WHERE ARE THEY NOW? PAST AKD MEMBERS

LAURA ALCANTRA Graduated: 2010 with a B.A. in Sociology – Social Welfare Further Education: Graduated in 2012 with a MSW from USC Currently Employed At: Full Service Partnership Therapist Areas of Interest: Mental health, family and children, child residential placement Most Useful Skills: Therapy and advocacy Advice Sociology/Social Work provides us with so many opportunities and journeys. Explore everything that Sociology/Social Work offers; you will find your niche for sure.

JENIFER CASTANEDA Graduated: 2013 with a B.A. in Sociology Further Education: Enrolled at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs for an MSW Area of Interest: Social welfare, serving marginalized populations within L.A. County Current Projects: Assisting a fellow professor with their qualitative research in juvenile and adult reentry Recent Conferences Attended: 11 th Annual Statewide Conference for Integrating Substance Use, Mental Health, and Primary Care Services in our Communities Internship: Office of the Medical Director as a Macro Social Work intern at the Los Angeles County of Mental Health, a clinical intern at El Nido Family Services providing individual therapy to children and families and served as a Domestic Abuse Response Team Advocate in the San Fernando Valley Awards: Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health stipend for Most Useful Skills: My sociology degree has been particularly useful as a foundation for my macro social work education. It has given me an understanding of how policies inform direct practice at the micro level. Advice No matter what your ultimate educational or career goal, always make sure you are happy doing it. Don’t compare yourself to others because each individual brings in unique perspectives that can be appreciated.

NICK CHADWICK Graduated: 2014 with a M.A. in Sociology Areas of Interest: Social welfare, inequality, statistics, demographics Currently Employed At: Passenger Inc., a market research firm, as a Community Manager. The job involves managing online communities and extracting qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. Current Projects: I did an evaluation on the effectiveness of the Summer Youth Employment Program for the City of Los Angeles. Recent Conferences Attended: The Pacific Sociological Association 2014 Conference Recent Publications: Evaluations as a Research Associate at CSUN Most Useful Skills: I use skills from all of my research methods courses. I have had to use my interview skills as well as participant observation and moderation of focus groups. I do data collection and SPSS statistical analysis daily. Advice Research your program before you enroll to make sure it highlights your interests. Also, there are some great professors and staff who work in this program! Get to know them.

CELENE FULLER Graduated: Spring 2014 with a M.A. in Sociology Further Education: Applying to PhD. programs in Fall 2016 Currently Employed At: Lecturer professor at CSUN, College of the Canyons and Pierce College Areas of Interest: Gender and sexuality, social psychology, sociology of education Current Projects: Research into bisexuality and the perceptions of bisexuality from the gay and straight communities as well as the experience of bisexual individuals navigating through a society that views sexuality a gay/straight binary. Recent Conferences Attended: California Sociological Association 2014 Conference, Pacific Sociological Association 2015 Conference, and the American Sociological Association 2014 Conference Recent Presentations: “LGBT and the Silent ‘B’” at Idaho State University’s Gender, Sexuality 2014 Conference, “LGBT and the Silent ‘B”: Attitudes and Perceptions of Bisexuality as a Sexual Identity” at CSULA’s Gender, Sexuality and Power 2014 Conference and California Sociological Association 2014 Conference and Sexuality 2014 Conference and “LGBT and the Silent ‘B’: Navigating Bisexuality in a Dichotomous World” at the Pacific Sociological Association 2015 Conference Advice Don’t be afraid to use secondary sources as reference material for understanding but use primary sources for assignments and exams. Have study groups. Ask questions. Participate and utilize office hours.

NELLY GARAYAN Graduated: 2013 Cum Laude with a B.A. in Sociology and minor in Psychology Further Education: Enrolled at Mount Saint Mary’s University Currently Employed At: Mount Saint Mary’s as a teaching assistant Areas of Interest: Family, culture and deviance Current Projects: Developing a research topic on cross-cultural aspects between primary and college students Awards: Cum Laude at CSUN, Mount Saint Mary’s Dean’s List and Merit Scholarship Advice Enjoy your classes, volunteer and enroll in diverse classes to explain your minds because sociology is awesome and you learn something amazing every day. Sociology is a field for those who want to help others and understand how society works and ways we can improve it.

ERIC MENDEZ Graduated: 2011 with a B.A. in Sociology Further Education: Law at Southwestern Law School Currently Employed At: The U.S. Army Areas of Interest: Political sociology Awards: Administrative appreciation award at work Advice Learn concrete skills that employers can use.

SHANAE RUSSELL Graduated: 2014 with a M.A. in Sociology Currently Employed At: A market research company Areas of Interest: Education, gender, race Most Useful Skills: SPSS, research and analytical skills Advice Take the pre-requisite theory classes if recommended for your Master’s degree and be proactive.

ERICA SHANLEY (CHAVEZ) Graduated: 2010 with a B.A in Sociology Further Education: M.A. in Psychology with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy in 2012 from Brandman University of the Chapman University system Recent Conferences Attended: Santa Clarity Valley Mental Health Symposium Most Useful Skills: Statistics, data collection, analytic and critical thinking skills. Also data and analysis reporting as well.

LORI KAMBOURIAN Graduated: 2012 with a B.A. in Sociology – Option 1 Further Education: William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN Areas of Interest: Family, domestic violence, SES Internships: Participated in JusticCorps in Summer of 2013 and assisted a wide range of pro se litigants with court forms Advice The best advice I can give someone in regards to sociology is to realize that what you are learning in class is also happening outside of class. If you just sit at a table you will see your classroom lectures come alive. Nothing is difficult about sociology; you just have to be open to the idea.