Stories

We caught up with Perla Luna ‘19 at SCU's LEAD First-Generation Conference in November. Perla brought students from her high school to learn more about being first-gen and succeeding in college.

Name: Perla Luna

Year Graduated from SCU: 2019

Major(s): English and Sociology

Current Occupation: High school teacher

What have been the ways that sociology (and your experiences at SCU) has helped you in your work and life?

At first glance, it doesn't seem like learning about the criminal justice system has a lot to do with a career in education but I realized that many of the concepts we talked about applied to the way students view themselves and how teachers view students—how sometimes we can fall into a trap of dismissing, stigmatizing, or even outright criminalizing students. It also helped me understand how systems outside of the educational system serve as obstacles to many students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a first-gen student myself, I had some perspective on that already but it was really validating to hear that the experiences I'd had weren't just unique to me and that the inequalities I noticed in the world around me were not just in my head. Sometimes learning about all of this is disheartening (and I often joked that I always left class feeling depressed) but having a holistic understanding makes me a better teacher.

What advice do you have for current sociology majors who might be interested in your career focus? (What experiences would be good for them to be involved in while still an undergrad?)

There's a panic that can set in about how we're supposed to use what we've learned if we're not going into research but there are so many internship opportunities and other experiences offered by SCU that help you figure out what you like and what you don't like. There are so many practical skills we learn as sociology majors so don't be afraid to ask a professor for some help in figuring out what your next steps should be. They often have suggestions about who you can reach out or have heard of internships you can do. I was lucky enough to get different opportunities recommended to me that way from professors, experiences which shaped me into a stronger leader—whether it was researching with Dr. Nichols, immersion trips, working with the Markkula Center, or the SCU newspaper.