Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies

WGSS Alumni Spotlight: Gabby Ferrell

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About Gabby Ferrell (she/her)

Education

  • Graduation Year: 2020
  • Major: Journalism
  • Minor: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology

Community Involvement

  • Co-organized 2021 international virtual conference at SCSU- bi-annual conferences: “Gender race community and conflict”
  • Social Justice Organizing at Grassroots
  • Research in Respectability Politics
  • Graduate Assistant

    Post Graduation

    • Master's in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Southern Connecticut State University
    • Adjunct Professor at Southern Connecticut State University's Department of Journalism

    Gabby Ferrell

    Testimonial

    "Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies changed my life. When I was a freshman, I needed Gen-Eds to fill my schedule. When looking at the directory and seeing what was available, WGSS caught my eye called "Feminisms and the Arts." I had never heard of a class that discussed the two. I took it and was hooked. Fast forward to 2023 and I now have a Bachelors in Journalism with minors in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sociology. I also have a Masters in Women's and Gender Studies. I am currently a professor in the Journalism Department at Southern Connecticut State University where I teach about the power of the First Amendment and the intersectionality of the American experience. I am also Contributor for TheGirlMob, BY. Network, a Board Member of the Peace Development Fund, and run my own blog gabrielleferrell.com.

    Although the world made us feel as though women's studies in general isn't useful and doesn't make money, I have experienced differently. WGSS and social reform studies is necessary for any job. Keeping people in mind, especially those of disenfranchised and marginalized groups, those with intersectional experiences, and others who differ from that, play a role in how effective the job is. All fields need someone with WGSS experience. You can weave it into everything you do such as how to approach a problem with a task, project and/or within your work team.

    Current WGSS students- please know that your experiences in these classes are far more than proficiency in education and doing your work. Look at them as spaces where your beings are challenged. Everything you've been taught, everything you've heard, and everything you do should start to feel uncomfortable in the best way."

    WGSS Alumni Spotlight: Annika Redgate

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    About Annika Redgate (she/her)

    Education

    • Graduation Year: 2021
    • Major: Political Science
    • Minor: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    Community Involvement

    • USG
    • UConn Women's Center, GASA Facilitator
    • Volunteer with the League of Women Voters

    Post Graduation

    • Legal Administrative Assistant to the Vice Chair of the Trusts and Estates Legal Department of Hinckley Allen & Snyder, LLP. 

    Annika Redgate

    Testimonial

    "Looking back on my experiences at UConn, some of the fondest memories I have are a result of my involvement in the WGSS program. As soon as I began taking my first POLS / WGSS class, I wanted to do everything I could to get more involved in this program that before this moment in my educational career, I had never been exposed to anything like. There was nothing as influential in my college education as the eye opening information that I learned through my WGSS courses.

    I would recommend participating in the small discussions that are held in the majority of WGSS classes. It really is a great way to learn to perfect your public speaking and argument articulation skills, as well as meet your peers! With UConn’s typically larger classes, this type of environment being offered is rare and should be embraced!

    If you can, please take a WGSS class, no matter your major or career path, just one can really change your overall perspective for the better. The majority of those in the workforce today never had the opportunity for this education, so take it! "

    WGSS Recent Placement: Carol J. Gray

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    About Dr. Carol J. Gray (she/her)

    Education 

    • Ph.D. and MA in Political Science; Grad. certificates in Feminist Studies; Human Rights; and Race, Ethnicity & Politics, University of Connecticut
    • JD, Northeastern University School of Law
    • LLM, Georgetown University Law Center
    • Diploma in International Human Rights Law, American University in Cairo
    • BA in African Studies, Wesleyan University

      Post Graduation

      •  Assistant Professor of Public Law at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the Department of Political Science and a member of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program
      • Fulbright Scholar in Montreal, Canada, and a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar in Cairo
      • Prettyman Fellowship teaching in Georgetown University Law Center’s Criminal Justice Clinic 
      • National Association for Public Interest law Fellowship (now Equal Justice) at the Georgia Resource Center in Atlanta
      • Mary Miles Bibb Teaching Fellow at Framingham State University

      Carol J. Gray

      Testimonial

      "Obtaining the Feminist Studies certificate was a critical part of my educational development. It provided me more resources to incorporate gender, in an interdiscipinary context, as an essential part of my pedagogy. In every political science course I teach, I integrate women authors (including those of color and from the Global South), women’s rights, and intersectionality with race, class, and gender with my roots for these in theWomen, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program. As a doctoral student, my research was supported by the Wood/Raith Gender Identity Living Trust Fellowship. One stream of my current research investigates issues of gender and race focusing on Mary Bibb, the first African American woman to graduate from Framingham State University who, with her husband, published one of the first African American newspapers in Canada focusing on the anti-slavery movement in the 1800s."

      WGSS Recent Placement: Shamayeta Bhattacharya

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      About Shamayeta Bhattacharya (she/her)

      Education 

      • B.Sc. & M.Sc. Geography, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
      • Ph.D. Geography, University of Connecticut
      • Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate, University of Connecticut
      • Human Rights Graduate Certificate, University of Connecticut

        Post Graduation

        • Assistant Professor, Community Engagement and Leadership Department, Point Park University

        Shamayeta Bhattacharya

        Testimonial

        "If you are planning on seeking a tenure track position in a gender studies or community engagement department the WGSS certificate is key. Taking the feminist pedagogy class with Dr. Zane prepped me with the job market teaching materials including a teaching statement and creating a Portfolium account. Additionally, the WGSS certificate allowed me to take courses from different departments which added to my intersectional lens."

        WGSS Recent Placement: Meaghan Davis

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        About Meaghan Davis (she & they)

        Education 

        • BA History, BS Education, MA Education, University of Connecticut
        • Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership & Equity, New England College
        • Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate
        • Nonprofit Management Graduate Certificate
        • Human Right to Education Graduate Certificate
        • Peace Studies Graduate Certificate

          Post Graduation

          • Director, First Year Experience at St. Francis College
          • Founder of The BRAVE Institute

          Meaghan Davis

          Testimonial

          "Earning the graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at UConn positioned me well to be an effective leader, lifelong learner, and skilled activist within my work in higher education as well as the nonprofit world. The coursework and community I engaged with during my time in the WGSS program challenged me personally and professionally to (un)learn ways of thinking, doing, and being, which all contribute to reimagining the systems and cultures we all co-create. My experience within the WGSS program helped prepare me to show up for ALL of my students and to co-create spaces with my students that lead to transformation and liberation."

          WGSS Recent Placement: Anna Ziering

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          About Dr. Anna Ziering (she/her)

          Education 

          • Ph.D. in English (UConn 2022), with a Graduate Certificate in American Studies and a
            Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
          • MA in English (UConn 2017)
          • MFA in Poetry (Boston University, 2015)
          • BA in American Studies (Barnard College 2011)

          Post Graduation

          • Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, affiliated with African American Studies

          Anna Ziering

          Testimonial

          "Completing the UConn WGSS Graduate Certificate made my interdisciplinary work legible and contributed to my being hired by a WGSS program. My engagement with WGSS at UConn included TAing, teaching as Instructor of Record, and serving as a program assistant. I also received awards including the Wood/Raith Gender Identity Living Trust Fellowship (2021), the Excellence in Graduate Teaching in Women’s Studies Award (2021), and the Susan Porter Benson Graduate Research Award in Feminist Studies (2020). I am grateful to the faculty in the UConn WGSS program who served as mentors and advisors both during my time at UConn and beyond."

          WGSS Alumni Spotlight: Amber Sagan

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          About Amber Sagan (she/her/hers)

          Education

          • Graduation Year: 2021
          • Major: Biological Sciences
          • Minor: Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

          Community Involvement

          • Hayley Petit Violence and Injury Prevention Fellowship through the Connecticut Children's Hospital
          • Internship at the CT Harm Reduction Alliance

            Post Graduation

            • Master's of Public Health at UConn
            • Prevention Specialist at Wheeler Clinic, working on the Change the Script statewide campaign

            Testimonial

            "Taking courses in WGSS expanded my awareness of various social injustices and inequities. I became inspired to try to make a change on these issues, similar to how my WGSS professors had. I discovered the Hayley Petit Injury and Violence Prevention Fellowship my junior year, a fellowship for college women in STEM. After this fellowship, I pivoted my career goals from healthcare to public health. During my Master's of Public Health education, I further strengthened my WGSS skills by analyzing how social determinants of health such as race, gender, and income lead to inequities in health. I attended the 2022 Annual Public Health Association conference, where I learned about innovative WGSS research from experts in the field such as Loretta Ross. I graduated with my MPH in 2023, and I am currently a Prevention Specialist at Wheeler Clinic. I work on the Change the Script campaign- a statewide campaign to rewrite the narrative around substance use and prevent overdoses. I engage in community outreach to educate individuals about safe substance use, storage, and disposal and the opioid reversal drug, naloxone.


            The knowledge and skills I gained through my WGSS coursework transfer into my current position in various ways. For example, I am able to view public health issues through an intersectional lens, such as how an individual's race, gender, and sexuality may create a unique experience when struggling with a substance use disorder. I have also developed skills in communicating with the community, by using gender-affirming care and creating a safe, respectful environment for meaningful discussions. My WGSS education has aided me in every step of my academic and professional career."