Student Research and Awards

Sociology National and Regional Awards

Southwestern University sociology majors have won a number of national and regional undergraduate paper awards. In fact, in the past 16 years, our program has produced more national and regional award winning undergraduate research papers than many other sociology departments in the country.

In 2006, we started nominating student papers for national and regional awards. Since then, nine of our sociology majors have won the national Alpha Kappa Delta undergraduate paper award (first, second, or third place). Additionally, one of our sociology majors has won the Southern Sociological Society’s Odum Award for best undergraduate paper 9 of the past 16 years and another major has received the outstanding undergraduate paper award at the Mid-South Sociological Association meeting.

2019

Madeline Carrola “Performing The Handmaid’s Tale: The Use of Dystopian Literature at Political Protests” 

  • Outstanding undergraduate paper award at the 2019 Mid-South Sociological Association meeting. 

Savannah Scott  “Medically Policing Black Female Bodies: Black Women’s Experiences with Birth Control in Austin, Texas”

  • The American Sociological Association Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2019 Joe Feagin Distinguished Undergraduate Student Paper Award

Samantha Pentecost  “Gendering the Boy Scouts: Examining Hegemonic Masculinity at a Coed Backpacking Camp”

  • Second place in the 2019 Undergraduate Paper Competition, Alpha Kappa Delta (national sociology honors society)

Veronica Ciotti “The Classroom Is Sacred: Academic Masculinity as a Response to the Campus Carry Law in Texas” 

  • Third place in the 2019 Undergraduate Paper Competition, Alpha Kappa Delta (national sociology honors society)
2018

Esteffany Luna “Am I Still Latino Enough? The Construction of Latino Identity among Hispanics who do not Speak Spanish” 

  • Winner, 2018 Odum Undergraduate Paper Competition, Southern Sociological Society
2016

Guillermo Alvarado “’That Gay Gangsta Shit’: Identity Construction and Community Membership in Queer Rappers’ Musical Careers”

  • First place in the 2016 Undergraduate Paper Competition, Alpha Kappa Delta (national sociology honors society)

Bethany Lewis “’That’s the Spark I Want to See”: Mentorship and Empowerment of Girls in STEM,”

  • Winner, 2016 Odum Undergraduate Paper Competition, Southern Sociological Society