Nicky Tran, program assistant for the Asian and Asian American Studies Certificate Program directed by Sociology faculty C.N. Le, was awarded the 2025-2026 Gerald F. Scanlon Student Employee of the Year Award, one of 10 student employees across the UMass Amherst campus to be recognized for demonstrating exceptional performance.
Jill Alie Hercule Espinal was selected as a winner of the UMass Writing Program's 2025 Best Text Contest.
Congratulations to our Spring 2026 Sociology Department Undergraduate Award Winners!
Jill Alie Hercule Espinal, Henry Korson Outstanding Senior Award and Meghan K. Beebe Senior Speaker Award (SBS Commencement Ceremony Speaker)
Emily Jaillet, Henry Korson Outstanding Senior Award
Aviva Lehman, Henry Korson Outstanding Junior Award
Jess Young-Paulson, Henry Korson Outstanding Junior Award
Abigail Lewis, David S. Leiderman Award
Shelby Okstein, David S. Leiderman Award
Vivian van Stolk, Sociology Senior Speaker Award (Sociology Award Ceremony Speaker)
Nikola Whitton, Dr. Charles Mark Scholarship in Global Sociology
Ariel Burey, C. Wright Mills Award for Sociological Imagination
Helen Makdisi, Jane Addams Sociology in Practice Award
Anna Chen, Sociology Best Paper Award, titled "First Generation College Students"
Daniel DiStefano, Sociology Best Paper Award, titled "Assessing the Construct Validity of Loneliness Scales Using Exploratory Factor Analysis"
Andy Li, Sociology Best Paper Award, titled "Impacts of Resocialization in Higher Level Education"
Hannah Oh, Sociology Best Paper Award, titled "An Analysis of Class-Based Affirmative Action: Then and Now"
Tony Harris, Sociology Summer Internship Award (interning with the risk and audit department at Fidelity Insurance in Boston)
Wil Spencer, Sociology Summer Internship Award (interning with JVS Boston, providing career counseling to immigrants and refugees)
2025-2026 Peer Advisors, Service to the Major Award (Nina Zorzi, Jill Alie Hercule Espinal, Arnav Kuchhal, Wil Spencer, Emily Jaillet, Raquel Rave, Jennifer Nguyen)
WEB DuBois Seniors
Xingyu Cai
Ashe Chan
Sophia Chen
Leo Hoglund McGuirk
Sophie Kipling
Roberto Lopez Pirir
Mason Mathe
Lisa Mouradian
Liam Perry
Chhaya Rajani-Bangs
Bella Rees
Adam Short
Siobhan Tolleson
Kate Wagner
Bridget Walsh
WEB DuBois Juniors
Sabrina Cao
Maypaz Goldstein
Harry Gong
Nicole Manning
Rey McDonald
Emiliana Mejia
Nylah Ollivierre
Wil Spencer
Julien Stiehl
Sociology Senior Theses
Emily Jaillet, "A Rapidly 'Graying' Prison Population & An Unprepared Criminal Justice System”
Abigail Lewis, “Making a Monster: How Stories Shape Societies”
Keyshla Lorenzo, "The Effects of Incarceration on the Family”
Rebecca Leigh Villarreal, "Exploring the Educational and Social Experiences of Immigrant Students at UMass Amherst"
Phi Beta Kappa Seniors
Maya Aimen
Ashe Chan
Marta Estrada
Jill Alie Hercule Espinal
Alexandra Glennon
Samar Haddad
Leo Hoglund-McGuirk
Emily Jaillet
Abigail Lewis
Haylee Londergan
Lisa Mouradian
Oby Okendo
Shelby Okstein
Siobhan Tolleson
Kate Wagner
Phi Beta Kappa Juniors
Aviva Lehman
Introducing Our 2026-2027 Sociology Peer Advisor Cohort: Arnav Kuchhal, Jennifer Nguyen, Raquel Rave, Wil Spencer, Nina Zorzi, Chloe McDermott, Teagan Peeples, Jeselle Rosario