Professional Bio

Kristin is a first-year doctoral student in sociology. They are also pursuing a doctoral minor in Holocaust and Genocide studies, through Penn State’s Jewish Studies Program. Kristin’s passion lies in helping the world to better understand the meaning of Self and Identity. Their M.A. thesis entitled "Telling their Stories and Saying their Names: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Historical Interpreters Bringing the Past to Life," sought to illuminate the role character/interpreter performance plays in shaping and changing performer’s identities and understanding of Self. In addition to historical interpreters, Kristin has also worked extensively with different types of princess performers. Their work in this area is camped in their long-term project: The Social Science Princess Project. SSPP, originally created here at Penn State in 2018, has fostered several undergraduate research teams over the years on top of Kristin’s personal research. Two of these teams were mentored by Kristin, through the Integrative Social Sciences Research Lab at Penn State Altoona. Undergraduate students working with Kristin have participated in research competitions and symposiums across the Penn State campuses.

Kristin is also very interested in bridging the gap between their long-standing interests in the history of the Holocaust and their research in sociology. They predominately do this by applying sociological concepts and theory to historical contexts. This is a developing area of research interest that Kristin hopes to expand in the next few years.

Kristin is predominately trained in qualitative methodologies including interviewing, participant observation and historical analytical practices.