Our PhD graduates are making a difference in universities and colleges, government offices, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Get a sense of what a few recent graduates are up to below.
Chris Bijou
Chris is a survey statistician in the Poverty Statistics Branch (PSB) at the U.S. Census Bureau. As a PSB statistician, Chris supervises and facilitates data collection for the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). Once data collection is complete, Chris analyzes and interprets ASEC data on income and poverty to produce the United States’ official poverty report, which delineates poverty rates among various sociodemographic groups. This report is released annually in mid-September. Download last year's report.
Brandon Moore
Dr. Brandon Moore received his PhD from The Ohio State University Department of Sociology in August 2023. Dr. Moore is now an assistant professor at California State University San Marcos. He studies “why and how stigmas become socially intrenched, as well as how the resulting inequities impact health and collective identity.” Brandon fondly remembers the sense of community he felt on the Ohio State campus and the mentors who kept him from “giving up on himself.” Brandon was a first-generation college student and now values his time working with current first-generation students.
Chenyao Zhang
Today, Dr. Zhang runs Reflections Collective, where she helps high-achievers and changemakers navigate major life transitions, break free from outdated narratives and create lives that feel deeply aligned. Her sociology background has been her greatest asset in guiding individuals and organizations through meaningful transformation.
Beyond coaching, she's also building Between the Lines, a research-based storytelling platform that explores how people make life-changing decisions. It’s a direct continuation of her PhD research, but instead of staying in academia, she's bringing these insights into the real world—where they can spark reflection, clarity and action on a much bigger scale. At its core, Dr. Zhang's work is about helping people see what’s possible beyond the scripts they’ve inherited—whether that’s through coaching, writing, or shifting perspectives at a societal level.