今年夏天，25岁的奥利维亚·阿尔瓦拉多(Olivia Alvarado)在密歇根大学(University of Michigan)参加了一个为期两周的项目，期间她考虑了读研和从事公共服务工作.

What initially got you interested in your research?

的 达菲的程序 我是如何开始以社区为基础的学习，并建立联系，开始思考我的研究的. I interned for two Duffy Partnerships seminars with Family Promise of Greater Beloit, the local shelter for the unhoused. 我正在关注流离失所者的资源利用，以及如何更好地了解人口，以消除耻辱.

我出身于底层(背景)，不得不依赖很多政府资源:SNAP、EBT. 我妈妈靠残疾生活. 真的，这就是我能来伯洛伊特的原因，再加上联邦学生援助(FAFSA)。. For something as big as moving from Florida to Wisconsin, [I received] enough [金融援助 from Beloit] to where I felt comfortable and supported. I had never even taken an in-person tour of campus. I went out on a limb, and it has paid off.

在那里’s so much stigma around resource use. 我很高兴 麦克奈尔 (一个支持第一代、低收入家庭学生和残疾学生的项目)从未有过这样的感觉——我在伯洛伊特得到的资源中，没有一个让我觉得他们背负着这样的耻辱. 这是一种美妙的平衡:认识到我是一个完整的人，我确实需要经济支持, 同时也承认我是社会学领域的专业人士和研究人员. Beloit has been amazing about that.

我真的很喜欢[家庭承诺]这个职位，因为它巩固了达菲项目的学习立场, which is that you can learn from absolutely anyone. 我24小时不停地问问题，不管是对住院医生、员工还是执行董事. 从社会学的角度来看待这段经历，对我从这段经历中得到我想要的东西非常重要.

What were your duties as an intern?

Whatever they needed hands with — taking waitlist phone calls, 监督避难所, running the dinner program with volunteers, 和照顾孩子. 这真的是一个很好的机会，可以和这么多我以前没有经验的人一起工作. I had these raw, unfiltered conversations with people. I think when it comes to the unhoused population, people walk on eggshells because they want to be polite, 但这阻碍了他们进行真正的对话和提出重要的问题. That’s how change is made, by putting yourself in those situations.

How did this research interest lead to you joining the 麦克奈尔 Program?

卡罗尔Wickersham, the director of Duffy at the time, recommended that I look into 麦克奈尔 my sophomore year. I didn’t know what it was, and she was like, “Trust me on this one.” I applied, and it was an amazing fit. I found out that I really like research, specifically ethnographic, 以社区为基础的 社会学. 这是我第一次 和麦克奈尔共度夏天, 我和三位避难所的居民谈论了该地区的资源利用以及他们有什么好的经验. 今年夏天，我在研究无家可归者的资源使用情况，特别是用于缓解Covid. 我正在做一个内容分析，看看人们的普遍看法是什么——如果这些资源被认为是有效的，并且很好地利用了政府资金. 技术障碍是巨大的——人们与外界脱节，不知道有什么资源可用, not having a physical social security card, 背景调查, 令人困惑的应用程序, not having a personal cell phone or reliable wifi.

今年夏天，戴着黑色无边帽的奥利维亚和她的同伴们在密歇根的MICHHERS项目上.

What was the University of Michigan program like?

It was not an easy experience, but it was such an important one. 的 两周的计划 was more of a time of personal development than steeping myself in research. 它为我打开了一扇大门，让我能够现实地思考研究生院，并与学者接触. 密歇根大学拥有一些(国内)最优秀的社会学学者。, so I got to meet important people who are actively doing the work. 我们会有小组讨论、研讨会和机会与我的同辈(来自全国各地的其他本科生)建立随意的关系。. At the end, I gave a share-out of my first year of research. It was great to close on a note where we could celebrate all the work we’d done.

When I first got there, I was so intimidated by my cohort. I saw all of these great people and was like, “Do I belong here? 我正在做的工作重要吗? And how can I pursue this work if I don’t know if it stacks up or not?“我必须与自己进行多次内心对话，学习如何为自己所做的工作感到自豪, 因为这很重要. 在那里 were students in the cohort coming from Yale and getting published, and they were all super supportive and amazing individuals. 我不得不卸下我的防御，花时间分析为什么我必须进行比较.

到最后, 我知道。, 除非你想精疲力竭, you have to put yourself first and advocate for your needs, especially as a person of color in those spaces. I also have chronic illness limitations. I want to build community for what I’m doing, but it’s also so important to listen to [my] body and take time for [me].

“这个为期两周的项目更像是一个个人发展的时间，而不是沉浸在研究中. 它为我打开了一扇大门，让我能够现实地思考研究生院，并与学者接触,奥利维亚说。.

这段经历是否让你更好地了解了你离开贝洛伊特后的生活会是什么样子?

它无疑为长期决策过程带来了更多的细微差别! 它帮助我决定，在攻读研究生之前有一年的空档期是可以的，而且我可以利用这段时间参加富布赖特项目(Fulbright)——我现在正在申请这个项目——或者参加美国志愿队(AmeriCorps). 我将在这个领域获得经验，并直接服务，以了解我是否想更多地参与到人群中来. 我有一份很短的学校名单，有一年的时间来缩短它，密歇根大学在名单上名列前茅.

的 program was also buzzing with 酷儿 生活，对我来说是美妙的. Another part of these two weeks was realizing that I am 酷儿. 我第一次参加同志游行. 这是我在个人生活和学术研究生活中寻找方向的美妙结合.

Who is your favorite Beloit professor?

社会学教授 凯特Linnenberg 是我威斯康辛州的母亲，我的导师——一个能看到我身上连我自己都看不到的东西的人. Since I took intro to 社会学 with her my freshman year, things just made sense the way she explained them: “Here is the text, 这是基础, and here’s why it matters and the populations being affected today. 这就是我们需要关心的原因.“对于我想做的工作和成为一名社会学教授来说，她一直是一个榜样. 能够促进后代的这些对话是我想要做出改变的方式, and that’s what she’s done for me.

Olivia after their presentation on their research on the unhoused in Beloit.

作为一名学生，什么带给你快乐?

我喜欢在贝洛伊特所有不同的空间里闲逛，看看他们都提供什么. 我在 Latinx声音 recently and got to explore different aspects of my identity. Being raised as a fourth-generation American, [I explored] what that means for my relationship with my culture, and I got to speak with a lot of people who came from different places. I was living at the Latinx声音 special interest house, and [senior year] I’m going to be living in 传奇 and exploring a different aspect of my identity.

我喜欢做某事 以社区为基础的学习 课堂——它赋予我力量. 在那里 was the 社会学 capstone, where we worked with 重新开始 (由 社区行动我和那些没有正式高中文凭的年轻人一起工作，他们试图在这个世界上闯荡. Through the program, they get a GED. We gave workshops on career readiness. 我还和 Family 服务 of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois 和凯特·林嫩伯格一起参加了以社区为基础的家庭转型学习班. 为此，我们与DEFY合作，进入家暴中心，举办活动. 你可以看到从不信任我们——这些外人进入他们的生活空间——到这个社区蓬勃发展的转变.

很难不被困住(感觉)我只是一个人，我什么都做不了. But when you have those experiences outside of the classroom, where you see that the energy that you’re putting in is being recognized, 这太值得了.