Sociology Major Jobs and Graduate School Acceptances 2019
sociology
Ginnah Etah
Major: sociology
Certificate: security studies
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Employer: Success Academy
Job title: community relations coordinator
Job Responsibilities
As part of the school operations team, I will be working to foster a strong community among the school administration, parents and students. This will entail responsibilities that include managing daily communications and planning events inside and outside of the school.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Through my classes and involvement on campus, I have learned essential skills for success in navigating the workplace and moving throughout the world.
What are you most anticipating about your career or postgraduate pursuits?
I am very excited to apply everything that I’ve learned in a more tangible way, because I feel as though my experiences and skills will be weighted differently in my career. Additionally, although I plan to take the GRE in the summer, I want to attend graduate school after working for a few years, and I’m looking forward to furthering my education by expanding on both my current knowledge and my forthcoming career experience.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
The most defining moments of my Dickinson experience have been opportunities for me to reflect on who I am and what that means for my aspirations, and experiences where I have questioned myself and my beliefs. These include the Women of Color Summit, the sustainability courses that I have taken and many Clarke Forums—but a prominent one was the Clarke Forum on Radical Self Love during Love Your Body Week 2016.
Internship Experience
I was a legal intern at Sanctuary for Families in New York.
Mollie Montague
Major: sociology, Spanish
Hometown: Gloucester, Virginia
Employer: Edu-Futuro, through AmeriCorps
Job title: AmeriCorps parent support/workforce development facilitator
Job Responsibilities
Under the supervision of Edu-Futuro’s Youth Programs coordinator and in collaboration with the AmeriCorps cohort, I'll help execute Emerging Leaders Program events with particular attention to parent engagement. I'll use Spanish on a daily basis and act as mentor for ELP students while supporting parent empowerment workshops and providing employment readiness services as follows:
- Communicate with parents to understand their employment interests and goals and their own assessment of their job readiness and occupational skills.
- Identify employment opportunities related to the interests and capabilities of program participants.
- Assist the WDS in the delivery of workforce development workshops based on the needs of program participants.
- Assist parent support specialist in planning and preparing for elementary and middle school parenting classes, family strengthening and family reunification classes.
- Provide individual client support as needed to parents; e.g., English tutoring, résumé revision and computer skills training.
- Assist in the search for internships for ELP II students.
- Serve with the WDS in the implementation of evaluation instruments to assess programmatic outcomes and collect data from individuals served.
- Serve one-on-one with ELP II high school seniors (ELP I graduates) to coach them through the college and scholarship application process on a weekly basis, during the whole academic year.
- Maintain and report accurate participant data (attendance, progress, completion) and keep track of program’s expenses for meals and supplies.
- Support the efforts of other ELP facilitators and the overall functioning of ELP programs.
- Organize with the ELP team youth events, such as community service, field trips, college visits and graduation ceremonies.
- Help with the collection of stories, examples and scenarios that illustrate the success of our service.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has taught me the value of learning to learn and personal connections. Without a passion for continued learning and hard work nor my desire to meet new people, I would not have access to the opportunities ahead of me now.
What are you most anticipating about your career or postgraduate pursuits?
Spending a year discovering a field I've always wanted to be a part of and getting to use both my majors at once.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
My host parents in Ecuador surprising me with a cake, sunbathing on Morgan Field and my thesis advisor encouraging my work despite setbacks.
Internship Experience
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. Specific duties are confidential but I composed reports, monitored Twitter, drafted policy guides and organized meetings.
Pelumi Onabanjo
Major: sociology
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Employer: Marsh & McClenan Company
Job title: advisory representative
Job Responsibilities
- Perform more complex clerical functions to assist advisory colleagues.
- Attend internal strategy meetings to gain a deeper understanding of the work the company does and better assist advisory colleagues.
- Assist in the creation of presentations and program submissions, including coverage specifications, in collaboration with advisory colleagues.
- Assist in preparing proposal components, including the analysis of pricing, coverage terms and conditions, services, quote comparisons, financing, commentary and recommendations.
- Monitor the renewal and binder control system to ensure things are progressing according to schedule.
- Request follow-up for changes from underwriters to ensure coverage is correct.
- Maintain ongoing relationship with clients and team colleagues to effectively service clients and market contact and assist the advisory colleagues.
- Understand and comply with compliance and transparency standards.
Jackie Joyce
Majors: sociology, Spanish
Hometown: Cape May, New Jersey
Employer: College Advising Corps and Franklin & Marshall College
Job title: Pennsylvania College Advising Corps college adviser
Job Responsibilities
I will work in two Philadelphia high schools, Little Flower High School and West Catholic Preparatory High School, to serve as a full-time college adviser for two years, aiming to increase the number of low-income, first-generation college and underrepresented students entering and completing higher education.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has molded me into a more inquisitive scholar, a more empathetic individual and a globally minded citizen. From generating first-year research to studying in new hemispheres, my time at Dickinson has prompted me to expand the confines of my comfort zone. As a result of my Dickinson education, I have learned to think critically about the world around me and the complexities within it. Most importantly, I have learned about the value of relationship building and the lifelong value of being a Dickinsonian. I attended three high schools in four years, and Dickinson provided me with unparalleled stability and mentorship that instilled in me the agency to build a rapport with executive staff at the college. My transformative liberal-arts education has equipped me with more than just a versatile 21st-century skill set but has also given me the gift of long-lasting relationships and a deep-rooted affinity with the college.
What are you most anticipating about your career or postgraduate pursuits?
Dickinson has given me a platform to develop my passion for working in higher education, particularly in access and retention initiatives. My work as a college adviser with the Pennsylvania College Advising Corps (PCAC) serves as an ideal opportunity to begin my career in higher education and extend upon the access and retention-centered work I have done at Dickinson. My long-term career goals after graduation are centered on seeking interactive opportunities to improve educational access and equity for underrepresented groups in the United States. Serving as an adviser for the PCAC gives me a vehicle to make strides toward addressing this equity question on a hands-on level.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
- Developing first-year research through my FY seminar, "Class in the Classroom," studying how socioeconomic class manifests in the town-gown relationship between Carlisle and Dickinson.
- Contributing to the varsity women's basketball team's first playoff bid in six seasons during my first year.
- Spending three days in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador with the Dickinson in South America program.
- Gaining the confidence to solo travel for a week while abroad in Argentina.
- Road-tripping to Cincinnati with Dean Joyce Bylander, Professor Susan Rose and Sara Nash '19 to present our research on intercultural encounters and inclusivity policy.
Karin Carthins
Major: sociology
Certificate: food studies
Hometown: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Graduate School: Loyola Marymount University
Field of study: special education
Employer: Teach for America
Job title: special education teacher
Job Responsibilities
I have accepted a position with Teach For America, a nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence." My decision to submit an application to the nonprofit came from my desire to use my lived experiences as a low-income person of color to mentor underprivileged black youth. It is my hope to work in opposition to the low expectations of poor students that reproduce inequality in education. Post-Dickinson, I will join their organization as a 2019 corps member in the California Bay Area community. Once relocated, I will address the individual behavioral, mental and emotional needs of low-income students in San Jose as a special education teacher.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
Dickinson has equipped me with the tools of critical thinking to help me tackle the most critical issues of our globalized world.
What are you most anticipating about your career or postgraduate pursuits?
I am most anticipating relocating from Pennsylvania to California. I've never been!
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
A defining moment in my Dickinson career has been coordinating the college’s Farm, Cook, Eat program, which provides nutrition education to low-income black children. Having shared the experience of navigating food insecurity, I could better advocate for my students’ educational needs and more culturally appropriate, low-budget and manageable recipes. Coordinating Farm, Cook, Eat has taught me that effective schooling cannot function without considering the economic, social and cultural backgrounds of the students. Also, educators should have the ability to look beyond the curriculum and into the socioeconomic context that their students are situated in. Ultimately, I know that the connection between me and my students has established their confidence in me as an educator and in turn a confidence in themselves.
Internship Experience
I interned at The Dickinson College Special Collections Archives through the LGBTQ Center of Central Pennsylvania, the Carlisle Family YMCA and the American School of Yaoundé Cameroon.
Janna Safran
Major: sociology
Hometown: Stanford, California
Employer: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
I have become more open-minded, flexible, adaptable and patient.
Internship Experience
Research assistant at Health Systems Trust in Cape Town, South Africa. Helped to develop and implement a dual-national tuberculosis intervention program.
Meaghan McBride
Major: sociology
Hometown: Hope Valley, Rhode Island
Employer: Enterprise Knowledge
Job title: analyst
Job Responsibilities
As an analyst, I will support current projects, using knowledge management skills to provide comprehensive solutions for clients.
How has Dickinson prepared you for life after graduation?
The Department of Sociology has changed the way that I looked at the world, and the faculty have supported me personally throughout these past four years. I am eternally grateful for all of their help and support as it has allowed me to thrive as a student and find something that I am passionate about. Furthermore, the Writing Center has allowed me to find something else that I am passionate about, and I have loved the work I do there and the connections I have made. My connections there also helped me find my postgrad job.
What are you most anticipating about your career or postgraduate pursuits?
Living on my own, moving somewhere new and having a fresh start.
What are some of the defining moments of your Dickinson experience?
Working in the Writing Center has been my favorite thing I have done during my time at Dickinson. It has provided me with an incredible community, opportunities to collaborate with professors and students across disciplines and refine my collaboration and facilitation skills. I have also loved being a service trip leader, where leading service trips has allowed me to connect with new members of the Dickinson community, outside communities and faculty and staff I never would have otherwise met. It has allowed me to expand my leadership skills, as well as deepen my love for community service.
Internship Experience
I was an intern at Safe Futures, a nonprofit organization in New London, Conn., that works with survivors of domestic violence. I was an advocacy intern at their emergency shelter, where they house survivors in emergency situations. I worked with survivors to help them navigate daily life, job searches, applications for state benefits and cope with trauma.
Sarah Campbell
Major: sociology
Hometown: Lambertville, New Jersey
Graduate School: Boston College
Field of study: sociology
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Published March 28, 2019