Building connections

Abbigail Burke (’26 sociology) didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do when she enrolled at Iowa State. But she knew she wanted to help people in some capacity, so she decided to major in sociology and minor in human development and family studies. Burke understood that a sociology degree would provide her with a solid foundation in understanding how societies function while also giving her the flexibility to choose multiple career paths.

“I like how broad sociology is. I like how it is a branch off psychology because psychology always interested me, too, but I like the people aspect of sociology,” Burke said. “I like learning about behaviors and how people interact in social settings and things like that.”

Getting involved

Burke knew that one of the keys to her success at Iowa State would be making connections, so she joined the Sociology Club right away.

“I joined the club my freshman year because I wanted to add it to my resume and I wanted to be more involved on campus in general, so I thought that was a good place to start,” she said.

Today, Burke is the club’s treasurer, and she has gained additional leadership experience by working with the other officers to plan events and book speakers.

“It’s a good way to meet people within the department and the professors,” she said.

As a sophomore, Burke broadened her connections within the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice by becoming a teaching assistant (TA) for Associate Professor David Schweingruber in SOC 1340: Introduction to Sociology – a position she still holds. As a TA, Burke attends class, grades classwork, and answers students’ questions.

“I’m really glad I did it. It’s been a good experience,” she said. “It’s a good way to make connections with the TAs and then also with the professor. It just builds good connections.”

Burke advises future and current sociology majors to follow her lead and get involved with activities in the department.

“I think being an officer for the Sociology Club and then having a leadership position as a TA has helped me not only with grad school, but also with making connections,” she said. “I think it’s helped me stay involved on campus, and that leads to keeping up with work and being a better student overall.”

Professional pivot

While Burke was unsure how to use her sociology degree when she first came to Iowa State, she is more certain today, thanks to an internship and additional work experiences that led her to speech language pathology.

“I originally wanted to do social work but then I did an internship at an emergency shelter for kids. It was very rewarding. I learned a lot, but it just made me realize I wanted to switch,” Burke said.

At the same time, she was working as a direct support professional on the weekends at Easter Seals in Des Moines, where she assisted people of all ages with special needs.

“A lot of them had trouble communicating and swallowing and things like that. They had communication devices and I knew I wanted to be more in that area, working with people who were struggling with things like that. That’s when I came across speech language pathology,” she said.

Burke believes her sociology major has prepared her well for a career in speech language pathology.

“When I’m working with clients, I can see through the social aspects of that,” she said. “It makes me better prepared to treat clients that are from different backgrounds.”

Next steps

Following graduation this spring, Burke will attend graduate school at the University of Nebraska Omaha in the speech language pathology program. She’s not exactly sure what the future holds, but she’s excited to begin building new connections.

“I’ll do clinicals and internships and I’m going to see where that leads me,” Burke said. “I don’t know exactly where or what population I want to work with, but I’m hopefully going to figure that out in grad school.”