David Weaver, 2003

As an undergraduate Sociology student, David was involved in community-based service learning projects with the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club. He also participated in both AKD (Alpha Kappa Delta – Sociology Honor Society) and the Sociology Club.  After graduation, he joined the Peace Corps and served as an educator at a small public university in rural Albania. The areas of his teaching responsibility included HIV/AIDS prevention, human rights, principles of gerontology, and grant writing. After two years with the Peace Corps, David accepted a graduate fellowship at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University and completed his Master’s Degree in Economics there in 2008. In 2008, David returned to UAA to work primarily with first generation college students to improve their success at UAA. David is currently the MAP-Works Project Coordinator with the Office of Student Affairs. The MAP-Works (Making Achievement Possible) Project is a comprehensive retention and success program for first-year students. The MAP-Works Team, under David’s leadership, won the 2011 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Large Team Collaboration. David notes in his biographical information that “Second only to the support of my family, the education and guidance I received as an undergraduate sociology student at UAA was the foundation from which I discovered and began achieving my life’s vision.” 

Kent Spiers, 2012

Alex Foster, 2012

A recent Sociology graduate found success in applying to the University of Washington School of Medicine’s WWAMI program here at UAA! Alex Foster (class of 2012) says his Bachelors of Science in Sociology from the University of Alaska Anchorage has helped to prepare him for his career as a physician. “I think sociology majors have challenging courses taught by caring professors. I have no regrets in my decision to study sociology. I feel very capable in my skills of conducting primary research, designing research projects, completing literature reviews, understanding and applying statistics, and moreover- I have a greater understanding and respect for the intricate workings of our social world. I know as a physician, I will be able to use the skills I learned while attaining my sociology degree and for that I am really grateful.”

Katie Johnson,  2004 

Katie is currently a visiting Assistant professor at Tulane University.

"Sociology at UAA was a great start to my higher education. The faculty were highly invested in students' learning and engaging in projects. Without support and encouragement from my undergraduate profs I wouldn't have gone on for graduate school. Now I'm an assistant prof and hope to "pay it forward" through my own teaching and mentoring."

Erica N. Mitchell, 2012

Erica is a Research Associate at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies (ICHS). 

"I came in to Sociology after changing my undergraduate major from political science, to economics, to pre-nursing (just narrowly escaping underwater basket weaving, minor in synchronized swimming). Many of the problems I was interested in addressing, I later discovered, were based on how people interacted. During a high school internship, I was exposed to the congressional constituency for southern Colorado.  Many of the people I encountered were facing severe difficulties obtaining healthcare. I followed the trail - was it political? Here I was, in all of my 18 years, in a Congressman's office. Surely, he would fix this disparity. But... what was politics all about anyway? What dictated certain political choices? Economics? So this was a class issue.... oh wait, access to healthcare you say? Eventually, I learned it was all of these reasons. Sociological theory was an education in societal structure, race theory, class struggle, gender issues - the basis of these fundamental questions I had been asking myself. My insatiable "why" has followed me from my high school internship, through university courses and has eventually led me to pursue a career in public health research. I regularly ask myself those same questions, but am now armed with the theoretical knowledge and resources from my education in sociology to build a basis for change. I believe we should leave the world a better place than we found it. We're all in this society thing together, right?"

Gloria O'Neill, 1996

University of Alaska, Chancellor's Board of Advisors

Gloria O’Neill has served as the President and CEO of Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. for the past twelve years, having started employment with CITC since 1992. Ms. O’Neill received her Master degree in Business Administration from APU and graduated from UAA with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Business Administration.  She is active in the community and currently serves as Chair of the Anchorage Museum Association Board of Directors, Board member of the Anchorage Community Land Trust, the Alaska Federation of Natives, Cook Inlet Housing Authority Commissioner, and Bureau of Indian Affairs/National Tribal Budget Advisory Council. In 2004, Ms. O’Neill received the Woman of Achievement award (presented by BP and YWCA), 2001 Athena Society Member from the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, and was recognized in 1998 as one of the “Top Forty Under 40” by the Alaska Journal of Commerce just to name a few.

Katie Marquette, 2010

Brit Szymoniak, 2010

Brit graduated cum laude (University Honors Scholar). Her undergraduate research achievements were so exemplary that ISER eventually hired her as a research analyst. A 2011 graduate of Leadership Anchorage, Brit serves on the board of directors for the Institute of the North and as vice-president of the Federation  of Community Councils. She recently was awarded a Young Leaders Fellowship from the Northeast Asia Economic Forum. In November 2012, she was appointed by
the mayor to be Special Assistant to the Director of the Port of Anchorage. 

Jasmine Fledderjohann, 2004 

Jasmine Fledderjohann was raised in Anchorage. She graduated from East  Anchorage High School in 2000, and began her undergraduate work at the University of Alaska in the fall. During her time as a Sociology major,  she appeared on the Dean's List and Chancellor's list, and she  participated in several research projects in the Anchorage community.  She graduated in 2004 with numerous awards and recognitions, including  university, departmental, Alpha Kappa Delta, Golden Key, and student  leadership honors. In 2005 began her graduate work at the Pennsylvania  State University, where she earned an MA in Sociology and Demography in  2007, and Ph.D. in 2011. Jasmine has conducted primary data collection  in Ghana, West Africa, and her work has appeared in several  peer-reviewed journal articles. She is currently a Term Assistant  Professor of Sociology at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Of her experience as a student in the Department of Sociology at UAA,  Jasmine said "I feel that there were a lot of unique research  opportunities available to me, due in part to the small size of the  department. All of the faculty knew me well, and I was able to obtain a  lot of undergraduate research experience, which was valuable both for getting into a good graduate program and for ensuring my success in the  program."

Diana Hudson (1992) has worked as a Health Communications Specialist in Alaska, working for the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. After completing her Master of Public Health, she received her doctorate degree in Health Sciences from Karolinska Institute in Sweden (in 2005) working on projects by the World Health Organization. See page 4 in this 2002 newsletter for an excerpt about her. She published in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health and Journal of Travel Medicine as well as Accident Analysis and Prevention.

Samantha Stevenson (2010)  is the Billing Coordinator at Ilanka Community Health Center in Cordova, Alaska.

Melissa Bradley (2010) is a Marketing Consultant at GreatLander Publications in Anchorage.

Grant Varvil (2010) is a supervisor at Hope Community Resources in Anchorage.

Leigh Coppola (2010), after completing her Masters at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, works as a Social and Behavioral Researcher at AOC Marketing Research in Houston, TX.

Irina Ikatova (2010) is the Medical Assistance Administrator with the Division of Health and Social Services in Anchorage, and manages the Medicaid Pharmacy subsystem.

Michelle Heun (2010) is a Grants Administrator III with the State of Alaska.

Sara Lucey (2010) is the Manager at American Diabetes Association, Fairbanks Area in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Caitlin Ulrich (sociology minor) is currently a nursing major (class of 2013) and is a Research Assistant for the School of Nursing since Nov. 2012, working on an ongoing project at Alaska Native Medical Center to reduce fall rate among inpatients.

Sharon Wallingford (1985) is the editor of Fort Bend Business Journal, a monthly publication in Texas- Fort Bend County, that examines business trends, profits and loss, and salutes business people for their accomplishments.