When she was a child, some of Sandra Ohrn Moose’s favorite moments were spent in conversation with her parents around the dinner table, where each would relate the events of the day.

“My father was a businessman—treasurer for the New England Electric System. His work sounded fascinating to me,” she recently recalled. “I was always interested in his descriptions of what he did and the various issues of his business day, as he recounted what happened and what he found to be of interest or frustrating.” [Read more...]

Since graduation, Joseph Donahue ’10 has been a Peace Corps volunteer in a rural Moroccan town called Ait Oumghar. “I had wanted to do the Peace Corps ever since learning about it in high school from a teacher who was a returned volunteer. When I graduated from Wheaton, I decided this would be the best time for me to do it.” He is working on various health- and youth-related projects, including teaching health and English classes and helping a women’s association write a grant to furnish a new workspace and support small-business training. “While the connection may not be outwardly apparent,” says Donahue, “I am constantly drawing from my experiences as a sociology major in my current work. The courses I took at Wheaton have enabled me to view things through a ‘sociological lens,’ which has proven invaluable while living in a foreign culture with different gender, race and ethnic dynamics. It has given me greater understanding of my current situation, and, as a result, more patience. Similarly, I frequently find myself using my sociological research skills (often subconsciously) to explore phenomena in my new community.” Donahue’s commitment ends in May 2013. “Immediately after the Peace Corps, I am not quite sure what I will do. This experience has opened me up to working and living abroad. However, I know that within a few years I want to continue my education and study clinical psychology.”