing. I hope to provide silenced communities with a safe space to express their unique voices and stories through creative outlets that emphasize authenticity, empowerment, and justice. Through my individualized degree at Gallatin, I explore artistic communication and healing methods for the people and planet, with an emphasis on contemporary mental health and activism. This is a niche and relevant foundation that can be applied to art therapy, activism, prison reform, creative projects and human services. One thing that has come up is my priority for the climate; I feel that it is necessary to intertwine this pressing issue into my passions for wellness, creativity, and justice.” Trish on describing her work: “A lot of my art making started with 1) people-connecting and 2) photography. I call that my medium. It all started with a lot of portrait taking. I like to lean into an expression of the models themselves. So I'll come up with a vision with them together, and then I'll pick up the techniques required to execute that. And the whole process is really collaborative. I don't like to take control. I like to pull out their voices and hear from them and show that. That transformed into a lot in the future. That quickly led to this little organization that I founded called Runaway Brides. Our mission is to guide women through the healing process and significant change in their lives, one photoshoot at a time. So I'll reach out to people who have a story to tell. And the whole goal is to let them reclaim their stories through both texts, like quotes and written elements and whatever they want, but also the primary thing is photos. I let them make the choices and I'll help them and guide them through that process. There's also a lot of visual arts. I dabble between a bunch of different mediums. Painting is a big one. Anything that requires people-connecting and colors. I'm all for it.”