Kenny Wakefield

Welcome to my Capstone Page!

Thanks for visiting my capstone page! Below I share about my capstone research, the future that I hope to have, my plans for after graduation, and some things that I love about sociology.

Kenneth Wakefield

He/Him/His

The Difference Between Generational Cohorts

Abstract

The main reason for my research was curiosity. I wanted to know why there was a generational divide between Baby Boomers and Millennials and understand what were the causes of this divide. I started this research by finding the data I would need in order to find out what I wanted to know. My hypothesis before I started my research was that the issue between the generations was caused by the different norms during their youth. Baby Boomers grew up in a time that looked much different compared to the one that Millennials grew up in. I used data from the American Values Survey with 2,509 different participants among all generations. I took the data and re-coded that to deal with just Baby Boomers and Millennials. With the political issues currently going on in the world, I thought this would be the best time to research the problem and understand the issues better. Possibly helping us find a solution for our differences.

I was able to take this question and the data that came with it in order to better answer my question. Using the American Values Survey and SPSS I was able to take the information and use it to answer my research question. The answers that I came up with were shocking to me and gave me a better understanding. With the data, it was found that there were more similarities among Baby Boomers and Millennials than I would have expected. Baby Boomers and Millennials had similar percentages among their respective generations regarding their political views, their views on gender, and their views on religion. This information has helped me better understand how each of the generations coexist together and that there really is no significant issues among Baby Boomers and Millennials.

Post Grad Plans

  • Work as a Financial Advisor at Edward Jones Investments

  • Start my career in coaching

  • Become more involved with my local hometown government

  • Raise my daughter the way my dad raised me

Favorite Sociologist

My favorite sociologist is Karl Marx!

Major/Minor

My Major is Sociology and I do not have a Minor.

What is my favorite thing about Sociology?

I would say that my favorite thing about sociology is that you can understand so much about our society, as well as other societies, from studying sociology. That is one of the things that interested me the most. The reason that I chose sociology was because I wanted to be a Financial Advisor. That may sound like it doesn't make any sense, but to me it does. I knew that when I eventually was hired that they would train me and teach me everything I needed to know. So, I wanted to major in something that would help put me above the rest, and I believe that sociology does that. I wanted to be able to understand and be empathetic towards the many different and unique clients that I was going to have,

Acknowledgements

I would like to start out by thanking my wife, Guadalupe. If it wasn't for her constant support during my time here at PLU, i'm not sure if I would be where I am today. I would also like to thank my parents and my family. My dad was one of my biggest support systems while going through college and was always checking on my throughout my time. Going without his guidance in the end of my last semester has been tough, but I am thankful that I was able to have him in my corner for as long as I did. I would also like to thank all of my sociology professors. More specifically I would like to thank Professor McCloud, Luther, Fitzwater-Gonzales, and Pitman. If it was not for these 4 individuals, I would have had even more of a struggle with my time here at PLU. I am thankful for the guidance that they have given me and the life advice as well. Also, thanks to Nicholas Bautista, he kind of helped me along the way too. Somewhat.