Every year, creative grad students from across the disciplines submit compelling images of their research and scholarship to the Image of Research competition. To accompany each image submission, the creator writes a short paragraph explaining how the image relates to their wider academic work, giving us a glimpse behind the scenes.
We caught up with some of the award winners from the 2025 Image of Research competition to ask them more about their process. Enjoy this interview with Latashia Key, a graduate student in Recreation, Sport and Tourism and People's Choice winner in this year’s contest, and then view the video to hear Key read her award-winning submission, "Creating Inclusive Aquatic Spaces….Overjoyed with Peace and Love."
Why did you enter Image of Research this year?
I believe visual storytelling should infuse art and not be separate from research, especially in the health, sport and wellness fields. The people and communities at the heart of my research, Black/Brown/African American girls have been understudied, and their voices needed to be “seen” and heard. I wanted to capture the love and joy they felt having fun and being happy underwater all while learning water competency skills to be safe in and around the water.
I knew when I started my research that I wanted to specifically highlight underwater images of the girls having fun because these types of photos are scarce on commonly used platforms. I purchased a used underwater camera for my research, the Olympus TG-6, and was very impressed with the features. After practicing, I took numerous photographs and prompted the girls to go underwater and have fun. I asked them to show me their best “move or pose.” Many of them love taking pictures but to do it underwater was very special since it was a unique and first time experience.
What did you learn or take away from this experience?
The experience was so much fun to shoot and to see the girls' progression and confidence from being hesitant of putting their face in the water to going underwater and showcasing what they can do was rewarding. Also, I enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity of this competition to learn about others’ research. I knew this was a great platform to share my research with everyone. Lastly, I realized this could serve as a powerful tool to communicate my work and for the girls to have their own photo as a reminder of what they accomplished!
Read Latashia's entry
Water is vital to our survival as human beings and learning how to survive in a body of water can literally save our lives. How many youth have drowned because they did not know how to swim? Drowning rates are highest in children 1-4 years old. Also, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death among youth ages 5 to 14, according to the CDC. I was a child who experienced a near-drowning while at a birthday party and my parents enrolled me in swim lessons. For 35 years, I’ve taught numerous youth how to swim and learned that, sadly, Black youth have the highest drowning rates among all races. It was time I developed an evidence-based swim lesson and water safety program that closes this racial gap in swimming with a focus on Black girls. I chose Black girls because they are understudied, undervalued and their voices unheard in research, especially leisure research. My program showcased instructors who swim and looked like them and highlighted various aquatic spaces Black individuals participate in. The water is a place to have fun, show your joy, and experience peace. The lesson for all is that Black people can and do swim!
Visit the Image of Research website for more information about this celebration of graduate student research.
This interview was conducted by Brandon Stauffer, Videographer here at the Graduate College. Brandon came to the Graduate College with a background in journalism and is now working to showcase the impact of Higher Education at Illinois.
