
Meet Our Sociology Graduate Students
2022-2023 Cohort
Avery Cardosi
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
Chapman University
What are your interests?
My primary interests are medical sociology and the sociology of media.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I'm currently assisting Dr. Beck as her G.A.
What would you like to do with your degree?
As of now, I'm hoping to attain a Ph.D. and enter either the academic field or research
sector.
Staci Burns
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?Criminology/theory, policy, addiction, communication
Thomas Farney
Email: [email protected]
Social movements, intersectionality
Danielle Gannon
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
B.A. in Communications from Le Moyne College
What are your interests?
Cultural studies, cultural ideology, identity and labor, well-being
Which classes or professors are you helping?
Currently a GA/ISA for Dr. Gibbons
What would you like to do with your degree?
Future - possibly enter Ph.D. program/academia but undecided
Sara Liaquat
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
Habib University, Karachi, Pakistan
What are your interests?
Gender and Sexuality, Medical Sociology, Public Health, Transgender & Intersex individual’s
healthcare
Which classes or professors are you helping?
ISA for Dr. Matthew Rowe, Daniel Davis and Rachael Horn Langford
What would you like to do with your degree?
I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology
Ryan Luong
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?
Juvenile delinquency
Ulises Magallon Estrada
Email: [email protected]
Political sociology, criminology, cartel, liberalism
Nicolé Mendoza
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
SDSU, a triple Bachelors in Sociology, Criminal Justice and History with an emphasis
in Public History and minors in social work and psychology.
What are your interests?
I am primarily interested in criminology and juvenile justice such as the school
to prison pipeline, and recidivism rates. As well as urban sociology dealing with
issues of food deserts and red lining.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I was a TA for Professor Horn- Langford and I’ve worked with Dr. Brown and Dr. Beck.
What would you like to do with your degree?
I would ideally like to attend Law School and complete a J.D. to Ph.D. program.
Junior Simon
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?
Immigration, border studies
Melanie Aguilera
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?
Race, class, intersectionality
Sara Ajami
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?
Social theory, critical pedagogy
Leonardo Alcaraz
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
San Diego State University
What are your interests?Race, Class and Gender
Which classes or professors are you helping? none
What would you like to do with your degree?
I would like to become a Sociology college professor.
Kaisser Balangue
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests?Suicide and violence
Steve Benitez
Email: [email protected]
Alt right/Why minorities are recruited into alt right views
Katie Brandi
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I graduated in 2021 from Gonzaga University, receiving my BA in Sociology with a Minor
in Solidarity and Social Justice.
What are your interests?
I am interested in Urban Sociology, more specifically the dimensions of inequality
and the processes of gentrification. I am fascinated by community and the ways people
utilize public space and urban infrastructure. I am also interested in Environmental
Sociology which ignited my passion for studying, understanding, and promoting ecologically
sustainable forms of community.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am helping Dr. Gibbons, Dr. Kohler, and Dr. Brown as an ISA.
What would you like to do with your degree?
I want to go on to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology. However, whether I go on to pursue
a Ph.D. or go into an applied field, the methodological skills and theoretical sensibilities
I am developing at San Diego State University are an essential step on my career path.
Yvette Garcia
Email: [email protected]
What are your interests
Education and race
Daisy Gomez-Fuentes
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I received my Bachelor of Arts in Chicana/o/x Studies with a minor in Sociology from
California State University, Fullerton in the Spring of 2021.
What are your interests?
I am interested in using qualitative methods to research how first-generation, low-income
Latinx college students receive support (financial, emotional, and educational) from
their families and how they negotiate their decision to continue to pursue a bachelor’s
degree. I would also like to examine how the support received increases or decreases
social capital when building academic networks that lead to career exposure and opportunities.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am a graduate assistant for Dr. Shultz and Dr. Esbenshade.
What would you like to do with your degree?
After obtaining my Master of Arts, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology to become
a professor/mentor to guide first-generation low-income students of color to achieve
their educational goals.
Kenetta Maye
Email: [email protected]
Inequality
Jennifer Ojeda-Ortiz
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?California State University, San Marcos
What are your interests?
As of now criminology & youth adolescents.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I will be working as an ISA with Dr. Kohler and Dr. Liu.
What would you like to do with your degree?
As of now, I want to work with adolescents in Social Work or rehabilitation. Because
my interests are up in the air, I am still thinking about what I will do once I graduate
Jacqueline Robinson
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I graduated from San Diego State University in 2018 with a B.A. in Sociology.
What are your interests?
I am interested in criminology, education, social stratification, and economic inequality.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am currently a Graduate Assistant for Dr.Kim and an ISA for Dr. Cruz.
What would you like to do with your degree?
I am still deciding what I would ultimately like to do with my degree. I am debating
between getting my PhD and teaching sociology or finding a job in the community that
helps at-risk youth.
Savannah Taylor
Email: [email protected]
Suicide and violence
Debra Coker
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
SDSU in Social Science
What are your interests?
Social Justice, Political Sociology, Deviance, Social Structure & Social Action
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am Working with Professor Amy Wong
What would you like to do with your degree?
Teach - Sociology
Isabele de Lima Vargas Simoes
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I graduated from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Sociology and Theatre.
What are your interests?
I am interested in race/ethnic studies, gender studies, and Latinx and Brazilian studies.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am currently a GA working with Dr. Norma Ojeda and an ISA working with Dr. Michael
Roberts.
What would you like to do with your degree?
My current plan for the future is to apply for Ph.D. programs once I finish my masters’
program, and then, hopefully, work as a college professor.
Kylie Fujii
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
San Diego State University
What are your interests?
Minority relations and social movements
What would you like to do with your degree?
I would love to work with a non-profit organization helping underserved communities.
Natalie Hardy
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I graduated in June 2018 from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Literature/Writing
What are your interests?
I am interested in higher education, the sociology of children, and learning about
the various structures of society. We are reading Freud's Civilization and its Discontents
in Dr. Roberts' SOC 601 class and it is providing some fascinating conversations!
Which classes or professors are you helping?
TA for Professor Jill Esbenshade's Soc 433 sections (Wealth, Status, and Power)
What would you like to do with your degree?
I intend to design an individualized program specializing in academic advising at
the collegiate level by spinning my Master's degree into gaining an empathetic and
comprehensive understanding of the external and underlying factors that lead students
down the educational paths they choose. I want to assist students on their educational
journeys, and I hope that my background in Sociology will only help me become the
best advisor I can be.
Jannette April Hermosa
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
San Diego State University
What are your interests?
Some of my interests include Asian American studies, women's studies, immigration,
and the criminal justice system. I also hope to expand my interests during my time
in this program.
What would you like to do with your degree?
After getting my master's degree I plan on applying for law school. Becoming a lawyer's
always been a big dream of mine. I want to be able to use my Masters degree to help
future clients, understand their needs in order to best serve them, and to make a
huge impact on their lives.
Naomi Alexandra Marroquin
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
I received my undergraduate degree at San Diego State University in Interdisciplinary
Studies (Criminal Justice, Psychology, Sociology)
What are your interests?
I still have a wide range of research interests. Among them are migration and refugees,
the struggles they got through in terms of detention centers, education, and SES,
and how this can potentially tie into the criminal justice system specifically focusing
on Chicanx youth gangs.
What would you like to do with your degree?
I am unsure of what exactly I want to do with my degree but I do know I want to work
in some type of governmental organization or even a community-based organization helping
those in need.
Mary McClure Walzenbach
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
Graduated 1983 from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied
Arts and Sciences, Criminal Justice Administration.
Graduated 1991 from San Diego State University with a Master of Public Administration
(Criminal Justice Concentration.)
Thesis title: Police Professionalism and the Civilian Review Board.
What are your interests?
My current research interests are Women and Labor Issues, particularly in regard to
female Letter Carriers in the US Postal Service. I have also developed an interest
in how aging is shaped by sociological institutions and how that has changed over
time.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am a Teaching Associate for Dr. Choi, teaching two breakout sections for Sociology
101. This was completely
unexpected and I am very grateful for the opportunity. I enjoy working with the students
very much.
What would you like to do with your degree?
Once I have earned a Masters in Sociology, I hope to find work teaching in Community
College systems both here and Virginia Beach or Nashville. I have children and grandchildren
in both those cites, as well as here in San Diego. Perhaps I could manage a combination
of online and in person classes, or become bi-coastal, as I was before COVID hit.
Bryan Jesus Peraza
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
San Jose State University
What are your interests?
(Research interests) Horizontal and autonomous organizational structures within grassroots
organizing; the United States' involvement in suppressing anti-imperialist and anti-fascist
social movements; grassroots organizing against the commercialization of soccer. (Personal
interests) Spending time with my loved ones, community organizing, riding my bicycle,
dancing to house/techno/psytrance.
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I am helping Dr. Ruth Liu as an ISA for her SOC 445 (Sociology of Deviance) course.
What would you like to do with your degree?
As a means of empowering my community, I want to utilize my research skills to gather
knowledge and make knowledge more accessible.
Dianna Ratsamy (she, her, ella)
Email: [email protected]
Where did you get your undergrad degree?
Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Education Studies from UC San Diego
(Class of 2017)
What are your interests?
Queer Theory, Critical Mixed Race Studies, Mental Health, Sociology of Family, Reproductive
Justice, Transformative Justice
Which classes or professors are you helping?
I work as a Graduate Assistant for the Center for Community Research and Engagement
(CCRE) with Dr. Jill Esbenshade.
What would you like to do with your degree?
I would like to work as an instructor in Sociology, ethnic studies, and gender studies
at a community college. I also aim to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology in the future.