If you graduated with a degree from the WSU Department of Sociology and have a related field accomplishment that you would like to share with us, please send an email to sociology.news@wsu.edu.
‡ Faculty
* Graduate Students
Bolded names are members of the WSU sociology department
Congratulations
Monica Bhatia‡ was awarded an ADVANCE at WSU grant.
Steven A. Mejia‡ was invited to join the editorial board for “Early-Career Review Board at Social Science Research.”
Ish Green* passed their dissertation proposal defense, an ethnography on Christian Nationalism.
Sam Castonguay* successfully defended her dissertation, ”Fighting at the Meso-Level? An Organizational Approach to Environmental Inequality and Justice.”
Kristin Cutler‡ was inducted into the WSU Teaching Academy.
Vanessa Delgado‡ was awarded a 2025 New Faculty Seed Grant.
Azdren Coma* successfully defended his dissertation, “Understanding Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Policy Support in the United States of America.”
Zoey Rawson* passed their Area Paper exam. Zoey’s paper was titled “The Transgender Mental Health Crisis: A Call for a Social-Structural Approach.”
Sandte Stanley* successfully defended her dissertation, “Race and Highly Preventable Mortality: An Exploration of Associated Factors and Communities Determined to Live.” The committee included Justin Denney, Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, and Alair MacLean.
Seth Wood* successfully defended his thesis, “The Effects of Unfair Police Interactions on the Mental Health of Black Adolescents.”
Kari Nelson received Crimson Spirit Recognition, a university award that honors employees who provide exceptional service and exceed expectations, for her outstanding work as the department’s finance/budget manager.
Publications
Vanessa Delgado‡ had her article, “Gendered Requests: How Adult Children of Immigrants Perceive Mother’s and Father’s Brokering Needs,” accepted for publication at Family Transitions.
Jasmine Willis* had a piece, “Infobesity,” accepted for publication in WSU’s art journal LandEscapes.
Anna Zamora-Kapoor‡ published her work on artificial intelligence and health equity in rural clinics in the Proceedings of the Annual Symposium of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson‡, along with colleagues Burger, Mele, Mortimer, and Han, have had their paper, “The Intergenerational Reproduction of Self-Direction at Work: Revisiting Class and Conformity,” accepted for publication in Social Forces.
In a recently published article on WSU Insider’s Top research coverage of 2024, an interview with Azdren Coma* about his article (co-authored with Erik Johnson and Phil Schwadel) was ranked 58 university-wide, among the 74 top stories from WSU. You can read the Azdren Coma’s article here.
Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson‡, Stefanie Mollborn, and Christine Horne‡. Forthcoming article: “Yes, Parents, It Reflects on You: Norms and Metanorms Regulating Teen Daughters and Parents,” Journal of Marriage and Family.
Alair MacLean‡ and Steven Cassidy* had an article published in Armed Forces and Society titled, “The Growing Conservatism of White Veterans Since the 1970s.”
Jennifer Sherman‡ and Jennifer Schwartz‡ had an article published in the Yale Law Journal, with first author Lisa Pruitt (UC Davis Law): Pruitt, Lisa R., Jennifer Sherman, and Jennifer Schwartz. 2025. “Legal Deserts and Spatial Injustice: A Study of Criminal Legal Systems in Rural Washington.” Yale Law Journal Forum 134.
Presentations
Anna Zamora-Kapoor‡ presented her research: “Health disparities in cancer research: Evidence from a rural clinic in Washington state” at the World Cancer Day Symposium organized by the Disabled Student Center at WSU on February 4, 2025.
Anna Zamora-Kapoor‡ was interviewed and featured in the Spokesman-Review (December 9, 2024), for her work on artificial intelligence and health equity in rural clinics. Full Spokesman-Review article here.
Undergraduate student Androu Luzader (mentored by Sarah Whitley and Julie Kmec) presented his research poster at SURCA. The poster is based on his study of undergraduate students at WSU and titled “Campus Hunger-Bridging the Food Security Gap with Student Experiences.”
Jennifer Sherman‡ presented the keynote address, “Rural Regulation, Access Loss, and Antigovernment Sentiment,” at the West Virginia Law Review Symposium on Rural Appalachia: Perspectives and Solutions for Issues Facing Rural Americans, March 28, Morgantown, WV.
Steven Cassidy* presented a paper co-authored with Justin Denney‡ and Alair MacLean‡ titled, “Hidden or in Plain View: Veteran Status, Disability, and All-Cause Mortality,” at the Population Association of America meetings in Washington, DC.
Jingyu Lang* presented a poster titled, “Paid Sick Leave and Women’s Health: A Study of Access, Outcomes, and Disparities in the United States,” at the Population Association of American meetings in Washington, DC.
Xinyue Wu* presented her poster, “Education Health Gradient Disparity Across Race and Nativity in the United States,” at the Population Association of America’s 2025 Annual Meeting on April 12 in Washington, D.C.
Anna Zamora-Kapoor‡ was interviewed and quoted in the WSU Magazine for her work in artificial intelligence with rural clinics. Her work is published in the WSU Magazine, Summer 2025 issue: “The new consultant: AI ability to analyze millions of references and predict outcomes could revolutionize prognoses and drug discovery, but questions remain about its role in health care.”
Spring 2025 Department Annual Awards
Ruth Deresse was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Award.
Jemima Guerrero was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Exceptional Senior Award.
Rodrigo Rodriguez and Chloe Sampson were awarded the Marjorie Taylor Tripp Scholarship.
Madeline Sierra Fagglioni-Fischer was awarded the Norman and Linda Baer Scholarship.
Donna Brandi Cole, Samantha Isabelle Greenfield, and Martha Alica Martinez were awarded the Paul and Bessie Landis Scholarship.
Madeline Sierra Fagglioni-Fischer and Tatum Marie Scacco were awarded the Jeanne Jewett Scholarship.
Annika Guadalupe Avina and Pamela Javier were awarded the Ruth Magnuson Roberts Scholarship.
Annika Guadalupe Avina, Richard Joseph Maestas, and Nora Leigh Myrick were awarded the Herbert and May Neil Scholarship.
Pamela Javier and Riley Quinn Walsh were awarded the Robert Cline Frasier Anderson Scholarship.
Sam Castonguay* was awarded the Joseph R. DeMartini Excellence in Teaching Award.
Steven Cassidy* was awarded the Joseph R. DeMartini Travel Grant.
Jingyu Lang* and Michelle Weston* were awarded the Gordon D. and Izola P. Graduate Student Fellowship in Sociology.
Christian Maynard* was awarded the Karen Jennison and Kenneth Johnson Graduate Student Travel Award.
Ish Green* and Safiya Hafiz* were awarded the Milton Rokeach and Sandra-Ball Rokeach Graduate Fellowship in Sociology.
Xinyue Wu* was awarded the Don Dillman Fellowship.
Xinyue Wu* was awarded the James F. Short Jr. Research Award.
Jair Johnson* was awarded the Jeanne Jewett Scholarship.
Cassie Rueda*, Whitney Shervey*, and Sydney Silva* were awarded the Sarah & Susan Dolan Memorial Scholarship.
Ish Green* and Bronwyn Hines* were awarded the Roberta Cline Frasier Anderson Scholarship.
Sydney Silva* was awarded the Paul and Bessie Landis Scholarship.
Safiya Hafiz* was awarded the John Wardwell Scholarship.
Bronwyn Hines*, Jingyu Lang*, Kayla Lendy*, Christian Maynard*, Ash Plummer*, and Cassie Rueda* were awarded the Fred R. Yoder Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Sociology.
Audrey Bruening*, Christian Maynard*, Andrew Myers*, Ash Plummer*, and Jasmine Willis* were awarded the Herbert and May Neil Scholarship.
Erik Johnson‡ was awarded the Louis N. Gray Graduate Student Advocate Award.