Jennifer Soto, Senior and President of the Sociology Student Association

Jennifer is a Sociology major and minoring in Law, Values and Policy. When she began her undergraduate studies, she was unsure of what to major in and spoke with Career Services to discuss what her interests are and what career goals she has. She is keen on learning more about social change and how members in society interact as a whole. She looked at coursework for Sociology and knew she was in the right major as she found herself relating to the material. She will use her knowledge from what she learned in class and SSA, to promote social change and in other aspects of her life. She will graduate Fall 2022 with plans of attending Graduate School in Social Work to empower people and communities. In her spare time she enjoys being out in nature, going out for runs and being with her two dogs.

Marco Galvan

Marco is a Sociology major who is minoring in Quantitative Social Science. After taking Introduction to Sociology, he was intrigued by sociological concepts and theories. He was especially fascinated by how Sociology equips him with the tools to understand society and others around him. His two favorite courses were taught by Dr. Sheila Katz. “Sociological Theory challenged me academically and required me to think critically in ways that I had not done before. I also learned how to apply sociological concepts to everyday life and problems,” Marco says. He enjoyed Careers in Sociology because, in his words, “it helped build my confidence while providing me professional preparation for the future.” Under Dr. Katz’s mentorship, Marco was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. His SURF project uses qualitative methods to assess food insecurity among students at the University of Houston. Marco plans on attending graduate school after he completes his Bachelor’s degree. He hopes to one day become a Sociology professor.

Duy Duong 

Duy Duong graduated in Spring 2018 with a BS in Sociology. He took his first sociology class in high school and says he instantly fell in love with how Sociology peels back a layer of society and reveals another world in which we take for granted. Concepts such as the sociological imagination, intersectionality, and dramaturgy drew him in. However, Duy maintains that the best thing about Sociology is how versatile it is. In his words, Sociology majors can venture into research, education, social work, business, public health, and possibly more. I never feel confined to a single career path. I am constantly learning from other disciplines that Sociology overlaps with such as history, psychology, and anthropology. He enjoyed the Department of Sociology at UH because everyone is passionate about what they do, whether its research, advising, or teaching. No staff or faculty member feels out of reach to any student who needs them. He also appreciated Sociology Advisor, Landis Odoms, for keeping him on schedule with his degree plan, as well as Dr. Grigorian whose courses and mentorship grew his love of Sociology. Of all of Duy's courses, he says the most helpful career courses were Dr. Katz's Careers in Sociology and Dr. Karner's Sociology Internship. I built a strong resume and attained a variety of transferable skills thanks to their classes. I highly recommend these classes to any student who is certain or uncertain of their future careers. For his internship, Duy engaged in Brighter Bites¹ Plate Waste research. He helped perform an experiment, record the data, and enter the results into a database. During his internship Duy consulted with Dr. Savage, learning more about data manipulation and its applications in Stata. Duy is currently a Civic Engagement Coordinator at a nonprofit, BPSOS-Houston. The organization offers free services to underserved communities. According to Duy, Sociology provided him with a wide skillset that includes critical thinking, creative problem solving, disciplinary writing, and social awareness. Social awareness, for example, helps him interact with and better understand individuals from various backgrounds. In addition, he is very comfortable interpreting and managing data on a regular basis as a result of his Sociology Internship, Social Statistics, and Research Methods courses.