What Are Sociology Alumni Doing Now?
Melisa Castanon ('21)
The 2021 Sociology Program Honors recipient, Melisa Castanon, just started graduate school! She is pursuing her Masters of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Denver. Melisa is an advocate for women who have experienced domestic abuse. She earned her domestic violence certification and actively volunteers her time to counsel women in the community, and accompany them to court so they do not have to face their abuser alone. She also volunteers her time to support the Family Court Awareness Campaign. Congratulations, Melisa, on this next step toward a rewarding career.
Jessica Aleman ('17)
Jessica Aleman (Bens), 2017 CSU CI alum, is working at a Texas nonprofit, Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC). BCRC was founded in 1995 to provide Central Texans battling breast cancer with personalized, compassionate guidance and support through our certified Patient Navigators. Jessica understands firsthand the importance of having a good support system when navigating life-altering diagnoses. The free resources and personalized one-on-one support BCRC provides its clients inspired her to apply for their Development Specialist position in 2019. Since then, Jessica has transitioned into leading the communications and marketing needs of BCRC. She creates customized and branded content for BCRC's website, social media, and digital marketing campaigns. It's Jessica's goal to bring awareness to BCRC's services and resources and to obtain more donors to keep BCRC around for years to come!
Vivian Cirricione ('21)
Vivian Cirricione is a 2021 Sociology Honors Program recipient. While at CSUCI, Vivian worked on a qualitative research project with Dr. Nam (also pictured). She is currently enrolled in California Lutheran University, attending the graduate school of counseling psychology to become a therapist. Vivian is also an addict in recovery, and spends time facilitating SMART Recovery meetings and being of service in Narcotics Anonymous.
Anabel Soto ('19)
Anabel Soto is completing her second year in the school counseling program at the University of San Diego and will be part of the graduating class of ‘22. She considers herself an advocate for underrepresented youth of color and is currently volunteering at Barrio Logan College Institutes, which supports first generation BIPOC college bound students and their families through their journey to college. She is also currently completing her fieldwork at a middle school that serves a diverse population and a high school community school.
Jereme Lua (23)
Jeremy Lua reflects on his experience with the CAUSE Leadership Academy in the summer of 2022: This program opened a lot of doors for me, in terms of job opportunities and taught me about what community leadership is. I was able to speak with Legislative directors of California assembly members to Congressman Jimmy Gomez and work in his district office. I was also able to run a mock campaign and use my skills in sociology to learn and teach the demographics of the district we ran for. I was able to understand what social problems are and how they are solved on the ground, and understand that politics and non-profit work can help the issues we learn in class.