Sociology at ñ
Alumni Profiles
Welcome to the Sociology Alumni page. We want to create a social location where sociology
graduates of various years can come together. Our hope is to build a committed core
of alumni who will advance the department and its current students.
If you graduated from one of ñ's Sociology programs, we'd love to hear
from you. Fill out this form to let us know what you have accomplished post-graduation.
Sociology Alumni Profiles
Mayerlyn Benscome '18
Life for the working mother of three young children was already an uphill climb, considering
she does not speak English as her native language and she’s legally blind, but she
made the decision to come to AQ and finish her degree. >Read More
Aubrey Kirby ’16
“I'm going to be working at Catholic Charities in Grand Rapids as a Child Welfare
Caseworker. I'll be working with children in foster care and their families (both
biological and foster care parents). The job involves a lot of paperwork on the families,
transporting children to court if need be, supervising visitations with children and
their parents, and helping out foster care families with any problems that may arise.”
Mackenzie Glaros ’15
“ I have chosen to accept an offer from Western Michigan University in their Counseling
Psychology program! They also offer a PhD program which I am hoping to be accepted
to after I finish my Masters. It is such a great fit for me and what I want to do.
They have a big emphasis on being culturally aware in order to know how to best serve
our clients, which I of course loved.”
Carina Lagattolla-McGrath ’15
“I actually just moved to Idaho and as of today accepted a job working with a wilderness therapy
program for troubled teens.”
Molly Cook ’14
“I will be going to Illinois State University in the fall (16) for the Sociology Master's
program as a Community and Economic Development Fellow. It is a program for people who
have done a past year of service! It is through the Stevenson Center, so I will be
a Community and Economic Development Fellow with people from multiple disciplines through
the Stevenson Center and take some classes with that cohort, but also be getting a Master's
in Sociology. I will take classes and T.A. a Social Problems class my first year, and
in my second year I will have a placement at a non-profit agency and work on a thesis.”
Katie Hawley '11
Upon graduation, I knew that I wanted to enter the work force and hadn’t thought twice
about graduate school. I currently work for the City of Wyoming at the 62A District
Court as a Deputy Court Clerk. I always knew that my societal interests weighed heavier
on the criminal justice end; however, after entering the work force and speaking with
potential employers, I have decided that a master’s in Public Administration will
open more doors for the future. I hope to continue my career with the City of Wyoming,
and eventually work in other departments of the city government.
Kelsey Leonard '09
After graduating from ñ in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Sociology and Psychology I began the Master of Social Work program at Grand Valley
State University. Although I was more interested in Community Sociology at the time,
I decided that the Social Work program would open many doors for my future. While
in the MSW program, I began an internship at Bethany Christian Services in the Early
Impact program. For the next year, I worked with families that had been substantiated
by Child Protective Services for child abuse/neglect. This internship opportunity
opened my eyes to many issues throughout the year and it proved to be a very valuable
experience for my career. After graduating with my Master of Social Work degree in
April 2011, I was hired by Arbor Circle to be a KSSN clinician in the Cedar Springs
school district. My role as a clinician in the KSSN program is to work with children
with a mental health disorder in hopes of reducing the academic and behavioral problems
that these children are experiencing.
Regina (Berlin) Wright '05
After I graduated from ñ in May 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Sociology and a minor in Spanish I worked as an assistant for a title company,
TriUnion Title. While working there I decided that I wanted to go to law school so
I enrolled at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids. I graduated from Thomas
M. Cooley Law School in January 2011 and passed the Michigan Bar Exam in May 2011.
I currently work for a Peterson Paletta, PLC a law firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I married in September 2009 and live in the Alger Heights area with my husband and
dog, Batman.
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