I was able to practice being a professional in my field

By Hannah Dutcher ’24

Hanna Peterson ’23 developed a love for research during her second year while learning about bisexual erasure in film media for her work in the Wartburg Honors Community. Her research was accepted for the Hawaii International Conference on Education and led more research on gender and sexuality.

“So much is changing with how gender identity is being seen, and so much is changing through the LGBTQ+ lens, so it’s interesting to be a part of that discourse,” she said. “There’s not always an understanding of those experiences that is being shared, so it’s fun to put that out into the world.”

Most recently, Peterson presented her research on gender and sexuality within two modern operas at the National Opera Association’s 2023 conference in Houston, Texas. The music therapy major also explored how the operas, Sweets by Kate and As One, highlighted the LGBTQIA+ experience.

“I wanted to introduce these two operas more into the scholarly discourse and for people to look at performative identity at being whatever they want it to be. I wanted people to see through a different lens on how we perceive the people around us and how we carry ourselves as a society,” Peterson said.

“Sweets by Kate” is a dark comedy following two lesbian bakers and their journey navigating their hometown and the obstacles of running a family bake shop. “As One” tells the story of an individual transitioning from male to female.

Instead of doing a traditional senior vocal recital, Peterson combined her love for research and music to create a recital lecture and used this same research for the conference in Houston.

“A lot of music majors like the performance side of things, but our degree can be versatile to match our interests,” she said.

Peterson credits much of her research success to her voice instructor, Dr. Kylie Gougler, and her research mentor, Dr. Molly Doran.

“While we are in our undergrad, it is just so important to try and experience things we won’t have access to in the future, especially at a small college where we can have such close connections with our professors,” Peterson said.

She  encourages all students, including music students, to explore research opportunities on or off campus.

“My work with the honors program gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I was able to practice being a professional in my field. I was able to travel and be published as a researcher before the age of 21,” Peterson said.