Stories

Sociology Students Awarded Internship Grants to Work with Faculty and in the Community

Thanks to generous funding from alumni, a number of Sociology students are participating in exciting internships this summer! Sociology students are receiving awards through the College’s REAL Program to pursue research and internships with Sociology faculty advisors Professor Laura Nichols, Associate Professor Patrick Lopez-Aguado, Assistant Professor Molly King, and Department Chair Laura Robinson. According to Robinson: “REAL is providing a valuable experience for our Sociology majors to engage in mentored projects with faculty advisors providing students with valuable school-to-work training in their chosen areas of inquiry. We are grateful to partner with REAL for their work on this important program serving Sociology majors and the larger SCU community.”

As the REAL Program details: “Experiential Learning is key to an education through the College of Arts and Sciences. As an institution that recognizes the importance of learning beyond the classroom, we aim to provide paid research, internship, project, or creative work opportunities for all undergraduate students within the College. Through the REAL Program, students can discover their interests, gain a rich understanding of a particular field, discern their career goals, explore future employment fields, and grow their professional networks. Experiences funded through REAL last up to ten weeks during the summer; alternatively, our REAL@Work program supports multidisciplinary team-based projects during the academic quarters.” For more information, please see the Real Program.

REAL Sociology Scholar: Bryce Nishikawa

“TurnUp Youth Activism Summer Internship”

Sociology Faculty Advisor: Laura Nichols

Bryce Nishikawa is interning with “TurnUp Youth Activism Summer Internship”; Bryce says, “I am very thankful to the REAL program for helping me this summer as I explore what I can do as a Sociology major. I look forward to my internship with TurnUp Activism, where I will learn and work with the non-profit organization to research, raise awareness, and advocate for voting on the many contentious issues in our community today. I am most passionate about directly addressing the root of social inequality and hope that non-profit work can be a great career pathway where I can do this. Over the course of my internship, I hope to network with professionals that have similar career aspirations and learn more about what it means to be a grassroots activist. I look forward to this incredible opportunity and cannot wait to share my experience.”

REAL Sociology Scholar: Jocelyn Anaya Galvan

“Ready to Roll: Preparing for Climate Disaster”

Sociology Faculty Advisor: Molly M. King

Jocelyn Anaya Galvan will be working with Professor Molly M. King on an intervention to investigate how people with disabilities prepare for climate-related disasters. Together with a community partner United Spinal, we will study the impact of providing disaster kits and education outreach. Jocelyn says, "I am grateful that REAL has given me the opportunity to delve into research this summer! I feel like the work I will be doing with Dr. King is important and has the potential to be very helpful for members of our community that are disabled. I cannot wait to see what we are able to do and discover by the end of it!”

REAL Sociology Scholar: Grace Leete

“Bridging Global Scholars”

Sociology Faculty Advisors: Laura Robinson

Leete will work with scholars across Latin America on several scholarly projects resulting in international publications bringing together voices from across the Americas. As Grace explains: “Participating in this project allows me to use my study of Spanish and my experience in Latin America learning more about the social sciences in other parts of our hemisphere. Participating in the REAL Program is crucial to preparing for my vocational goals because it is my future career and life goal to make a positive impact on those who suffer from the systematic inequalities that are present globally. I believe that the next step in my mission to alleviate the problems faced by underrepresented communities is to attend graduate school. This decision comes after long reflection and research into the ways that I can help the most people and utilize the skills that I have spent extensive time improving. With the overall intention to make the world a better place for women and children of color through education and compassion, a career in law has been my aspiration while following the advice from academic advisors, past employers, and mentors. Therefore, participating in this amazing program will help me to achieve my goals. By participating in this program, I will be able to gain experience and begin navigating future paths that fit within my goals and intentions. The main objective I hope to gain from the internship is exposure to the field that I am interested and passionate about as well as giving back to others. One of my core values is service, whether that be tutoring a peer, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or watching a child for an exhausted single parent who needs a break, service is a part of who I am. This internship grants me the opportunity to serve my community in a different way, which has the potential to provide a more positive impact for those whom I aim to help.”

REAL Sociology Scholar: Judith Li

“Vocation and Social Entrepreneurship: The Long-Term Impacts of Action Research with the Miller Center”

Sociology Faculty Advisor: Laura Robinson

Thanks to a valuable partnership with the Miller Center, Judith Li will be analyzing the long-term benefits of engaging in intensive action research thanks to the Miller Center Lewis Family Fellowship. The Miller Center: “accelerates leadership by providing students with opportunities to learn and work with social entrepreneurs on the front lines of poverty eradication and sustainable development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The fellowship is a fully-funded summer field experience along with two-quarters of classwork and academic research for Santa Clara University junior-level students.” To assess the many ways Fellows benefit from this transformative experience, Judith Li will gather an original data set of interviews from alumni engaged in Action Research with the Miller Center. After coding and analyzing the data, Judith will probe the effects of participation on postgraduate career trajectories and postgraduate work lives. The interview materials will be valuable to build a body of outreach digital deliverables based on the increasingly popular concept of digital storytelling. These materials will provide excellent additions to public-facing outreach opportunities where current members of the Santa Clara University community can read about the experiences of the Miller Center Fellowship alumni and hear from selected alumni in their own words to learn more about the deep value of the Lewis Family Fellowship’s action research with global social entrepreneurs.