Alessandra Gonzalez

Alessandra Gonzalez

The ability to create an interdisciplinary approach to her education was something that Alessandra intended to take advantage of as early as her freshman year. “I went through all these different ideas about what I wanted to do and how I could encapsulate that in a major. Then I realized that a major basically isn’t going to sell me or explain me to anybody, so I thought I should just pick what I liked. I was really interested in an interdisciplinary approach because I think every subject is important and should give to and take from others—especially since I’m a social science–humanities person.”

Like Jennine, Alessandra settled on sociology and policy studies. Even though their career paths are quite different, their majors allow them the flexibility to pursue their special interests. “Sociology seemed to be a great way to take ideas from all my classes and see how they influence the way people organize and understand themselves,” Alessandra says. “I wanted to combine a departmental major with the policy studies track in order to keep myself aware of how those ideas end up taking form, whether in policy or politics, and to learn how to analyze their real consequences. Also, within both departments I have great advisors who are very happy to listen to me in order to understand a little bit of why I’m interested in what I study, so they know how to guide me.” With her advisor Dr. Don Ostdiek, Alessandra is working on making her own focus within her majors. “What I think I’d like to do before graduate or law school is take a year and do some sort of independent research on how policy, politics, and communication all influence one another. I’d like to do that and study something in either South America or the Middle East.”

And Alessandra has supplemented her sociology and policy studies focus with the languages and outside opportunities she knows will help her in the future. “Every semester I’ve tried to take courses that would strengthen my skills in Spanish, develop my skills in French, and dabble a little in a few other things.” Alessandra also spent a month at the White House this summer, then three months at an academic Christian civic and cultural leadership seminar, which she describes as “really intense.” “I worked with some amazing people in the bioethics department of the Family Research Council,” she explains. “I did amazing things and met amazing people. . . . Oh, and going to Oxford on an Honors Fellowship with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute this summer was really cool too!”

Alessandra pauses, “Maybe it’s not always a good thing to have so many interests and know that there are so many ways to learn, but I do feel that by choosing these fields of study, even more perspectives and opportunities have opened for me.”