Amanda Beavin, Outstanding Sociology Major

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Amanda is a double major in Sociology and Geography & Environmental Studies, with a minor in Citizenship & Social Justice. On campus, she has worked at the Center for Citizenship & Social Justice and the Potter College Dean’s Office. She also served as an ambassador in the HonorsToppers and as President of the Potter College Dean’s Council of Student. Her favorite experiences at WKU and in the Department of Sociology & Criminology have been through applied learning. In the summer of 2019, she interned for New Roots, Inc., a food justice cooperative in Louisville. She served a research assistant in the Department of Diversity and Community Studies in her sophomore year. That same year, her Social Inequalities class completed a community-based research project on housing in Bowling Green. This project was very influential for Amanda, and she has since been involved with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Bowling Green Anti-Eviction Network working on issues related to housing. During the Spring of 2020, Amanda studied abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand, studying sustainable agriculture and Thai society. During her senior year, Amanda completed her Undergraduate Honors Thesis, a community-based study exploring self-governance and success in Louisville’s community gardens. Next year, she plans to attend Syracuse University for graduate school. She has been admitted to the Geography MA – MPA dual program. In the future, she hopes apply her training in sociology and geography to pursue a career of community-based research for housing and food justice.