Flourishing Through Fieldwork</h1> <article> <h1>Flourishing Through Fieldwork</h1> <p>kviancou — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:53:01 +0000</p> <span>Flourishing Through Fieldwork</span> <span><span>kviancou</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-03-13T14:53:01-04:00" title="Friday, March 13, 2026 - 14:53">Fri, 03/13/2026 - 14:53</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Building on her classroom studies at 91ֱ��, fourth-year student Vivian Friedman spent last summer interning as a research assistant at NYU’s Cognitive Development Lab.</p><p>The Brooklyn, New York, native—who double majors in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology">psychology</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology">sociology</a>—was inspired to pursue the internship after taking <a href="/nancy-darling">Professor Nancy Darling</a>’s course Development in a Cultural Context. </p><p>“This class really opened my eyes to the importance of culture, especially within the field of research,” Friedman says. “My biggest takeaway from this course was just how insular the field of psychology—developmental psychology, specifically—can be, with most participants coming from very similar backgrounds.”</p><p>Friedman carried this revelation with her as she undertook her fieldwork, ensuring that her research took diversity, as well as social and cultural factors, into account.</p><p>“I helped with recruitment online, through social media, and in person, going to New York City zoos and parks to ask families if they would like to participate,” she explains. </p><p>Friedman collected data by facilitating interviews and recording participants’ answers, she says.</p><p>“One of the most interesting parts of the internship was seeing how the answers differed based on the participants' age,” Friedman says. “The projects I worked on focused on children’s explanations, growth mindset beliefs, and understanding of gender differences.” </p><p>She was particularly interested in “how exposure to diversity as a child impacts the development of critical thinking,” she says. “I believe that understanding how children learn and develop is vital in better understanding our world.”</p><p>Through her time at the NYU Cognitive Development Lab, she also learned how collaborative and gratifying the research process can be.</p><p>“Before I began, I thought that research was way more individualistic, and that people would be pretty focused on their own topics,” Friedman says. “But I was pleasantly surprised by how much the researchers helped each other—giving advice, feedback, and lending a helping hand.”</p><hr><p>To learn more about internship opportunities for 91ֱ�� students, check out <a href="/career/set/summer">Career Exploration and Development</a>. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Vivian Friedman ’26 spent the summer of 2025 at New York University, gaining valuable insight into the research process.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2026-03-13T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/13/2026 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">By Danielle Frezza</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4093">Internships</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4071">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4340">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2403">Career Exploration & Development</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" hreflang="und">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item"> Abe Frato '26</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>Going Places</h1> <p>azaleski — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:03:52 +0000</p> <span>Going Places</span> <span><span>azaleski</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-02-19T16:03:52-05:00" title="Thursday, February 19, 2026 - 16:03">Thu, 02/19/2026 - 16:03</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Earlier this year, Luca Johnson ’24 landed his dream role: working on the Safe Routes Philly initiative. </p><p>Managed by Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, the city-wide program helps protect children from traffic incidents on their way to school.</p><p>Johnson’s role at Safe Routes, which is supported by the AmeriCorps VISTA program, is helping him master skills for administering a public initiative for a major city, such as grant writing and community outreach.</p><p>“My favorite part of what I’ve been doing is joining a walking or biking ‘school bus,’ where students, parents, and volunteers meet and walk or bike to school together,” Johnson says. “I get to bike with the kids and talk to them about safe biking practices.”</p><p>Growing up in the Boston area, he always wanted to work in public transportation—and saw first-hand how the subway system (colloquially known as the T) and the city’s bus lines tended to benefit wealthier neighborhoods. </p><p>At 91ֱ��, he pursued this interest in public transit with depth, rigor, and passion thanks to the <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology">sociology</a> department. Encouraged by Professor of Sociology <a href="/greggor-mattson">Greggor Mattson</a>, Johnson applied and won the <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology/awards">Jerome Davis Research Award</a>, which sent him to Los Angeles to conduct fieldwork on the city’s metro system.</p><p>With the help of his advisor, William G. Smith Associate Professor of Sociology and Comparative American Studies <a href="/alicia-smith-tran">Alicia Smith-Tran ’10</a>, Johnson presented his findings on “transit vanity projects as a representation of spatial injustice” at a conference of the North Central Sociological Association.</p><p>Throughout his time at 91ֱ��, Johnson says he felt supported in his desire to follow his curiosity. “Community-centered transportation is a very niche field, and that was intimidating when I first entered the job market,” he says. “But 91ֱ��’s ability to encourage these niches makes it so that when you do find that fit, your level of interest is really rewarded.</p><p>“Having the freedom to explore my intellectual interests at 91ֱ�� and being in a supportive learning environment gave me the confidence to enter a space like the Office of Transportation with a growth mindset,” he adds. “I know that ‘growth mindset’ is such a phrase—but it’s true, and it allowed me to soak in all the information I can here.”</p><p>Johnson especially appreciated his soft landing in Philly. In early 2025, while living in Los Angeles, his previous organization shut down due to funding cuts, and he lost a similar role.</p><p>“I saw the impact of that organization during my time in L.A., and seeing how quickly something like that can go away reaffirmed its importance,” Johnson says. “That experience only hardened my resolve to continue this work.”</p><p>During his year-long appointment at Safe Routes Philly, he is helping the program expand throughout the city by making connections with other schools and “using mapping technologies to reflect the work that we’re doing and how we want to expand,” he says. “I get to do so many different things, including creating the institutional memory of this program to ensure its longevity.”</p><hr><p><em>Kristen Evans is a culture writer and critic who has written for</em> BuzzFeed, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, NYLON, <em>and</em> the New Republic.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Thanks to support from 91ֱ��, Luca Johnson ’24 explored his interest in public transportation—and now helps the city of Philadelphia design safer routes to school.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2026-02-19T12:00:00Z">Thu, 02/19/2026 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kristen Evans</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4340">Sociology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25431">Sociology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" hreflang="und">Sociology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Luca Johnson '24</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>Using Sociology for Better Higher Education</h1> <p>awillia2 — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:35:55 +0000</p> <span>Using Sociology for Better Higher Education</span> <span><span>awillia2</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-08-28T18:35:55-04:00" title="Thursday, August 28, 2025 - 18:35">Thu, 08/28/2025 - 18:35</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> “I was a <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" target="_blank" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="47bf959d-4400-4c68-8c43-c92357a359ed" data-entity-substitution="canonical" title="Sociology">sociology</a> student, but a lot of the people that took that class were interested in going to medical school,” Duphare says. “A lot of them were prospective chem or bio majors, so it was also interesting to interact with them.”</p><p>Now, as the student affairs coordinator at the Drexel University College of Medicine, Duphare spends her days working entirely with medical students. She’s the main point of contact for student extracurricular organizations, helping them put on events and other programming. “It was very unexpected,” says the Palatine, Illinois, native. “I knew when I graduated that I was really interested in working in higher ed, but I didn’t expect to work at a medical school.”</p><p>However, Duphare believes her sociology background is beneficial for her position in student life. “I’m able to identify broader things in education and the student experience and keep them in mind,” she says. “For example, a lot of our student groups are identity-based, so it’s thinking about: What are the underrepresented groups within medicine? What is their programming like? How do they support themselves, and open up doors for people like themselves to have the opportunity to pursue medicine? Sociology is very applicable to the field of education in a lot of ways.” </p><p>During her second year at 91ֱ��, Duphare found sociology while attempting to pull together different interests, including global inequity and gender, sexuality and feminist studies. “Sociology offered a lot of paths to learn both about a lot of different things, but also focus on the niches I was interested in,” Duphare says. “It analyzes the world very critically, but also it’s trying to understand the undercurrents of why things are the way they are, why people or groups interact with each other or institutions the way they do.” </p><p>The interplay between identities and institutions was a major part of Duphare’s time at 91ֱ��. During her first year, she was one of several students involved in reviving the Multiracial Students Association (MULTI). “Talking about our experiences made me feel a lot less alone,” she says. “Just being able to talk to other people who came from very different backgrounds, but we were able to connect in so many different ways and learn how our experiences were both similar and different.”</p><p>Duphare also took her desire to connect with other students and make the transition into college easier for others by working as a writing associate and in the <a href="/node/47086" target="_blank">Peer Advising Leader (PAL) program</a>, which creates orientation programming for incoming students and then also connects students with a PAL that supports them through the semester. </p><p>“I really enjoyed helping them navigate college, whether that’s academically, or socially, emotionally,” Duphare says. “Those experiences helped me get the skills I needed to be able to work with students, and understand how higher education programming can work,” Duphare says. “With the job I have now, they specifically said, ‘Oh, we noticed you have this experience with orientation programming,’ and that helped me get the job.”</p><hr><p><em>Learn more about studying </em><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology"><em>sociology at 91ֱ��</em></a><em>, where students apply the quantitative and critical skills they learn in the classroom to address complex problems in the wider world and focus on the systematic study of social phenomena.</em></p><p><em>Dyani Sabin ’14 is a freelance science journalist and author of speculative fiction who has written for</em> Strange Horizons, Inverse, National Geographic, The Washington Post, <em>and</em> Popular Science.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Neena Duphare ’24 is using what she learned at 91ֱ�� to help med students find their way.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-09-02T12:00:00Z">Tue, 09/02/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Dyani Sabin ’14</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When Neena Duphare ’24, became a course-writing associate for William G. Smith Associate Professor of Sociology and Comparative American Studies Alicia Smith-Tran ’10’s first-year seminar, White Coat Wonders: Examining the Medical Profession, she wasn’t imagining it would be key to her future career.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2360">After 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4340">Sociology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" hreflang="und">Sociology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Neena Duphare</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> </main></body></html>