The following students are 2022 graduates of the UChicago Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences, the Master of Public Policy Program in the Harris School of Public Policy, or the MDiv program at the Divinity School who additionally completed a certificate program in Education and Society administered by the Committee on Education.

Youchuan (Mike) Ma

Background
Mike completed the Master of Arts Program in Social Sciences (MAPSS) with a concentration in Psychology and a graduate certificate in Education and Society in August 2022. Throughout his graduate studies at UChicago, Mike worked on the Social Events Committee of the Graduate Council. Prior to MAPSS, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2021 with a B.S. (honors) in Human Development and Family Sciences, a minor in Education Psychology, and a Bridging Disciplines Program certificate in Children and Society. Mike is currently working as an international high school teacher in Shenzhen, China and will pursue a Ph.D. in Education at the University of Oxford in October, 2023.
Research:
Mike is interested in investigating the developmental and educational implications of international bilingual k-12 education.

Thesis:
“The Effects of Bilingual Experience on the Development of Executive Function in Early Childhood”

Isabelle Schellenger 

Background

Isabelle completed the Master of Arts Program in Social Sciences (MAPSS) and Graduate Certificate in Education and Society in August 2021. Isabelle also holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Spanish, magna cum laude, from Franklin and Marshall College. During MAPSS, Isabelle served as a teacher’s assistant for the undergraduate course “Language, Culture, and Education.” For her MA thesis, she conducted a qualitative case study on an alternative model of public, single-sex schooling for girls. Between undergraduate and graduate school, Isabelle worked at the Aspen Institute where she managed and supported an innovative portfolio of projects relating to global development, public health, and women’s leadership. Isabelle currently works at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Chicago Booth, the University of Chicago’s business school.

Research:

Isabelle’s research interests include identity formation, sociology of gender, leadership development, sociology of education, and social inequality. She specializes in qualitative research methods and analysis.

Thesis:

“Girls of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow: A Case Study on Alternative, Public, Single-Sex Schooling and Identity Formation”

https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-schellenger-474254131/

Sinyeong Lee

Background

Sinyeong is a recent graduate of the MA Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS), studying sociology with a concentration in Education and Society.  During the MAPSS program, she engaged in the discourse of Affirmative Action in college admission, particularly in connection with Asian Americans. Prior to MAPSS, she graduated from Ewha Womans’ University in 2018 with an M.A in Education.

Research:

Maura’s research interests include identity formation, socialization processes, and value transmission within educational contexts. Currently, she uses quantitative research methods to examine the role that parents play in encouraging and/or discouraging the formation of strong social identities in their children, specifically looking at how these socialization processes act as academic buffers against racial discrimination youth may face in educational settings.

Thesis:

“Asian Americans’attitudes toward affirmative action in college admissions”

Caroline Hebert

Thesis: Parent Responses to Children’s Expressions of Non-Binary and Nonconforming Gender Identity

Vielka Hoy

Thesis: Racialized Computational Thinking: The Case for College Admissions

Vielka is the CEO and founder of Bridge to College 

Yuejiao Jiang

Thesis: Getting a Handle on Numbers: Can Cardinal Number Gestures Facilitate Preschoolers’ Understanding of Cardinal Equivalence?

Yuejiao is a research specialist at the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago

Jiayu Kang

Thesis: Impacts of Free Internet Access on Engagement and Achievement among Non-Digital Learners
During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Chicago Connected Program

Jiayu is a research analyst at the Crime and Education Lab at the University of Chicago

Paritosh Kanoria

Thesis: Neither Didactic nor Distracting: Student-Centered Pedagogy for Integrating Character Education with Academic Curriculum

Michael LaGrone

Michael is currently an Associate Consultant at Education Resource Strategies

Yilin Liu

Thesis: Children’s Valuation of Significance

Yilin will begin the doctoral program in Developmental Psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas in fall 2023

Juliana Poroye

Thesis: Closing the Black-White Academic Achievement Gap: One Raised Hand at a Time

Juliana is a Law and Education Policy student (JD/MA) at the University of Pennsylvania

Catherine Rock

Thesis: Gifted: Inequality and Metamorphosis

Catherine is the Department Administrator for the Political Science program at the University of Chicago

Kate Stevens

Thesis: Bicultural Ethnic Identity and Grade Point Average for Second-Generation Latinx Immigrants

Kate is currently an analyst at Burke, Inc.

Brian Vazquez

Thesis: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Immigrant Latine ESL Adult Learners in Philadelphia
and Community Cultural Wealth