Meet Our Students

Based on faculty and instructor nominations to the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the department chooses one undergraduate major  to feature in our monthly Sociology & Criminology Rising Star. This program recognizes the extraordinary achievements, accomplishments, and activities of our undergraduate students.

Current Rising Star:

  • Simone B.

    April 2025: Simone Brock

    Please congratulate Simone Brock, our newest Sociology & Criminology Rising Star! Simone was nominated based on their accomplishments as one of the leaders of the Buffalo Community Laboratory departmental club, and also because of stellar academic performance in their Sociology courses.

    When asked about their Sociology and Criminology classes, Simone stated: “Sociology and Criminology classes at UB have provided great insight into real world topics that many people acknowledge but don’t fully understand. I’ve most enjoyed connecting with faculty and learning about the many intersections that exist between specific courses.”

    Congratulations Simone, and thanks for all your great work!

Previous Rising Stars

  • March 2022: Nicole Guzman
    7/3/24
    Nicole is a Criminology and Psychology major who has always had an interest in why people commit crimes.  A criminal justice elective in high school cemented her interest in Criminology.  Nicole is very aware of racial injustice in the criminal justice system, and hopes to contribute to eradicating this injustice. 
  • December 2021: O. Fiona Pratt-MacDonald
    7/3/24
    Fiona chose Sociology as a major after taking SOC 101 in her first year. She explains, “Sociology just clicked with me.” Fiona describes how her personal background influences her engagement with the discipline: “As a person who has moved around a lot, I personally feel that Sociology has allowed me to understand my past experiences better, as I have lived among various cultures and communities. Because of that, I developed a better sense of who I am now, who I want to be, and what I want to do.”
  • November 2021: Ku K'Baw
    7/3/24
    Ku chose sociology as a major because it is “the best way to give back to different communities and help the people in them.” Ku is a refugee from Thailand and says she wants “to be able to help people of different ethnic backgrounds and give them the same opportunities of education and a better life."
  • October 2021: Hannah Baker
    7/3/24
    Hannah is majoring in sociology, global gender studies, and social sciences interdisciplinary health and human services. She chose sociology as a major because it allows her to better understand human behavior. She was drawn to sociology because it “gives the space to question many unknowns, form an understanding of difference, and participate in liberatory praxis.”
  • April 2021: Harry Grupper
    7/3/24
    Harry chose sociology as his major because he sees it a way of creating real social change. Harry explains, “Sociology is amazing for answering big "why" questions which tend to feel like the most daunting questions when viewed through the lens of another discipline.”
  • March 2021: Arufa Hossain
    7/3/24
    Arufa explains that, as a child, her father owned a small deli and she was exposed to crime and violence in the neighborhood. These experiences made her “passionate about patterns, interactions, and a sense of ‘flow’ in society” and led to her decision to study criminology.
  • February 2021: Vy Nguyen
    7/3/24
    Vy says she chose sociology as a major because “I felt that I finally found something I was genuinely interested in and it helped me gain a better understanding of the world around me. Sociology played a great role in broadening my perspective on life.” During her time at UB, Vy studied abroad in London, completed an internship, and worked as a TA for a human growth and development course for two semesters.