McNair Fellow Credits Professors with her Success

Jenny Nguyen became interested in issues of social inequality, race and ethnicity, and education after a trip to Nicaragua exposed her to the living conditions in other areas. She participated in the UCF Summer Mentorship Program with Amanda Anthony, PhD who is also working with her on research related to issues of “Black authenticity,” and their manuscript has been submitted to a journal for review. She praises the summer mentorship for connecting her with Dr. Anthony who has served as an advisor and has mentored Nguyen throughout her first year at UCF.  According to Nguyen, “This is an amazing program that a lot of students should take advantage of.”  The program pairs students with professors who have similar research interests and helps transition new students into graduate school.

Nguyen came to UCF after earning her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Texas Christian University and her master’s degree in Sociology at Oklahoma State University. At first uncertain of moving to Florida, after visiting UCF, the welcoming faculty and staff of the department ultimately drew her to the program here to earn her doctoral degree. Nguyen credits her professors with her success thus far in the program. “They are the reason that I came to UCF after visiting several departments,” she states. “They are just very welcoming and very supportive in terms of publication and program completion.” 

Nguyen’s current research focuses on religiosity and intimate partner violence. She plans to graduate with her PhD in Sociology in 2016 with the hopes of procuring a tenure track position in academia. She is attending UCF as a McNair Fellow and is a member of the Graduate Student Council on the programming subcommittee.