2018 Graduates

            Max Lubell

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ LJSC subplan & Urban Studies minor

Thesis topic: Stigma Against Gentrifiers: Perceptions on Displacement, the Gentrifier Label, and Uneven Transit Development in Detroit

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: The Sociology Honors Program has taught me better writing, how to respectfully engage and research communities I am not a member of, how to best display community demographics and geographies, and the importance of researching changing communities.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I plan to continue playing a role in social research by finding a research assistant position for a few years before moving on to a PhD in Sociology.

What is your super power?: Super Speed — I am always on the move!

Sivanthy Vasanthan

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ LJSC subplan, History of Art major, and Science, Technology, and Society minor

Thesis topic: Responsibility to Protect? Examining United Nations responses to allegations of genocide.

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Emotional detachment. Documents on the Rwandan genocide and the Sri Lankan civil war were undoubtedly morbid. Despite this, I was able to objectively study the two cases yet retain my passion for advocating for ethnic minority rights and justice.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I will be attending the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University! I will be pursing a Master's Degree in Sociomedical Sciences.

What is your super power?: Time management! Miraculously, I balanced a thesis, a minor, two majors, and seven positions in student organizations.

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                   Maggie Larin

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ LJSC subplan & History minor

Thesis topic: True Crime: A Comparative Analysis of Representations of Victims and Offenders in Fictional Crime Dramas and Reality Crime Shows (working title)

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: I was able to work on presenting quantitative data in an engaging and visually stimulating way.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I'm planning on volunteering next year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest in Portland, OR. After that, I hope to go to law school.

What is your super power?: I am particularly gifted at binge-watching my favorite shows (which came in handy for my thesis)!

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Isabel Park

Hometown: Santa Clara, CA

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ LJSC subplan & Philosophy minor

Thesis topic: The Independent Investor: Financial Literacy and Rationality in a Technological Era

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Understanding how I work best, which allowed me to set my own deadlines and stick to them

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Working as a Project Assistant at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago.

What is your super power?: Typing super fast

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 Raven Knudsen

Hometown: Ludington, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major & Psychology major

Thesis topic: First Generation College Student Experiences: A Comparison Across Ages

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: My time management skills definitely improved over the course of this project. A lot of your schedule, especially the last two semesters, is up to your own discretion, and so you have to set your own deadlines and actually stick to them to make progress.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I will be pursuing a Master's of Higher Education at Michigan, during which I will be interning at the College of Engineering's Honors & Engagement Programs Office.

What is your super power?: I have a knack for organizing. Whether it be my desk, calendar, or next-to-watch on Netflix list, you can bet I have a system for it.

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      Colleen Gaffney

Hometown: Richmond, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ SHM subplan & Women's Studies major

Thesis topic: An Evaluation of Emergency Childcare Programs, and Work and Life Balance, in the University Workplace

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: A skill I gained in the Honors Program is the ability to work independently and think creatively. Data collection and analysis is different when working on a project you developed, and I think it made me better at seeing patterns and understanding the context of a problem.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I am currently planning on working in a research institution for a year or two, and then I want to go back to school to get my PhD in sociology.

What is your super power?: My superpower is being emotionally perceptive. I usually have a heightened awareness for how people around me are feeling, and how they will react to situations.

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Kallan Larsen

Hometown: Saginaw, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major

Thesis topic: Welcoming the Stranger: Anti-Muslim Sentiment Among Ann Arbor Christians (working title)

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: I learned to be flexible and to adjust when my research design did not go according to plan, which is crucial when trying to obtain data from human subjects.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I am entering the MS Program in Survey Methodology at UM's Institute for Social Research, after which I will work with Survey Research Operations at UM's Survey Research Center for two years.

What is your super power?: I have a knack for being able to feed large groups of people on a small budget.

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       Syeda Mahmood

Hometown: Farmington Hills, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major & Asian Languages and Cultures minor

Thesis topic: How religion and culture influenced the causes and treatment methods of depression and/or anxiety are understood among South Asian background Muslims in the United States

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Time management

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Gap year

What is your super power?: Going MIA for long periods of time

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 Catherine Baker

Hometown: Northville, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology major w/ LJSC subplan & English major

Thesis topic: Coming Home: The Impact of Parents and Family on Attitudes Towards Recidivism and Steps Taken Toward Desistance

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Flexibility and time management. My finished project looks extremely different than the idea I had when I first started, and I had to learn to be flexible with the new changes. You also have to learn excellent time management skills in order to finish a thesis over a three semester period.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I'll be joining Teach for America and moving to Las Vegas, NV!

What is your super power?: Being unaffected by drinking absurd amounts of caffeine

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