Alumni

Travis Smith

Travis Smith graduated from BYU in 1987 and following his time in sociology, he received a Masters degree from the BYU Marriott School of Management in Administrative Management. Following his Masters degree, Travis entered work as the Market Manager in Sales and Marketing for CSX in the rail industry. He notes that if you can communicate effectively and receive a college degree in sociology, you can uncover a great career path.

Will Richards

Will graduated from BYU's sociology program and went on to get his J.D./MBA from Wake Forest University. He has interned at HP and Dell, and worked with Mass Mutual and Overstock.com. He now works at SAP, the world's largest software company, in a sales capacity. Will reports that sociology has been "extremely helpful" in his career and family. He states that sociology exposed him to "new ways of looking at life."

George Angerbauer

George believes that the most influential aspect of his undergraduate degree in sociology was the "broad perspective of society and life in the modern world," that he gained and the ability to think critically and analyze complex problems. These skills he gained while at BYU assisted him as he continued on at Georgetown University, receiving a Masters in Public Policy. George has worked for a number of organizations, beginning in non-profit health policy advocacy and eventually working for a company doing public outreach. George wishes that he would have networked more with BYU colleagues and alumni while at BYU and identified more work opportunities between his undergrad and grad school. George advises sociology students to know how to communicate effectively and persuasively both verbally and in writing.

James Cathcart

James graduated with the class of 1989 in sociology. For a number of years, he has worked as a training consultant for Stephen R. Covey, teaching core leadership content to many organizations. James advises sociology students to "narrow their focus" as early as possible so that they can graduate with a "clear career focus." James states that it "was a privilege to work with such challenging, considerate and intelligent professionals" at BYU.

Luiza Chan

Following her time at BYU, Luiza went on to be a social researcher for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in San Francisco. Following her time there, she went on to become a CPA, working in accounting and tax.

Jessica Davis

Jessica graduated from BYU with both her BS and MS degrees in sociology. She works as a researcher for the United States Census Bureau and analyzes population issues. In particular, she is the school enrollment analyst for the Census Bureau, working primarily with the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey.

Shaun Farr

Shaun graduated in sociology in 2005, and currently works as a real estate consultant for Mentoring of America. Shaun does lectures at real estate seminars around the country. When we last spoke with Shaun, he was considering starting his own consulting company.

Nathan George

Nathan graduated from BYU with a degree in sociology in 1999. Nathan enjoyed his time at BYU and states that sociology was the "best fit" for him. Upon graduation, Nathan was unsure of what he wanted to do and eventually decided that he wanted to work as a manager or assistant manager in local government. Nathan went on to receive his MPA from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and expresses that his sociology degree was an excellent fit for an MPA. Nathan currently works as a Deputy Manager of Fishers, Indiana, which happens to have been named the "8th Best Place to Live" by Money Magazine in 2008. Looking back on his undergraduate education, Nathan wishes that he would have spent more time analyzing his skills and exploring professions within those skills-- he states that this would have saved him "a lot of time, stress, and energy."

John Hammond

Jon graduated from BYU's sociology program in 2001, and went on to receives his Masters in Health Administration from the University of Missouri. Jon currently works for Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear, AZ.

Eric Kimlinger

Eric graduated with a BS in sociology in 2004 and began employment with the state of Missouri as a claims specialist and later transferred to the private sector, gaining employment with an industry leading HR firm. He received his MBA from BYU in 2009.

Lane Pedersen

Following his time at BYU, Lane went on to become the Director of Human Resources for Intermountain Homecare.

Marcelino Sanchez

Marcelino left BYU with a degree in sociology and continued on to participate in a Marriage and Family Therapy program and and Organizational Behavior program. He worked as an HR Consultant and then went on to be a global manager of change management, which involves training practitioners and developing tools to help them manage change. Marcelino started his own consulting practice specializing in change management and business improvement, called Smart Change Solutions. Marcelino believes that his sociology background helped him to better "make sense of the world," and the statistics and research methods classes proved helpful in his career. He also suggests minoring in business.

Sam Woods

Sam states that sociology "catapulted" him into a career in Human Resources, and in 2009 he graduated with his Masters degree in Labor and Human Resources from Ohio State. Sam is currently working in Hannibal, Missouri for General Mills at their food manufacturing plant. Sam expresses that he "loved" his time at BYU in the sociology department.