Stacie Becker, MFA studio art and design student, dropped out of UCF in 2003. Now, she’s one of this year’s Order of Pegasus inductees.
Asa Carvajal
After dropping out of UCF almost 23 years ago, a master’s student in studio art and design, never thought she’d return, let alone be inducted into the Order of Pegasus.
Looking at past Order of Pegasus recipients, Stacie Becker wondered how she would fit amongst them as a former college dropout and tattoo artist.
“What am I doing with this group of people?,” Becker said, recalling her memories of Founder’s Day. “Honestly, during the ceremony, listening to everyone’s accomplishments, I was like, ‘I cannot believe I’m standing up here with these students, these people who are just making such a difference.’”
The most prestigious distinction a student can attain at UCF, the order recognizes exemplary performance and the “most dedicated, passionate and highest achieving Knights.”
Becker earned this award for her body of physical artwork supported by a scholarly thesis document and her extensive research in the interdisciplinary study of medical tattooing.
Her body of artwork discusses the tension between the internal self and external expectations. Much of her work is about her experience as a heavily tattooed woman in the world, exploring Jungian themes and the process of individuation.
“So this, like the innate human that you’re born to be and how again, parents and outside influences, your friends, teachers, things like that, all kind of start to shape you, and then kind of working through that way of of life,” Becker said. “The goal is not to get to the end, but to just kind of keep exploring who you are as life changes.”
Becker now owns Empower Tattoo, a restorative tattooing practice providing 3D nipple tattooing, areola symmetry restoration, as well as scar cover-ups, located inside AdventHealth Innovation Tower.
When she received the congratulatory email, she was sitting outside on her porch and ran inside to tell her husband and son, once she read it, who she said were both very excited.
“I think my head swelled two sizes that day,” Becker said.
The Order of Pegasus is not only nomination-based, but it involves a rigorous application process, followed by an interview if selected, a long process, Becker said, that kept her waiting for a notification. She said she was nominated by her graduate coordinator, Jason Burrell, for the award, which she said felt surreal.
“Just knowing that somebody even considered you worthy enough to nominate you for that award, I feel like I would have been floating on that for the rest of my life,” Becker said. “Just that he thought that highly of me felt really good.”
Dr. Carla Poindexter, Becker’s thesis committee chair, said that she is among the best students she has ever worked with during her time of teaching both undergraduate and graduate artists at UCF.
“Her ongoing innovative research in medical aesthetics and her outstanding body of thesis artwork supported by an exceptional scholarly thesis document all bodes well for a very successful future in the arts,” Poindexter said.
After getting her bachelor’s degree, Becker said that Poindexter encouraged her to go to graduate school because of how sad she was about her time in school ending.
“I had such a great experience with undergrad and getting to know other faculty and I wanted more of that,” Becker said. “I chose to come here and luckily, they had me, and it’s been such a great experience.”
Dr. Jeffrey Cassisi, psychology professor and researcher, said Becker came into his lab in 2019 talking about doing research in ‘medical tattooing,’ which he said he had never heard of.
Cassisi said that Becker explained the specific applications of this medical tattooing, including breast cancer patients who have to undergo surgery, ending up with significant scarring and sometimes losing their nipples.
Cassisi said he turns down the majority of people who want to do research with him, but that Becker’s insight and innovation intrigued him. Cassisi was one of the professors to nominate Becker.
“This is a different approach to arts and medicine, where the artist is applying art to the patient,” Cassisi said. “The patient becomes the canvas, and it’s really taking arts and medicine to new places.”
Cassisi said that he now has a greater understanding of the impact of breast cancer and mastectomies on women through Becker, whom he described as a natural with patients.
“She’s done this for 10 to 15 years now. So literally hundreds of women who have had to deal with really significant changes to their bodies and their body image,” Cassisi said. “I’ve really learned how medical tattooing can positively affect these patients.”
Cassisi and Becker have produced multiple studies together, including The Medical Tattoo Assistant: Guidelines for an Emerging Profession, which details scientific knowledge concerning the methods, equipment, operations and artistic technique involved in medical tattooing. He also wrote one of her recommendation letters for her Order of Pegasus application.
Becker said that coming back to UCF for a master’s of fine art and chasing what she loved felt selfish at first, especially having had an established career paying her bills, but that she has no regrets.
She said that the poor decisions she had made previously gave her a chance to start anew and study something she was truly passionate about.
Becker said one of her fondest childhood memories is painting with her grandmother, who she said was very passionate about the arts. She said that while her family influenced her love for art, they discouraged it as anything other than a hobby because they wanted her to have an “easier life.”
“I denied myself that for a really long time, but once I was finally like, this is what I love, I wanted more of it,” Becker said. “That’s when all the pieces started to come together.”
Before Becker left college, she said she worked as a bank teller and was studying business, pursuing business finance. She said she knew that a profession like this was expected out of her in life, although she couldn’t seem to find her footing.
“I didn’t even withdraw, I literally just stopped going to classes, I made horrible life decisions, I completely destroyed my GPA,” Becker said. “And then later in life, I was like, ‘I want a redo.’”
Becker said that she also quit her job at the bank. Around the time she started working a restaurant job, her roommate at the time was getting a tattoo: A traditional Japanese-style half-sleeve by a talented artist who spent time in Japan mastering the craft and the history of the art.
Becker came to watch through all of the sessions and said that witnessing the process inspired her to start tattooing herself.
“I got to watch, essentially, a masterpiece get created on her arm,” Becker said. “Even though I’d had a couple tattoos, that completely shifted my mind of what a tattoo could be.”
Soon after, Becker met her future husband, a tattoo artist. He knew about her artistic background and encouraged her to pursue it, which she said she would’ve been afraid to do without his support.
“I went through a traditional apprenticeship where I spent over a year working alongside him, under him, learning every single thing I could about it,” Becker said. “Cleaning the shop, doing all of that stuff, all with the intent of creating a decent tattoo artist.”
Becker said that since breast cancer affects one in eight women, the question of restorative nipple tattooing would often come up in conversation with her female clients. Becker would offer her services once or twice a year, but didn’t realize the need for these types of services until one of her long-term clients was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Becker said that her client’s surgeon wasn’t happy with his own attempt at medical tattooing, so she got her reconstructive tattooing done with Becker instead.
When she went to a follow-up appointment, her surgeon was impressed with the results and asked for Becker’s contact information to set up a meeting.
During that meeting, the surgeon told Becker how many clients he saw weekly who could benefit from her services, and once they made an agreement, Becker said it started to “spread like wildfire.”
Becker would knock on the doors of different surgeons’ offices to offer her services, as medical tattooing, a more modern practice, is one that some may be unaware of. She said that her experiences going around speaking to those professionals with tattoos on her neck and hands were a challenge.
Yet, Becker said she didn’t let that stop her. She continued to put herself out there and even got patients referred to her by some of the doctors who were skeptical of her portfolio.
Becker said that one of her favorite things about this type of tattooing is that most of her clients aren’t necessarily fans of tattoos, but once they’re off the chair, they leave with a newfound appreciation for the art and profession.
Becker detailed the steps it took to come back to UCF, which include writing a letter saying what will be different this time.
“It’s funny, looking back at that letter,” Becker said. “I was fired up about wanting to complete this, and kind of wanting that second chance of like, ‘Don’t judge me on my first go around,’ when I didn’t know exactly what I wanted out of life.”