Amanda Cabanilla, a senior majoring in sociology has a desire to radically transform the world and has been able to thrive as a researcher at Whittier. Next stop: University of Chicago.
Sociology major with a minor in religious studies.
Pomona, CA
From about the age of five, I wanted to be President of the United States of America. My career goals have since changed, but the desire to radically transform the world that fueled my childhood dream is still alive and well.
I have been on the Dean’s List all five semesters I have attended Whittier. As a junior, I was awarded the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF.) My MMUF project is titled “Form, Function, and Structure: Online Dating While Fat,” and examines how the physical structure of online dating sites construct and restrict fat female identities. My first semester at Whittier, I, along with three other students, organized a panel discussion entitled “Queer and Trans* Students of Color,” which sought to bring attention to the particular experiences and challenges of being a queer/trans student of color on campus and more broadly.
I have also worked as a research and teaching assistant for Professor Rebecca “Becky” Overmyer-Velázquez. As a research assistant, I looked up state and federal environmental regulations, edited letters to politicians and regulatory boards, and a variety of other tasks related to Becky’s work in preventing the expansion of a lead battery processing plant in the local area. I also spent one year as the Fellowships Office Intern, under Professor and Director of Fellowships Rosemary Carbine, gathering information on new fellowship opportunities, editing and maintaining the office webpage, and representing the Fellowships office at various campus events.
This past March, alongside my two research partners, Alyssa Mendez ’16 and Cynthia Montoya ‘16, I presented a group research project in our sociology research methods course entitled, “Sociological Factors Impacting Access and Utilization of Preventative Health Services,” at the Pacific Sociological Association’s (PSA) annual conference in Oakland, CA. We presented the same project at the 2015 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) at Harvey Mudd College. I have presented my MMUF project at the 2015 MMUF West Coast Regional Conference, the inaugural Whittier College Greenleaf Slam, where I was awarded “Best Overall Project,” and at Whittier College's 2015 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (URSCA.)
At this year’s Honors Convocation I was awarded the Charles J. Browning Prize in sociology. Finally, I have recently been accepted to participate in a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Summer Training Research Program at the University of Chicago, where I will earn graduate school credits and conduct research under a University of Chicago faculty mentor.
My favorite classes by far were the paired courses I took with Professor “Becky” Overmyer-Velázquez, Racial and Ethnic Relations, and Professor Rosemary Carbine, Public and Popular Religion. Becky and Professor Carbine are absolutely incredible women and professors. They brought so much passion and insight into the classroom and really challenged all of us to think critically about the issues at hand. Class discussions were also notoriously loud and passionate.
I used to love studying on the first floor of the library next to the windows. I would look out over the quad and just marvel at how gorgeous our campus is and how lucky I was to be here. These days, senioritis has hit me hard and I’m usually curled up in my bed studying. Pajamas and guilt-free Netflix study breaks are the key to my success!
Without a doubt Professor “Becky” Overmyer-Velázquez. Becky has been my academic advisor, MMUF mentor, boss, professor, mother-figure, and everything in between throughout my time here at Whittier. She has literally been my rock. I could not have made it through without her. I would often go into her office on the verge of a breakdown because of one crisis or another (sometimes real, other times imagined), and without fail, I would leave with a feeling of euphoric pride, hope, and determination. She even crashed Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) last November to see me and my teammates present our research. Becky has gone above and beyond in every conceivable way and for that I will be eternally grateful.
Professor Emeritus Les Howard. I took Les’ Comparative Urban Development course my first semester at Whittier and have had an amazing relationship with Les ever since. I was unfortunately unable to take his JanTerm Urban Workshop course, but have walked around downtown Chicago with Les last August while attending the American Sociological Association’s annual conference. Listening to Les’ lifetime of travel adventures and sociological insights into the urban landscape is awe-inspiring.
I will be spending this summer at the University of Chicago at a summer research-training program. When I return, I will be working while applying to Ph.D. programs for the fall of 2017. I hope to attend the University of Chicago for graduate school.
Traveling to Oakland with three amazing Whittier women to present at the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA.) We drove up along the coast and had such an amazing time. The countless memories from that one trip alone are priceless.
