I see teaching and mentoring students as a crucial aspect of my role as a scholar. I have taught sociology in both formal and informal settings: as a teaching assistant, grading assistant, statistics tutor, research mentor, and summer program instructor.

My interest in teaching and mentorship started long before I began to study sociology. It traces back to the many years I spent tutoring my younger sister and has been reinforced through teaching experiences in diverse settings. Prior to graduate school, these include working as an English language teacher in a Japanese public junior high school (2005-2007), as a volunteer English language tutor to Spanish-speaking itinerant workers  (2004-2005), and as a summer GED program instructor at a juvenile detention center (2004, 2005).

Teaching Assistant, Grading Assistant, and Statistics Tutor

In my first year at the University of Wisconsin, I taught Criminal Justice in America as a teaching assistant for two semesters (Fall 2007, Spring 2008). Since then, I have acted as a grading assistant five times for three sociology courses at the undergraduate level (Research Methods, Social Stratification, Criminology). In addition, I have more than five years of experience as a Statistics tutor to undergraduate and graduate students, working both one-on-one and in group settings.

Research Mentor in Directed Study Credits

I have acted as a joint research mentor to six advanced undergraduate students completing directed study credits toward their Sociology degrees (2011, 2013). I have instructed students in techniques to design and conduct interviews, code and analyze interview data, and connect findings to sociology and education research. I work with students to develop hands-on projects based on their particular interests, and we meet regularly to monitor their progress and address challenges.

Summer Work with High School Students

I have spent three summers working in a teaching role with a diverse set of high school students. In 2008, I designed and implemented a 3-week experiential course introducing students to social science research methods for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education College Access Program. In 2011 and 2013, I acted as an instructor for the Wisconsin Association of School Council summer leadership camp. This past summer, I also collaborated with association staff to redesign the camp curriculum focusing on issues of diversity.