Certificate Student Honored

A sociology major at CC, senior Lauren Richter just earned a prestigious membership in the American Sociological Association Honors Program. She will present her project at a conference in Philadelphia during the summer. Lauren first completed her paper, titled “Geographic Inequality in New London,” for a sociology class at CC. She has been working closely with Jacqueline Olvera, the Lenore Tingle Howard '42 Assistant Professor of Sociology. Olvera, who specializes in urban sociology, encouraged Lauren to submit her work to the undergraduate Honors Program.

Lauren's research uses GIS (Geographic Information System) maps in order to lay out the sources of pollution in New London county and then draws on census data to determine the minority population distribution in the area. “The data confirmed that minorities disproportionately inhabit largely polluted areas, especially along the Thames River, which is not surprising, given the social history of the city,” Lauren explains.

A native of Chicago, Ill., Lauren applied early decision to Connecticut College, knowing that she wanted to study “out East.” Although she initially wanted to major in environmental studies, Lauren says that, “in time I discovered I wanted to take a more interdisciplinary approach to the subject and became interested in things like environmental justice. After taking a sociology class my first year, I realized that this is a very interesting field, which deals with gender, racial and class inequality.” She is now a scholar in the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, one of CC's four interdisciplinary centers.

Lauren participated in Freshman Focus, a year-long, writing intensive program. In the spring of her junior year, she studied in Rome on CC program known as Study Away Teach Away (SATA). Professor of Sociology Art Ferrari accompanied a group of students for the semester. Lauren then stayed in Rome for the summer and interned for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, researching the use of biotechnology and GMOs in the food industry.

Although she wants to eventually continue on to graduate school, Lauren will spend the next year teaching English as a second language in Japan. “I don't know exactly where in Japan I am going to end up, but I am sure that it will be extremely new and exciting,” she shares.

- Vassilena Ivanova ´07