Graduate Alumni Spotlight Stacie Becker

Highlights:

• Recent graduate Stacie Becker is using art and medical tattooing to help breast cancer survivors heal.
• Her research found links between medical tattooing and reduced body image distress, anxiety, and depression.
• Becker's work has earned prestigious honors, including the 2026 Order of Pegasus and the Blackstone LaunchPad Art in Innovation Award.
• The first-generation college graduate and Double Knight plans to continue researching, creating, and teaching while expanding her work internationally.

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For Stacie Becker, art has always been more than something to look at. It is something that can help people heal.

The 44-year-old Rose City, Michigan, native discovered that connection through an unlikely combination of interests: fine art, tattooing and psychology. Now, after earning her master’s degree in Emerging Media with a focus in Studio Art and Design from UCF in May 2026, Becker is turning that intersection into a career.

“I believe this field chose me,” Becker says. “I couldn’t deny its pull on me.”

Becker’s path at UCF began with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and a minor in Psychology, which she completed in 2023. As a graduate student in the College of Arts and Humanities, she found an environment that allowed her to experiment as an artist while developing the skills to pursue work with a deeper purpose.

“I loved my time in undergrad at UCF and didn’t want to stop there,” Becker says. “UCF has been an amazing support and place of opportunity throughout my time here.”

That opportunity extended beyond the studio. Becker collaborates with the UCF Health Psychology Lab, where she researches the psychological effects of medical tattooing, particularly among people who have undergone treatment for breast cancer.

Her research has found that people with medical tattoos following breast cancer treatment reported significantly lower body image distress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and perceived stress than those without medical tattoos.

For Becker, the research is personal. She is the niece of two breast cancer survivors, and her background in art, tattooing and psychology has given her a unique perspective on restorative medical tattooing.

Her work has also taken her beyond UCF. With support from the Student Government Association and the College of Graduate Studies, Becker traveled to Italy to speak at an international conference.

Those opportunities have helped prepare her for what comes next. Becker plans to continue making and exhibiting art nationally, expand her work internationally, pursue research with the Health Psychology Lab and teach art at the collegiate level.

Her accomplishments at UCF include receiving the 2026 Order of Pegasus, winning the 2023 Blackstone LaunchPad Art in Innovation Award for her work with breast cancer survivors at Empower Tattoo and co-winning the 2023 UCF Book Arts Competition.

However, Becker measures her UCF experience by more than awards. She credits her diligence, consistency and willingness to think outside the box for helping her make the most of her education. She encourages other students to do the same.

“UCF has so many opportunities for students who are willing to look for, ask for and work for them,” Becker says. “Who you get to know at UCF is just as rewarding as what you get to learn.”

As a first-generation college student, Becker knows the transformative power of education firsthand. Now, she hopes her work will have a similar impact on others, particularly people rebuilding their sense of self after breast cancer treatment.

“I want my son to know that learning is lifelong, and education is liberating,” she says. “I want my husband and son to be proud of me and the work that I do.”

For Becker, that work starts with creating. It continues with asking questions, pursuing new ideas and finding ways for art to make a difference.