Hello, I'm Peggy Sue! I am a sociologist of education and race and ethnicity with a particular focus on first-generation college students and Latine youth. My research has been published in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and the Journal of Latinos and Education. 

I am currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. My dissertation, titled "Feeling Like a Fish Out of Water: Campus Culture and the Sense of Belonging Among First-Generation College Students," shows how first-generation students' sense of belonging varies based on their racial/ethnic identity, class background, gender identity, and the type of institution they attend, and how these factors may impact their academic success. Additionally, I am currently researching the educational consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latine students.  In my previous research, I examined the educational inequalities Latine youth experience attending school districts in the U.S.-Mexico Border region.

Before joining the Department of Sociology at Texas A&M, I earned an AA in General Studies from St. Louis Community College and a BS in Sociology with a minor in Environmental Science from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.  As the first in my working-class family to attend college, my experiences as a first-generation, working-class student have shaped my research interests as a scholar studying educational inequities and my dedication to teaching as an instructor who recognizes the crucial role education plays in shaping lives and its transformative power.  Through both my scholarship and teaching, I address educational inequities by educating others about the interconnectedness of the individual and society, highlighting that opportunities are not equally available to everyone.