{"id":56137,"date":"2026-08-03T20:42:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/?page_id=56137"},"modified":"2026-08-03T21:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:01:44","slug":"stepup-student-blog-my-sociological-eye","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/stepup-program-student-stories-and-voices\/student-blog\/stepup-student-blog-my-sociological-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"My Sociological Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t

\"PhotoOur monthly blog is a <\/span>student-run<\/span> platform that allows different scholars within the StepUP program to share their personal experiences with the greater community. Everything written, designed and curated was by StepUP students! Delivered straight to your inbox every first<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Event Updates<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

SauceUP Event<\/h3>\"StepUP

April 17th 2026
\n(so spicy...)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

April was a huge month for us. April 13th-18th was Collegiate Recovery Week and we did a ton of stuff. A Narcan training, a game show, Mya\u2019s semiannual Hot Ones event, a cornhole tournament and more. I think the scholars are excited for finals to be over in May and a few students are graduating! Babies are finally leaving the nest \ud83d\ude22 Spring is the season of change... <\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

My Sociological Eye<\/h3>\"Photo<\/div><\/div><\/div>

By Dov Katz<\/h3>\t\t\t

Written in April 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

By Dov Katz<\/h3>\t\t\t

My name is Drew (or Dov) Katz. I am a senior at Augsburg and a Sociology and Religion Major. I am also part of the StepUP program here as well! The blog post to follow is about my sense of sociological inquiry and curiosity, and how my early life and the beginning of my college career in\ufb02uenced the development of these parts of myself. I hope you enjoy it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have always had an innate curiosity about the world, how it works, and why it functions in the ways that it does. My curious disposition was always encouraged by my parents, who were ideal primary caregivers that fostered my love for the pursuit of knowledge ever since I was a small child. The \ufb01rst place where I was encouraged to think deeply was probably Hebrew school. I grew up in Philadelphia, in a fairly Jewish area, so being in community with other Jews was easily accessible to me. What I have gathered from the kind of Judaism I grew up with, challenging and interacting with ancient texts, stories, and values is integral to the practice of this religion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was in Hebrew school, my curious mind \ufb02ourished under the tutelage of my<\/span><\/p>\n

enthusiastic teachers. They encouraged me to critically analyze ancient texts and stories. They taught me about injustices in the world and how Judaism\u2019s core principle of <\/span>tikkun olam <\/span>(repairing the world) guides the Jewish imperative to be proactively on the side of the righteous. In this way, <\/span>my Hebrew school teachers helped me formulate a value system that aligned with my passions for <\/span>intellectual pursuits and understanding how my learning \ufb01t into a greater context. Judaism for me <\/span>is a kind of spiritual, and at times liturgical, sociological study. Much of the way that I still interact <\/span>with my Jewishness is through acting from my values and continuing to explore the world througha curious and justice oriented lens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is not an exact explanation for why I connected so much with Judaism growing up. My family is not very religious, and my sister certainly did not feel as intense a connection with the religion as I did. I have always been a hypersensitive person; I tend to feel and think very deeply.
\nThe intergenerational trauma that comes with being genetically connected to a long line of Jews
\nwho experienced a great depth of displacement, loss, and grief, greatly impacted me from a young age. I felt like my Jewish connection ran deeper than just being born into a Jewish household; I felt deeply, intrinsically connected to my ancestors and my culture. My given name, Dana, is named for my great grandmother Devora, who escaped Nazi Poland where all of her siblings and parents died at the hands of the Nazis. So before I even came into this world, my connection to the trauma, grief, and sorrow related to the Holocaust fell into place. I wonder if my passion for sociological inquiry in part stems from my connection to the injustices done to my people throughout time. I have always had this strong sense of wanting to \ufb01ght against injustice and inequality, and I \ufb01nd that sociology has given me tools to better understand how I can actually engage in this \ufb01ght.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My \ufb01rst experience with sociology came in my freshman year of high school when I took an introductory sociology course. I felt invigorated by what I was learning, and for the \ufb01rst time in my life, I felt inspired to make something of myself in the future that aligned with the principles I was taught. I had this feeling like one day I\u2019d \ufb01nd a cause that I could really sink my teeth into and my life would become built around \ufb01ghting for what I believed in. Sociology ignited this spark in me when I was a teenager, and after I enrolled in Augsburg, that spark came to life once again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

StepUP Student<\/h3>\"Photo<\/div><\/div>

A poem by Trey<\/h3>\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\t\t\t

Though I cannot remember much, of the time I spent in Elysium, I can still hear the bitterness lay hefty <\/span>on tongue. I can still recoil, I am the smashing plates, ceramic masterpiece, I am the dancing candlelight, the unbothered flame at ease. Though I cannot remember much, of the time I spent in Elysium, I cannot reconcile fevered revelry for having been. I am the daunting soldier, who shone with flawless steel, I am the drink poured eagerly down pipes lined with zeal and though for the sake of my life I cannot <\/span>remember much of the time I spent in Elysium, I\u2019m happy now it has ceased, for I recall a piece of my<\/span><\/p>\n

time in Elysium, but I cannot remember me.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div>

Thanks Trey. That was beautiful. And thanks Dov for writing!!! Happy graduation \ud83d\ude0e<\/h3>\t\t\t

“I am pleased to announce that Ben was the winner of last month\u2019s toucan drawing contest. Congratulations to our truly talented artiste. I\u2019ll make sure to give him a high five for all of you! I interviewed him after his historic win, and this is what he had to say: \u201cWow, I\u2019m absolutely thrilled and honored that you guys thought I was good enough to win this contest. Thanks. \ud83d\ude0f\u201d <\/span>–-Ben<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Happy May and we will see you all in next month\u2019s blog!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Drawing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>

Thank you!<\/h3>\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our monthly blog is a student-run platform that allows different scholars within the StepUP program to share their personal experiences …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":655,"featured_media":0,"parent":56216,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-56137","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56137"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56301,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56137\/revisions\/56301"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/college-recovery-program\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}