Welch '26 Travels to Sociology Conference in Florida with Research Mentor to Present Her Honors Thesis

Lily Welch '26 successfully defended her honors thesis, "Exploring How Students' Social and Economic Backgrounds Affect Transitions Out of College" with an interdisciplinary committee of faculty from sociology, education, and gender studies. Lily's work began in summer 2025, with the support of a SLU Fellowship working under the direction of her faculty mentor, Dr. Alanna Gillis in Sociology. Dr. Gillis's research explores race/class/gender inequality in student experiences in higher education. Together Lily and Dr. Gillis spent the summer of 2025 collecting the final wave of interviews from the 5 year project. Lily then spent the 2025-2026 academic year deeply analyzing the interview transcripts, evaluating prior research, and writing a rigorous thesis. Lily's high quality work was recognized when she presented at the Southern Sociological Society's annual meeting in Jacksonville, Florida in April 2026, a conference predominately attended by sociology faculty and graduate students. Her travel was supported by a Conference Presentation Fund from the dean's office and a Student Travel Award from Alpha Kappa Delta, the sociology honor society in which Lily was inducted in 2025. Lily's hard work was also on display at the St Lawrence Festival of Science, Scholarship, and Creativity before culminating with her successful thesis defense. Lily plans to continue her work of equalizing opportunities for students of all social backgrounds when she moves to Washington DC after graduation. 

Congratulations  Lily!