What are you doing now?

Full-time, I work as a Direct Support Professional at Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health where I care for youth and young adults with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral differences at a level 6 facility. My part-time job is with another nonprofit organization, C5 Georgia Youth Foundation, where my title is Development Assistant. There, I assist staff with day-to-day operations as well as manage the national social media sites. In this position, I have also been part of shaping the outcome of the program reaching out to alumni seeing how they have benefitted from the program and where they are now.

How have the skills and knowledge you learned in the Sociology MA program translated to your current job or situation?

What I learned in the Sociology M.A. program translates to both of the jobs I hold. It gave me knowledge and better understanding of underserved communities and how to better equip them with the skills they need to succeed. Also, with doing my applied project, the program also has given me confidence in my own work and my own knowledge. This was a very important skill for me to develop, because without confidence in knowing all I had learned within those two years, I would not be able to successfully perform in my career.

Where did you do your internship for the Applied Track? What topics did your applied paper look at?

I interned with C5 Georgia Youth Foundation, a nonprofit that targets underserved youth. This also shaped my applied paper, which explored what “underserved” meant in the context of educational success, familial support, freedom of choice of students, the importance of C5 to alumni, and the unsuccessful student. These topics emerged from my observations within the organization as well as my knowledge gained from the M.A. program.

What advice would you give to current students in the M.A. program?

Be confident in your knowledge but always be willing to learn. One of the main issues I had during my applied paper process was that I was always willing to learn but lacked the confidence to produce all I had learned in those years from my wonderful and very knowledgeable professors and peers. Trust yourself, be confident, but never think you know everything; learning is a lifelong practice.