About me

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Major and I received my Master's degree in Sociology from Cal State Fullerton. From high school, I completed my first year of college at UCSB, but I came back to Orange County and attended Saddleback Community College for my sophomore year. I really enjoyed my time at Saddleback and I was able to transfer to UCLA to complete my degree in Sociology in June 2006. I like to share my educational path with students as I was a student where I am now a full-time professor.

I have been teaching at Saddleback since 2007 and was hired full-time beginning Fall 2015. My responsibilities include teaching Sociology and Gerontology (study of aging) courses, as well as coordinating the Gerontology Program. The projected job growth for careers in aging is high and continues to grow! My teaching responsibilities have included Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Marriage and Family, Class/Ethnicity/Gender, Death and Dying, and Sociology of Aging. I have also taught at Argosy University, Coastline Community College, and Palomar Community College in the Sociology Departments. I am currently involved with Service Learning, the Online Education Committee, the Student Success Committee, Pathways, College Promise, Equity, the Career Technical Education Committee, and the Co-Chair for the Open Educational Resources (OER) Work Group. In addition, I served as the Saddleback College Foster and Kinship Care Education Program Director from 2009-2015. This program provides education and support opportunities to foster parents to meet their state licensing requirements.

I enjoy running, being active/outdoors, scrapbooking, organizing, and, most importantly, spending time with my family.

Please read my professional ePortfolio for more information on each of the classes I teach, professional development, committee and college involvement, the gerontology program, my teaching philosophy, and much more! This is further discussed in the lifelong learning principle tab.