Careers and Graduate Success in Sociology

Students at Commencement

Sociology is not just for those who want to work in the social services. Doctors, nurses, pastors, attorneys, educators, researchers, coaches, business people — virtually all Augustana graduates will move into careers that require them to work effectively with other people in social settings. Thus, whether alone or coupled with another major, a degree in sociology will provide an important foundation to any kind of professional work. The following sample of alumni show the variety of career options available to students who graduate with a sociology major:

  • Amy Kienow ’08, a graduate student in social work at the University of Chicago
  • Shawanda Otto Schroeder ’08, a Ph.D. candidate (on a full scholarship) in sociology at the University of North Dakota
  • Dana Meyer ’06, child support officer for the Hennepin County Child Support Division in Minneapolis
  • Jason Leach ’05, Officer, Sioux Falls Police Department
  • Elisa Cyre ’03, Attorney, Tharrington Smith, Raleigh, N.C.
  • Kylene Guse ’03, Fulbright Scholar; advocating for women’s health issues in Guatemala
  • Kyle Posthumus ’03, Officer, Burnsville (Minn.) Police Department
  • Jessica Hansen ’01, a project manager in the Health Disparities Research Center at Sanford Research/USD who was a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa
  • Shauna Smith Welker ’97, director of marketing at Covington Heights Health Care Center
  • Sarah Satre ’87, a data administrator at the Healthcare Improvement Division of Peace Health, Bellingham, Wash.