In 2022, five students were initiated into the Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) International Sociology Honor Society and 13 students were recipients of Undergraduate Awards. The 2022 AKD initiates and award recipients were recognized in a ceremony on April 22, 2022.
This year’s AKD initiates were Mya-Ariel Blake, Kathryn Jennie Freeman, Lina Kim, Eileah Rye, and Linda Rinella.
The Schermerhorn Award for an outstanding student in sociology went to Olivia Min and Joey O’Donnell. The Mark Lefton Award for excellence in sociological studies went to Mya-Ariel Blake, Cielle Brady, Ashley Hawkins, and Lina Kim. The Stella Berkeley-Friedman Award to seniors for the highest academic achievement in the study of sociology went to Jasmine Cuenca, Kenzie Fox, Samuel Martinez, Anurithi Senthil, and Camille Witt. The Robert C. Davis Award for demonstrated commitment to sociological studies went to Michele Lew and Anna Ryder. The department is proud of their work!
The awards presentation was followed by The Gene S. Uyeki Memorial Lecture given by CWRU sociology alum Alicia Smith-Tran (’18). During her lecture, Private Troubles, Peer-Reviewed: On Personal Growth and Writing Sociologically, Dr. Smith-Tran discussed her personal journey and experiences as a sociology student and professor.
Dr. Smith-Tran is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at Oberlin College. Her research focuses on Black women’s health, age and the life course, narrative methods, sociology of sport, and the Black middle class. Her work is published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, Teaching Sociology, Critical Sociology, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Sociological Spectrum, Sociological Focus, Humanity and Society, and other academic journals and books.
Dr. Smith-Tran’s most recent project draws on semi-structured interviews with Black professionals who are perceived as youthful to learn more about the intersections of ageism and racism at work. She was named a 2021 Career Enhancement Fellow by the Institute for Citizens and Scholars in support of this work.