Alexander Vanhee

Background

About Alexander Vanhee

I have known I wanted to conduct research from the moment I took my first sociology class in high school. My journey through undergraduate and graduate studies were in service to that goal. During my three years at Baylor University, my courses taught me how to plan projects and articulate my vision for how to investigate problems and potentially solve them. The Penn State doctoral program allowed me to take this next step; I was taught how to gather, construct, and analyze data in order to make the projects I had previously put together a reality. However, I believe the most valuable thing I learned from my time as a doctoral student at Penn State was how to operate as a collaborator and a colleague. I largely worked on my own during my undergraduate career with occasional input from my professors and superiors. However, graduate school showed me what can happen when you build professional relationships and utilize your skills and efforts in ways that complement those of others; it can allow you to accomplish things you never could on their own.