Seven students were initiated into the Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) International Sociology Honor Society and thirteen students were recipients of Undergraduate Awards during the Sociology department’s 2019 Achievements Awards Ceremony. The Gene S. Uyeki Memorial Lecture, “Sociology as an Everyday Practice,” was delivered by Assistant Professor of Sociology from The Ohio State University, Kara Young. The event was followed by a luncheon.

This year’s AKD initiates were Faith Ellis, Marissa Gilbert, Nandita Gupta, Noora Khiraoui, Alena Sorensen, Amanda Spangler, and Lauren Walters. The Schermerhorn Award for outstanding students in sociology went to Nandita Gupta, Jeffrey Hsia, Sierra Lipscomb, Divya Manoharan. The Mark Lefton Award for excellence in sociological studies was awarded to Mya Cox, Faith Ellis, Chloe Francis, and Isa Malik. The Stella Berkeley-Friedman Award to graduating seniors for the highest academic achievement in the study of sociology was awarded to Dillon Brown. The Robert C. Davis Award for demonstrated commitment to sociological studies was awarded to Gabriella Kaddu, Noora Khiraoui, Alena Sorensen, and Hanna Yoshida.

Research ShowCASE Intersections SOURCE Symposium oral paper presentation winner in the social science category was Alena Sorensen. Alena was awarded a SOURCE grant last summer when she worked with Seattle Foundation and King County to conduct a social network analysis of the non-profits serving the King County disadvantaged populations. Alena taught herself social network analysis, developed and implemented the survey, and analyzed the results in Polinode, a social network analysis tool. This original research earned her presentation 2nd place at Research ShowCASE!