Current Graduate Students

Erin Hudnall

Faculty Mentor: Katie Corcoran

Erin is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology focused on rural community research. She received a BA in sociology and a BA in psychology from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Erin's interests include prosocial behavior, disaster volunteerism, community development, and the sociology of rural communities and organizations. She is an applied, community-engaged researcher with hopes to advance public sociology in West Virginia and within the discipline. Her current research focuses on the processes of community development and place-making in rural contexts.

Brittany Kowalski

Faculty Mentor: Rachel Stein
Brittany is a doctoral candidate in the sociology with a certificate in university teaching. Her dissertation research examines the effect of perceptions of role congruity on the content of subjective evaluations through an examination of student evaluations of instructors. Her broad research interests include social psychology, roles, perceptions, motivations, gender, inequalities, intersectionality, religion, and research methods.

Brittany received her BA in sociology with a double major in Catholic studies, a minor in women and gender studies and a certificate from the honors program from Seton Hall University in 2015. In 2017, she completed her Master of Arts in Sociology at West Virginia University. Brittany’s master’s thesis focused on gender roles and their effect on attraction amongst college students.

Brittany has served in many roles while a graduate student at WVU including as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, the editorial assistant for Sociological Focus, and as Graduate Research Assistant on an NSF funded grant (AGEP EAGER Project #1935469). For the 2021-2022 academic year, Brittany has been recognized for her hard work through the receipt of a Department of Sociology and Anthropology Outstanding Dissertation Fellowship.
Brittany anticipates completing her dissertation by August 2022 at which time she will be pursuing a career in academia, research, or advocacy.

Ellory Dabbs

Faculty Mentor: Chris Scheitle

Ellory is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in sociology. She graduated with a BA in criminology and a minor in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in December of 2016 and received her MA in sociology in May of 2018. She is currently working towards the completion of her dissertation on juror's perceptions of forensic expert testimony.

Ellory has worked with Dr. Chris Scheitle since 2017 studying graduate students' perceptions of their academic experiences. Particularly, how have students religiosity (or lace thereof) affect their experiences as a graduate student.

Stephanie House-Niamke

Faculty Mentor: Katie Corcoran

House-Niamke is a doctoral student in sociology at West Virginia University and is a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing in 2012 from Radford University and her Master of Public Administration from Virginia Tech in May 2017. Additionally, she has two graduate certificates in Women's and Gender Studies as well as Higher Education Administration. She has facilitated conversations across difference focusing on race, gender and religion for the past five years. She has worked with pre-service teachers to develop inclusive classroom practices and curriculum and has guest-lectured on Critical Race Theory (CRT) at Virginia Tech and American University. Since arriving in Morgantown, she has worked with Dr. Katie Corcoran as a summer graduate research assistant and has been invited to speak at workshops addressing systemic racism in business and technology fields.

House-Niamke’s research interests concern power, access, and choice across the areas of race, gender, and religion. This includes social policy on a university campus, anti-racist pedagogy and identity development for melanin-dominant communities and women who participate in religious institutions. Additionally, she has published work on teachers of color's resistance to Critical Race Theory in curriculum. She has also published on CRT in public policy and environmental policy decisions and has presented at several conferences about womanism, womanist theology, and educational support for melanin-dominant communities.

Annette M. Mackay

Faculty Mentor: Katie Corcoran

Annette M. Mackay is a 5th-year doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She holds a B.A. in sociology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in social and public policy from Duquesne University. Annette is interested in communities and how social structures affect relationships. Her main research interests explore how gentrification affects communities, including impacts on churches and faith-based organizations. She is also a participant in a research team exploring rituals among Amish and Mennonite groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bernard DiGregorio

Faculty Mentor: Katie Corcoran

Bernard is a third-year PhD student, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area. He received his BA in sociology, with a minor in computer science, from Duquesne University in 2018. He serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the SOCA department. His broad interests include, but are not limited to, group dynamics, deviance, urban sociology, the sociology of religion, and sociological theory.

Sara Guthrie

Faculty Mentor: Katie Corcoran

Sara is a fourth-year PhD student in sociology. She graduated from Lock Haven University in 2015 with a BS in sociology and minors in women and gender studies and history. She completed her MA in applied sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant under Drs. Carrie Rishel and Helen Hartnett with the Rural Integrated Behavioral Health Training Program. Her current interests include rural sociology and inequality, political engagement and gender and sexuality.

Graduate Students