- Social Science Student Leadership Team
- Spotlight Series - Winter 2021
- Spotlight Series - Spring 2021
Spotlight Series - Winter 2021
Watch or listen to full session recordings from winter term sessions here.
January 12 Spotlight: Professor Jacki Strenio. From struggling with math to snuggling with her dog, Professor Strenio talked with us about a wide range of topics including her current research projects and how her role has changed with the pandemic. Watch the full session here.
January 26 Spotlight: Professor Shawn Patterson: In our second session, Professor Patterson talks about how he decided to major and ultimately pursue a Ph.D. in Political Science, how he ended up teaching 600 students in his US Presidency course after the 2016 election and how he manages politically charged conversations in his classes. Watch the full session here.
February 2 Spotlight: Sarah Westover, Political Science and CCJ Alum, 2010: After graduating, Sarah built on her student activism by immersing herself in community organizing and campaign work. Sarah currently works as a labor union organizer for SEIU 503, helping working people to build power and organize for better wages, benefits and workplace conditions. Watch the full session here.
February 9 Spotlight: Professor Amber Reed, Anthropology: Amber R. Reed’s background and interests are in the areas of South Africa, youth, democracy, race, nostalgia, apartheid, and visual media. Her most recent project, recently published as a book, investigates how rural South Africans teach and learn about democratic ideals and human rights just after the fall of apartheid. She is also beginning a new project that will examine both the fantasies and realities of post-apartheid life in suburban Johannesburg. Watch the full session here.
February 15 (MONDAY at 10am) Spotlight: Alum Amanda Metcalf, Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Amanda is currently a liscensed professional counselor specializing in trauma and crisis counseling as well as multiculural counseling at Rising Phoenix Counseling Services. Watch the full session here.
February 23 Spotlight: Professor Mark Krause, Psychology: Mark Krause’s background is in animal behavior and neuroscience. His primary teaching responsibilities include comparative psychology, learning and memory, and behavioral neuroscience. Dr Krause’s scholarly focus is on the evolutionary bases of learning and memory in animals and humans. Watch the full session here.
March 2 Spotlight: Alum Sarah Kalivoda, Sociology & Anthropology: After graduation, Sarah pursued her masters in public health from the University of Arizona to become an epidemiologist. Sarah currently works for Crook County Health Department as the Region 7 Epidemiologist, providing COVID-19 response epidemiological support, and surveillance for the 8 counties in Oregon's Region 7. Listen to the full session here.
March 9 Spotlight: Professor Vincent Smith, Sociology, Environmental Science and Policy: Vincent Smith's research explores the complex coupled human-environment systems that shape the world in which we live. He is currently looking specifically at food system design, community food insecurity, and the relationships between food policy and health. Watch the full session here.
Spotlight Series - Spring 2021
Watch the full session recordings from spring term sessions here.
April 13 Spotlight: Professor Shanell Sanchez, Criminology & Criminal Justice: Professor Shanell Sanchez's primary research and teaching interests include social inequality, social change and justice, qualitative research methods, comparative crime and justice, and race and crime. During this session Professor Sanchez shared her current book recommendations (she's read over 400 during the pandemic!), the importance of caring for your mental health and her experience as a first generation college student. Watch the full session here.
April 20 Spotlight: Professor Mark Tveskov, Sociology & Anthropology: Mark Tveskov is an archaeologist and ethnohistorian interested in historical memory, colonialism, and conflict archaeology. His current research focuses on the Rogue River War of the early 1850s in southern Oregon and included the discovery of the site of the Battle of Hungry Hill. Tveskov is co-host of the monthly Jefferson Public Radio program Underground History and is a member of the Governor of Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation. Watch the full session here.
April 27 Spotlight: Alum Tami Garcia, 2016: Tami King Garcia is a proud SOU alumni! Since graduating with her Bachelor’s in Human Services, she decided to further her education and obtain her Master’s in Business (MBA), ultimately, graduating at the top of her class. Throughout her education, she worked for Asante, a local healthcare system, here in Southern Oregon. Currently, she is working as a Senior Nurse Recruiter which includes recruiting nurses, creating and joining in on nursing strategy, developing Asante’s employment brand and partnering closely with nursing and marketing leaders. Watch the full session here.
May 4 Spotlight: Professor Rachel Jochem, Psychology: Dr. Jochem teaches courses focused on development across the lifespan, the intersection of emotion and cognition, identity development and family process. Dr. Jochem works in collaboration with local not for profit organizations serving youth and families in Southern Oregon to support evaluation and grant writing needs. Dr. Jochem currently collects interview data from community members focused on experiences in the family which shape an individual’s identity as a parent. Watch the full session here.
May 11 Spotlight: Professor Brian Fedorek, Criminology & Criminal Justice: Brian joined the CCJ Department in 2009. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Duquesne University, with an emphasis in existential phenomenology. Brian’s Master’s and Doctorate degrees in criminology are from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Brian’s areas of interest and research include criminal violence, victimology, mass media and crime, and criminological theory. He has four children – Eva, Oliver, and twins – Everett and Violet. Watch the full session here.
May 18 Spotlight: Alum Jill Smedstad, Sociology, 2004: Jill Smedstad (she/her) is the Equity Coordinator for Sustainability and Basic Needs Resourcing, where she leads the Social Justice and Equity Center's Student Sustainability Team and Student Food Pantry. Jill has a MS from Oregon State University in Geography and a BS in Sociology from SOU. Prior to her Student Affairs career, Jill served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, was a Regional Supervisor with the Montana Conservation Corps, and spent a number of years doing seasonal conservation and trail work around the western US. Jill and her husband Dev have two children, Leo and Juniper, and together they go on many excellent adventures exploring Southern Oregon and Northern California. Watch the full session here.
May 25 Spotlight: Professor Erica Jameson, History: Raised in the southern Sierra Nevadas, I grew up at Jameson Ranch Camp (JRC), where I am currently the third-generation owner. I have an educational background in teaching, both secondary and university. Receiving my Master's Degree in 2012, where I focused on gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in contested spaces, and I sat my exams in Comparative Genocide, as well as The American West. My industry specialties include staff training, program development, camp culture, fun, and horseback riding. Coming from decades of working with children, camp has a special meaning for me, and I believe that it transforms children into better, stronger, more independent people. Working as a person of color within both education and the camping industry has made me extremely aware of the need for leaders of diversity. Watch the full session here.
June 1 Spotlight: Alum Chase Mayer, Economics, 2017: Chase Mayer is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an editor on the Virginia Journal of Criminal Law. His interests include swing dancing, saber fencing, and fitness/cooking. Chase is currently serving as a Kennedy Fellow at the City of Houston Office of the City Attorney in the General Litigation Section. Chase recently passed the Texas Uniform Bar Exam and is licensed to practice law in Texas. Watch the full session here.
Social Science Student Leadership Team
Pandora Hamsa is in her fourth undergraduate year and is majoring in Psychology and minoring Outdoor Adventure Leadership. She plans to pursue a masters or Ph.D in psychology research. Pandora is a non-traditional first-generation college student and is looking to help others overcome the challenges that arise while attending a university. In her free time, she enjoys trail running, hikes, yoga/meditation, cooking, and reading.
Katie Minich (she/her/hers) is a Traditional Health Worker Doula for the state of Oregon, yoga teacher and founder of Peaceful Earth Yoga and Birth. Katie, who identifies as Metis, is also an author and multidisciplinary artist currently making her home in northern Klamath County. She is senior and an anthropology and sociology major at Southern Oregon University, where she also serves as a TRIO-SSS peer student mentor and social science leadership team member; she was awarded the Schneider Merit Award for Outstanding Juniors in 2021 and is a McNair Scholar focused on the study of birth and birthworkers. Katie is passionate about applying a cross-cultural, decolonized lens to birth work and research, as well as reducing the effects of social determinants of health in rural areas. Currently, she serves on the leadership team for a food sustainability project to address nutrition equity issues and serves as the librarian in her rural mountain community. In her personal life, Katie loves cooking, hiking, gardening, foraging, crafting, reading and writing, and most of all, spending time in nature with her three children and husband, Steven.