{"id":429,"date":"2023-01-18T19:24:58","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T19:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/?page_id=429"},"modified":"2025-11-13T11:25:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:25:00","slug":"graduate-alumni-testimonials","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/graduate-alumni-testimonials\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Alumni Testimonials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\"\"Elisabeth Shimada, 2023 PhD<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
\nPomona College
\nConnect with Elisa on LinkedIn \u279e<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“I am so grateful for my time in USC’s Sociology department. Throughout the PhD program, I encountered many generous graduate students from several cohorts who pushed me to new heights intellectually, and encouraged me when I felt unsure of myself. The graduate students created mentorship networks, working groups, and research collaborations that helped me succeed at every stage of the program. They are some of my closest friends to this day. USC has tons of opportunities for graduate students to become not only strong research scholars, but also innovative educators. USC’s Center for the Changing Family and USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching provided incredible resources for me to become the teacher-scholar I am today, and it was my supportive faculty mentors who linked me to these resources. Thank you to my USC Sociology faculty and graduate student mentors who told me I could be a sociologist, and helped me reach that goal, even when I believed I couldn’t do it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"\"LaToya Council, 2022 PhD<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies
\nLehigh University<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I believe USC Sociology is a solid program that provides graduate students the training they need to be successful in higher education and research-based careers. During my tenure as a graduate student at USC Sociology, I was encouraged to express my concerns and I worked collaboratively with department faculty to positively change our department culture. The advice I would give individuals interested in graduate school, or currently attending USC Sociology’s graduate program is to seek out support. Always stay curious, and keep going, despite any challenges that might arise.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"\"Minwoo Jung, 2021 PhD<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
\nLoyola University Chicago
\nConnect with Minwoo on Bluesky \u279e<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Completing my PhD in Sociology at the University of Southern California was a transformative experience, providing rigorous training in theory, ethnography, and transnational research within a supportive and intellectually vibrant environment. The department\u2019s resources, mentoring, and generous research funding enabled me to pursue multi-sited, globally engaged projects and to develop my public scholarship. USC\u2019s encouragement of interdisciplinary collaboration and professional development prepared me to contribute meaningfully to sociological debates, secure international fellowships, and build a career as a researcher, teacher, and transnational scholar. My advice to current and prospective students is to find and build your own intellectual community\u2014seek peers and mentors who challenge and inspire you, and create spaces where your ideas can grow and take shape, even beyond the classroom.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"\"Megan Carroll, 2019 PhD<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Associate Professor of Sociology
\nCalifornia State University, San Bernardino
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

“USC offered the right combination of mentorship, support, and collegiality that I needed to pursue my PhD. I got involved in Sociology because of my fascination with gender, sexualities, and inequalities, and my time at USC exposed me to new interests, built my methodological training, and prepared me for a rigorous academic career. My advice for people entering the program is to build community with other graduate students. Peer relationships were just as important as faculty mentorships in helping me get to where I am today.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-content-detail.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-429","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGraduate Alumni Testimonials - Department of Sociology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/graduate-alumni-testimonials\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graduate Alumni Testimonials - Department of Sociology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/graduate-alumni-testimonials\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Sociology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-13T19:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/graduate-alumni-testimonials\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/graduate-alumni-testimonials\/\",\"name\":\"Graduate Alumni Testimonials - 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