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Victoria Alupke '17

Victoria Alupke '17

Victoria Alupke '17

“Teams, Tones, and Tensions”

Major/minor: Political Science/ Sociology and Africana Studies 
Hometown: Piscataway, NJ
Project mentors: Dr. Debra Wetcher-Hendricks and Dean Christopher Hunt

Project Details:

  1. Briefly describe your SOAR project.
    I looked into the potential conflict between athletes and non-athletes, especially among minority students on college campuses.
     
  2. What motivated you to participate in SOAR? 
    After discussing my concerns about this issue with Dean Hunt, he introduced me to Professor Wetcher-Hendricks, who helped me begin my research for this project.
     
  3. What are the results of your work on this project? 
    I discovered that the non-whites who play "middle class" sports have higher levels of tensions among them than non-whites who do not play sports. I'm yet to learn whether it’s the non-whites who bring the tension to the middle class sports, or if those sports are already tense.
     
  4. What are your personal takeaways from the project? And do you plan to continue work on this project after SOAR? 
    The importance of research, and how it is vital to all disciplines. I plan to continue my work on this subject after SOAR—there are so many questions and factors to consider into my project. Overall, I enjoyed this experience, and I wouldn’t mind continuing my project for further answers and explanations.

Biographical Information:

  1. What clubs/sports/activities/community service are you involved in? 
    I am a member of IDEA, the pre-law club, and IMPACT. I am the president of BSA, a senator and clerk for the United Student Government, an International Ambassador, and an America Reads tutor.
     
  2. Have you received any awards/recognitions here? 
    I received the ODK freshman leader of the year award, and I hope to gain more recognition and awards in the future.
     
  3. Briefly, what are your future plans and career goals? 
    I hope to go to law school and become involved in politics, civil rights and public service. I want to be able to help out underprivileged communities like my former hometowns: Newark and East Orange, NJ, and elsewhere.