Class: 2008
Current Position: Assistant Beacon Director at the Cross Island YMCA, New York, NY

As an incoming freshman I intended to study business administration. I had to take a social science class for my general education requirement. I decided to take Sociology 101 to fulfill the requirement. Even though that class was in Knox 20, a huge lecture hall, the professor made the class engaging and fun to learn about sociology. From then on, I decided to declare my major in Sociology. As I moved along my college career, I took classes that interested me such as Sociology of Family, Urban Sociology and Medical Sociology, to name a few.

I used my sociology degree when I was in graduate school studying Higher and Post-Secondary Education at Arizona State University (ASU). During my practicum at ASU, I was working with incoming freshmen who were part of the Summer Bridge program. Most of the students in the Summer Bridge program were first generation college students. The program helped them get acclimated to college level courses work load and help them access resources on campus to help them succeed in their college career. Every day at work I use my sociology degree. I currently oversee an after-school site with a grade range from kindergarten to eighth grade and some high school programming. Many of my students and the families I work with come from different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. On a daily basis I observe how students interact with each other in small or large groups or individually and with my staff. I constantly look for students who might be potential leaders among their peers and try to use their leadership in a positive way.

Sociology is a very versatile degree. The UB Department of Sociology offers a variety of interesting topics within Sociology. I enjoyed every single sociology class I took because it was an area I was interested in.