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Internships and Research

Internships and Research

Because sociology students learn how to situate peoples’ lives and important events by understanding how political, economic, and cultural forces constitute social life, majors find a wide variety of internships and produce a diverse range research projects.

Recent Internships

  • Eli Flewell, ’26 (Littleton, CO): Family Area Case Management Assistant, The Gathering Place: Worked with clients dealing with housing insecurity and houselessness.
  • James Hernandez, ’25 (Louisville, KY): Bonner Community Fellow, The University of Minnesota-Law Binger Center for New Americans. Conducted legal research on immigration systems and gained interpretation certifications.
  • Laszlo Jentes, ’25 (Chicago, IL): New Tactics Digital Content Production Intern, Center for Victims of Torture. Worked with human rights advocates, both in the United States and in overseas positions, to share important stories about human rights causes around the world.
  • Linnea Joanen, ’27 (Covington, LA): Summer Intern, BWJP: Created a database of over 1,500 domestic violence advocacy groups and shelters nationwide and researched how firearm violence relates to protection orders. Learned about the many structural barriers that exist between survivors and the justice.
  • Rian Randle, ’26 (Medina, MN): Congressional Intern for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. Duties included assisting people through the immigration process and helping with various other constituent issues.
  • Mia Tanner, ’25 (Arlington, VA), Program Support Assistant Intern, Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Department of the Interior: Discovered how the social needs and dynamics of America are handled in the workplace, especially within government. Learned about the political implications of how equal employment opportunity priorities and supported their extension through more local community connections for BOEM’s offices and contributed to digital/remote resources for its employees.

Honors Research Projects

All seniors are eligible to apply for the Sociology Honors Program. In the spring, students accepted into the program work closely with an advisor to further develop the capstone projects completed in the fall’s Senior Seminar course.

2024

  • Daisy Alcantar (’24): Embracing Existence: Exploring Mexican-American Identity, Agency, and Resistance
  • Francesca Casal Bernardino (’24): Eating the Other: Invisibilities and Inequities within Culinary Cosmopolitanism
  • Haoxuan Gao (’24): Triple Consciousness: How Chinese International Students Navigate Identity Admidst U.S.-China Tension and COVID-19 Xenophobia
  • Maia Nicole Pedrosa (’24): Predatory Inclusion in Higher Education: Labor and Financial Exploitation at a Predominately White Institution in the Era of Neoliberal Multiculturalism
  • Neisy Rodriguez (’24): Unveiling the Shadows: The Impact of Illegality on Parenting Strategies and Youth Knowledge in Mixed Status Families

2023

  • Sophia Rose Kaufmann (‘23): Un-Scene: How Responses to Sexual Violence Reproduce Legal Hegemony in the Bay Area’s Punk and DIY Community
  • Stella Drew Kirszner (‘23): Hiding and Hoarding: How the New York City Public School Application Process Reinforces Privilege and Inequality
  • Jaylynn Marie Rodriguez (‘23): Making the Revolution: The Young Lords and the Creation of a Transnational Puerto Rican Identity

2022

  • Lichtenberg, Greer (‘22): Looking Up and Playing Down: The Paradoxes of Performing Wealth at a Liberal Arts College
  • Inge Pham-Swann (‘22): Beyond Vegan: Producer and Restaurant Involvement in the Mainstreaming of Plant-Based Meat
  • Bergen Schmidt (‘22): Protected Places: Comparing Valuations of Public Lands in U.S. Conservation Legislation
  • Aidan Williams (‘22): Plague! Public Health, Community Memory, and HIV/AIDS
  • Aaron (Xunwen) Zou (‘22): Racialization of Foreigners and Self in the Chinese Immigration Project

2021

  • Wanda Barradas (‘21): We Got Us: Creating Radical Communities through Illegality
  • Gabi Estrada (‘21): Fluidity as Resistance: Latinx Artists Navigating Whiteness and Identity Construction in the Twin Cities