Last week, I participated in a week long workshop on research methods surrounding social justice. This workshop was offered by the Kunz Center for Social Research, which is in the Sociology Department. This program was geared towards students of all majors who are interested in using research to promote social justice. As a STEM major, I learned quite a bit about social research that I would not have had the opportunity to otherwise. I also had a great time with an amazing cohort of 15 other students from different majors, and universities.

Throughout the week, different professors from the Sociology department presented their research projects and research methods. Every day was divided into two workshops with a FREE lunch in between. The lunch was a different cuisine every day, and all of them were so good. Apart from lunch, all the workshops were also great. I appreciated how every workshop was hands-on so we had the opportunity to apply what we were learning. Every workshop incorporated some form of real-life application of the research methods.

This workshop was an empowering experience for me because it helped me see that even as a student, there is quite a lot that I can do to contribute to social justice. I have always thought that change can only result from a position of power, but I am happy to report back that we are all capable of using research to make changes. For example, one of the participants in this workshop had previously taken a Sociology class with one of the presenters. Their class did an amazing research project on housing and eviction in a local area, and presented it to the city council. Being able to have these conversations with the government proved to be a good start in favor of the tenants.

I am also thankful because I got a scholarship to attend this workshop. Our university has several opportunities to engage students in leadership and social justice.

Read here about Tosha’s experience attending the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders .

You can read here about our other events.