Our Sociology majors are an exciting, diverse, and engaged set of students. Here, we feature some of their work and interests. We routinely update this page. So, do come back from time to time to learn about them.

We began this post in November 2021. Come back regularly for updates!

Projects and Activities

Bates Sociology majors actively apply their interests and skills in a variety of settings – locally, nationally, and internationally. We’ve selected a few examples below.

Caroline Cassell (’24) will be a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Bulgaria. While there, Caroline will join or help create an after-school drama and movie club, and volunteer in local libraries by hosting English talks or leading a book club. To learn more about Caroline and their project, see here.

Jack Lawrence (’24)  has partnered with the Resource Development Department of Community Concepts Inc. (CCI), a Lewiston-run Community Action Program which provides housing, economic development, and social services to in-need residents of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties. The work was done through the Harward Center. To learn more about Jack’s project, follow this link.

Abby Somoksy (’24) has worked with the Division of Public Defender Services and the Anti-Defamation League. She believes the skills learned though sociology have enabled her to understand and connect with the people she works with, and to think more critically about the inequalities she sees at play.

Sydney Phan (’24) is a first-generation college student who has worked for JetBlue Airways in New York City on their Corporate Social Responsibility Team. The role was a perfect intersection of her business and social justice aspirations. As a sociology major, she believes that her courses have provided her with the knowledge to understand, engage, and build a community with a wide range of people in various social contexts, backgrounds, and situations. She found this job opportunity by working with the Center for Purposeful Work.

Angela Craddok (’24) volunteered in the summer of 2023 in San Francisco’s community-oriented programs. She reported on her activities as follows:

“With San Francisco continuing to battle drug-usage rates and research displaying the negative consequences associated with punitive approaches, I have sought to gain a better understanding of the Bay Area’s community-oriented programs. This summer I am volunteering at the Center on Juvenile and Crimnial Justice’s residential alternative sentencing program and at the Salvation Army’s in-patient rehabilitation center. My day-to-day responsibilities involve tasks such as mediation, designing treatment plans, and training individuals on data management – but my main focus and passion lies in direct client engagement in the form of facilitating workshops.”

Emma Block (’21) has worked as a Community-Engaged Research Fellow at the Harward Center. In that role, she has collaborated with the Maine Prisoner Re-Entry Network (MPRN). To learn more about her work there, follow this link.