#SoCaltech: Alex Viloria Winnett

“As a PRISM leader for three years, I focused on providing a space for people at different phases in their journey of identity development to meet and support one another. There's a lot of joy that comes from queer community, and our events were designed to foster that.”

“Caltech prides itself on free-thinking, thoughtful inquiry and innovation. That’s what Caltech PRISM is about. We’ve hosted movie nights, poetry and essay readings, crafting sessions, artistic drag performances, hikes, holiday parties, queer history trivia, and a gender discussion and exploration night—these are opportunities to be creative, to think deeply about the world and about expression. From there, one decides how to live with intention and not simply following prevailing dogma.”

“In the lab, I ask and attempt to answer questions like ‘How does the immune system protect us from infections?’ At PRISM, we ask and attempt to answer questions like ‘Who am I? ‘What does the happiest, most authentic and best version of myself look like?’ and ‘What is love?’ Queerness is so many things, but I see it fundamentally as the freedom to imagine and investigate the answers to these questions. Building queer community through PRISM at Caltech enables discovery.”

Alex Viloria Winnett is a student in the Caltech-UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program, which allows students to go to medical school at UCLA and graduate school at Caltech. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Viloria Winnett supported the health care response and then co-led the Caltech COVID-19 Study, which answered key questions about how to use diagnostic testing strategies to stop outbreaks. After Commencement, he will continue clinical rotations for medical school at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.