The Finished Product

It's very satisfying to see my master's thesis in hardcover. Also not too shabby was getting my department's Excellence in Research award for this project. 

Lots o' Loot

Alpha Kappa Delta
Sociology Honor Society

I had to try to get some kind of pirate reference in there, even if it is just the title.

This afternoon was the Awards Gala for the Sociology and Anthropology Department here at Ohio University. Lots of really awesome people got some recognition for some excellent work, both in research and teaching, as well as hard work done by undergraduate and grad students. And, as you can see, I was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society.

And there's more good news. I have been awarded the Shelly Fund, a research grant set up by Robert and Ann Shelly to support sociology graduate students in the collection of original data for their master's thesis. This award, which is for $900, will go toward covering the costs of travel and other related expenses as I start my field research. It's not nearly my whole budget for this project, but it sure helps! And I'm honored that they chose me and my research.

Speaking of field research--it starts in just two weeks! June 2 is opening day for my first faire site in this project. I'm pretty excited. I want to be more excited, but I still have more than two weeks of classes left this quarter, and the requisite papers to write, projects to complete, and tests to grade (for my GA gig), not to mention getting ready to teach my own SOC 101 class starting June 18. This is going to be one epic, nerdy summer for me. And I like it.