2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Sociology Award Recipients

The first-place winner of the Graduate Student Qualitative Research Poster Contest is Karla Alvarez for her research project: “My Journey as Player One: The Stories of Latino/a Gamers and their Healing Experiences in a Stigmatized Pastime”

The second-place winner is Alicia Galvez for her research project: “Undocumented Latina Mothers and How They navigated motherhood”

The third-place winner is Tom Espinoza for his research project: “Why Does the Professor Keep Saying Copy and Paste?": Exploring Non‐Traditional Students' Journeys to Completing a College Degree"

The Veronica Elias Scholarship is given in honor of Dr. Veronica Elias, who served as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology for many years. The award is given to an undergraduate student who has a demonstrated record of academic achievement. This year’s award goes to is Mia Caputo. 

Mia Caputo

The Beverly Ann Hurd Scholarship was established by CSUN alumnae Beverly Hurd, who majored in sociology. The award is given to a student who is a parent, returned to school after a break in their education, and has succeeded academically. This year’s award goes to Wendy Mendoza. 

The Russell Miller Sociology Scholarship is given in honor of Dr. Russell Miller, who was a faculty member for many years in the Department of Sociology. His widow, Crista Miller has earmarked funds to go to students who have shown scholastic achievement and demonstrated exceptional leadership and community service. 

This year's recipients are Elizabeth Leon Garcia and Gabriella Guidi. 

Elizabeth Leon Garcia

The John J. Plasek Memorial Scholarship is given in honor of the father of Dr. John Wayne Plasek, who was a faculty member in the Department of Sociology for many years. The award goes to a student who has demonstrated academic excellence, particularly in the major, and has overcome difficulties pursuing higher education.

This year’s award goes to is Anais Weinstock.

The Jerald Schutte Award for Excellence in Research Methods and Statistics is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student who has excelled in coursework in statistics and research methods coursework. This year’s award goes to Armando Gonzalez.

Armando Gonzalez

The Sara and Marshall Magnuson Award for Outstanding Student Accepted to Graduate School is for students with a record of academic excellence who have been accepted into graduate school (either a master’s degree program or Ph.D. program).

Award winners will be announced in April 2025.

The Sara & Marshall Magnuson Award for Outstanding Community Service goes to a student who has contributed significantly to the community through volunteer work and/or internships. This year’s award goes to Kyra Fuentes.

The Sara and Marshall awards, are funded by the Sara and Marshall Magnuson Endowment in Sociology. Sara and Marshall Magnuson both attended CSUN. In 1971 Sara graduated with a B.A. in Sociology-Anthropology and Marshall graduated with a B.A. in Art. Although they have both passed away, part of their legacy was to financially support scholarships and awards for sociology students. 

This year’s award goes to Hasmik Lavchyan, Mahal Meldrum, and Sona Poghosyan who are graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. 

Hasmik Lavchyan

Mahal Meldrum

Sona Poghosyan

The Sara and Marshall awards, are funded by the Sara and Marshall Magnuson Endowment in Sociology. Sara and Marshall Magnuson both attended CSUN. In 1971 Sara graduated with a B.A. in Sociology-Anthropology and Marshall graduated with a B.A. in Art. Although they have both passed away, part of their legacy was to financially support scholarships and awards for sociology students. 

This year’s award goes to Sophia Taylor who is graduating with distinction with a 4.0 GPA.

Sophia Taylor