Gaby Canjura Herrmann, 2014

Gaby Canjura Hermann had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the SOAN major at Lewis & Clark.  Some of her favorite readings that continue to influence her daily life and the work she does as a behavioral health professional include: On Violence by Hannah Arendt, Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault, Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? by Lila Abu-Lughod, and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.  After graduating from Lewis & Clark, Gaby served for a year with AmeriCorps as a health educator in school based health clinics.  Gaby loved her experience and recommends AmeriCorps to anyone interested in public service work.  She now works for at the Edgewood Center for Children and Families working with young adults on building their independent living skills.  The main skill she learned from the SOAN major that she carries with her today is cultural humility.  SOAN gave Gaby a framework that encourages her to think about agency and structure.  Since she works with individuals who have undergone trauma, understanding the complexities of violence has been especially useful for her.  Gaby has found that social services agencies value individuals with degrees in Sociology and Anthropology.