Sociology paper by Alondra Castillo ’23 places second in statewide competition

Alondra Castillo ’23, a sociology and Spanish major from Northlake, Illinois, has placed second in the Wisconsin Sociological Association’s undergraduate student paper competition.

She won for her Senior Seminar paper from last spring, “Building Community in Gendered Ways in College Basketball.” Her research is based on participant observation of two collegiate basketball teams, as well as semi-structured interviews with players and coaches. Her work shows how players and coaches build community in gendered ways.

Professor of Sociology Jacqueline Clark served as her faculty advisor. “Alondra’s paper stood out because it was based on first-hand data collection, was well-written and represented original qualitative data analysis,” Clark says.

Clark says more than 10 students from Ripon have placed in this competition since 2012. “Ripon students have done well in this competition because all students in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology complete a qualitative research project for the Senior Seminar class. Typically, students do participant observation research, conduct semi-structured interviews and complete an original research project based on this data collection process

“This is an experience that is not very common for most undergraduate sociology programs. And our students have polished papers that they can submit to undergraduate paper competitions, like the Wisconsin Sociological Association’s one, upon completion of the Senior Seminar class.”


Related Posts

Image of a haunted house

Auditions to be held Wednesday for student-directed, one-act horror play

Auditions will be held Wednesday, March 27, for a new play written and directed by Pierce Reese-Grimm ’24 of Wautoma, Wisconsin. “Ties that Bind and […]

2023-2024 Ethics Bowl team

Ethics Bowl team represents Ripon at national competition

At the 28th annual National Ethics Bowl Competition held Feb. 25-26 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Ripon College Ethics Bowl team won one preliminary round and […]

Student singers performing

Ripon College choirs will perform Sunday

A choral concert presented by the Ripon College Choirs — Concert Choir, Choral Union and Chamber Singers — will begin at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. […]

Meredith Thiessen ’26, left, and Hannah Brockman ’24

Conference attendance allows education students to share ideas with those in the field

Hannah Brockman ’24 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and Meredith Thiessen ’26 of Stoughton, Wisconsin, attended the 2023 Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers (WAFLT) conference in […]

Alondra Castillo '23

 


Related Areas of Study