My name is Sofia Suarez and I am a Sociology and Criminal Justice major. When I first came to Quinnipiac, I was only a Criminal Justice Major. However, after taking one Sociology class, it changed the way I viewed the world. As a result, I spoke to my advisor and immediately became a double major. This was the best decision I have made in my career. From there, my career has jump started due to the professors and resources at Quinnipiac.
After taking a couple of different classes, I slowly realized that I loved reading and doing research. Then I began to work with Dr. Solomon at Quinnipiac on a research project. The research project is focused on the work/family life balance fathers who have children with disabilities. I enjoyed doing that research so much that I decided to begin my own independent study. I am working with Dr. Bruce at Quinnipiac in researching the extent to which undocumented immigrants underreport crime and the reasons as to why that is.
As for internships, my main goal was to get one in the immigration field. Dr. Solomon connected me with an immigration attorney and I was able to get an internship through him. I am currently interning at IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) and am loving it. I am able to work directly with refugees and asylees in my everyday. It is an amazing opportunity because I want to work with this community in my future. I am also involved in two different clubs at Quinnipiac. I am the Treasurer of the Sociology Club and the G-Board Representative of Latino Cultural Society. Quinnipiac offers such a diverse and wide range of different clubs and activities for all students.
Lastly, there are a lot of resources that Quinnipiac offers for underrepresented students. For instance, Dr. Bruce nominated me for the Sawhney Leadership Program. The Sawhney Leadership Program is a great opportunity because it teaches underrepresented students how to be leaders and prepare us for our journey outside of Quinnipiac. I also work with QUEST as a mentor. QUEST is a program that provides underrepresented first year students with a mentor in order to help them with their transition from high school to university. This program provides a lot of support to underrepresented students.
For anyone thinking of joining Quinnipiac’s Sociology Department, I believe that they should do it! As seen above, the professors at Quinnipiac provide a great deal of support for their students. They also work alongside their students so that they reach their full potential. Along with this, Quinnipiac provides a great deal of resources and clubs to help students get involved in what they want.
