2019 Graduates

John Bergeson

Hometown: Portola Valley, California

Major/Minor: Sociology Major with Law, Justice, and Social Change subplan

Thesis topic: The Impact of Social Media on the Formation of Masculine Gender Norms

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: The Sociology Honors Program has taught me how to better effectively manage my time. Since the entirety of Senior year is at your own discretion, it is essential to set your own schedule, deadlines and meeting times with faculty members, advisors and staff to make consistent and sufficient progress.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I will be attending Columbia University in New York City to pursue a Master's Degree in Global Thought, an interdisciplinary academic course of study focused on global politics, economy and governance.

Heather Damman

Hometown: Ypsilanti, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology, Sub-Plan in Health & Medicine; Biomolecular Sciences

Thesis topic: The Opioid Epidemic: A Model Discussion on the Stigmatization of Perceived Deviance and Suffering

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Through the Honors Program, I was able to learn about thinking critically regarding real world issues. This is a very important skill applicable to many areas in life and designing my own research allowed me to develop this to a new level.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: My plan after my gap year is to apply for medical school, working towards a career in surgery.

Caleb Foerg

Hometown: Novi, MI

Major/Minor: Sociology: Law, Justice, and Social Change; Arts and Ideas in the Humanities

Thesis topic: Outsider Art and Community Change

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Conducting interviews, forming relationships across boundaries.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Hell if I know!

Zhuang Han

Hometown: Datong, Shanxi (China)

Major/Minor: Sociology, Computer Science

Thesis topic: Chinese International Students Studying in America: A Pike to Chinese Youth Under the One-Child Policy, the Chinese Economic Reform, and the Information Technology

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: The skills to design, and conduct qualitative sociological research and to write a analytical report on the data collected.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Phd. Cornell University, Development Sociology Department

Daniel López

Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Major/Minor: Major: Sociology Minors: Latina/o Studies and Community Action and Social Change

Thesis topic: From High School to the Workforce: The Experiences of Non-Collegiate Bound DACA Recipients

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: I learned to be flexible and to not too much pressure on myself. The original plan I had for my thesis did not work out, so I had to restart from the beginning. I had to take a step back and reevaluate my plan. Also, I learned to be okay with the end product.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I will be a New York Life Public Policy Fellow for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute starting in August. During the summer I plan to travel, study for the GRE, and make art!

Brian Xiao

Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Major/Minor: Sociology major, Economics minor

Thesis topic: Material Hardship and Depression: Results from the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: I had a lot of unstructured time this semester, so I became much better at balancing my obligations to school and this thesis with obligations to friends, family, my cat, whole afternoons binging TV...

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Right after? A lot of sleep, some tearful goodbyes, travel and leisure. Next fall, though, I will be pursuing a PhD in Sociology at Harvard University.

Melissa Berlin

Hometown: Farmington Hills, Michigan

Major/Minor: Sociology, psychology (majors)

Thesis topic: Would You Rather: Be at Home or in a Home? An Exploration and Comparison of Older Adult Social Connectedness

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Project management. The difference in how I held myself accountable for making progress between the first and last second semester is huge!

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Three options, currently deciding between:
1. A summer internship doing aging research with the MIT AgeLab
2. JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) Fellowship, serving at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland for the next year
3. Research assistant with the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University

Alora Fleenary

Hometown: Dearborn, Michigan

Major/Minor: Sociology/ Law, Justice, Social Change

Thesis topic: Is This The Best We Can Do? A Critical Look at Michigan's Inadequate Sex Education Policies

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Long term project management and goal setting. This project forced me to get comfortable with setting deadlines for myself and holding myself accountable for making progress towards completion.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: After graduation I will be attending the University of Michigan Law School to obtain my JD. I plan broadly on pursuing a career in public interest.

Kalei Glozier

Hometown: Fenton, Michigan

Major/Minor: Psychology, Sociology, and Women's Studies

Thesis topic: The Influence of Outness: Social and Sexual Experiences of Gay Men at the University of Michigan

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Data collection and being able to be satisfied with "finished work" even though there can always be more.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: Clinical Psychology PhD

Mya Haynes

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Major/Minor: Sociology

Thesis topic: Analyzing the Importance of Black Student–Black Professor Interactions

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: Time management, definitely! As a full-time student, I learned how to be strategic about planning my days so that I could not only work on my thesis, but also complete other academic assignments, work-related tasks, and prepare for graduate school as well.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: I am extremely excited to begin my new journey as a Rackham Merit Fellow at the University of Michigan's School of Education, where I will be pursuing a Master's degree in Higher Education and interning with the Michigan Community Scholars Program (MCSP).

Katherine Eleanor Martin

Hometown: Flint, Michigan

Major/Minor: Sociology 

Thesis topic: Disassembling Racial Divides: The Influences of Racial Integration on Michigan Auto Workers

What is a skill that you gained through your experiences in the Sociology Honors Program?: I am very interested in qualitative data collection i.e. interviews, ethnographies. An important skill I learned from the program is how to recruit participants to participate in interviews and focus groups. It was a lot of hard work, with trial and error, but when I go to recruit for studies I plan on doing in my career, I will be very prepared. I also learned how to effectively use a mixed method approach to answering a research question.

What are your current plans for after graduation?: This summer I plan to continue to work as a Peer Facilitator for the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). In addition to this, I plan to work for the Title IX Lab in the Sociology Department this summer and then throughout the upcoming 2019-20 academic year, mentoring UROP students on the Title IX project and assisting with data cleaning and analysis. I am taking a gap year and I plan to apply to Sociology PhD programs in December 2019 for Fall 2020. I am very excited to be working in research full-time throughout my gap year and very excited to see where I will end up in Fall 2020!