Introducing the Stanford Sociology 2026 cohort
Kevin Davis Bruey
Kevin was raised in Michigan and received a BA in Public Policy from the University of Michigan in 2024. Most recently, he worked as a predoctoral research fellow with the Shift Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, contributing to research on service sector labor in the U.S. He is primarily interested in poverty, social policy, and intergenerational mobility, with a particular interest in the short- and long-term impacts of early life interventions. In his free time, he likes playing and watching tennis, frequenting movie theaters, and (very slowly) teaching himself how to play the guitar.
Anna Elise Cattar
Anna graduated May 2025 from Louisiana State University with a dual degree in Sociology & Interdisciplinary Studies (Philosophy, History, Political Science) and a minor in research. In her undergraduate degree, she researched the effect of payment policies on C-section rates and the relationship between race and C-section rates across states. As a graduate student she is interested in situating childbirth as a unique site of sociological inquiry where questions about gender, race, inequality, and medicalization can be examined. This broader program will allow her to connect specific interventions and inequalities (like C-sections) to larger trajectories of reproductive health, family formation, and social stratification. Anna's favorite activities are cooking and reading, but on the weekends you can find her climbing mountains or rafting. She is relocating to Palo Alto from South Louisiana with her fiance, Peter, and dog, Henry.
Kerstin Norris
Kerstin is an incoming PhD student interested in political sociology. She earned dual BA degrees in International Relations and Korean Studies from The Ohio State University, where her research explored the relationship between sovereignty and U.S. militarism. She then completed an MA in East Asian Studies at Stanford University with a thesis on populism and its effects on political participation. Since graduating, she has worked as a research associate at Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Center, examining right-wing populism and racism across Asia. As a PhD student, she plans to build on these experiences, turning to broader, comparative questions of nationalism, identity, and democracy. Outside of research, Kerstin enjoys hiking to see beautiful views and exploring the best food spots in town.
Allison Sky Park
Allison is an incoming first-year Ph.D. student in Sociology at Stanford University. Her research interests sit at the intersection of law and society, examining how legal institutions and structural barriers shape decision-making within education and other public systems. She is particularly interested in how civil rights guarantees become conditional in practice. Allison graduated from Harvard College in 2025, earning a degree in Applied Mathematics on the Sociology track, a secondary in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and a certificate in Civic Engagement. Prior to her graduate studies, Allison worked in Washington, DC as an analyst at MGT Impact Solutions, where she supported research and evaluation engagements across the education, federal, and nonprofit sectors, including a partnership with a state board of education to integrate responsible AI use into K-12 classrooms. In her free time, she enjoys the performing arts, and is a violist and dancer!
Angelica Yu Qin
Angelica graduated from Princeton in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. As a PhD student at Stanford, she is interested in using qualitative and mixed methods to study how collective identity, racial formation, and placemaking intersect to promote or obstruct equity in Asian American neighborhoods. More broadly, her research interests include race, culture, spatial stratification, and neighborhoods. Her undergraduate thesis examined the relationships between working- and upper-middle-class East Asians in the Chinatown of Flushing, Queens, in the midst of East Asian-led redevelopment and gentrification in the area. Directly before coming to Stanford, she worked at the Poverty and Inequality Research Lab at Johns Hopkins, where she contributed to interview-based projects about social mobility and housing vouchers. She also previously worked at the Housing Development Fund, an affordable housing organization in Connecticut. Outside of her sociological research, Angelica is involved in technical theater and lighting design.