McNair Scholar 2019 - Alexis Bartelt
Alexis Bartelt is a senior at St. Catherine University majoring in sociology. Her research interests revolve around understanding racial identities and how race impacts youth in their everyday lives. Alexis plans on getting her Ph.D. in sociology.
Quote from Alexis Bartelt
I’ve got a dream! She's got a dream! I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam!
Research project
Racial Identity in Children's Extracurricular Activities
Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how youth of color between the ages of 10 to 21 understand race through the extracurricular activities they participate in. Forty-nine interviews were conducted with this population and a thematic analysis was completed on ten of the forty-nine interview transcripts. The main findings are that many extracurricular activities operate within White racialized spaces, provide students with understanding of socioeconomic status, and students with immigrant parents report experiencing support for participation in extracurricular activities differently than students who are not recent immigrants. The implications of this study are the need for more inclusive spaces for youth in extracurricular activities. This is a sub-study of the Kids Involvement and Diversity Study (KIDS) at the University of Minnesota.
Faculty mentor
Dr. Teresa Swartz is an associate professor in the Sociology department at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Swartz received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University Of California, San Diego in 2001. Her research specializes in families, intergenerational relations, social inequality, Asian American studies, gender, welfare state, children, and youth and young adulthood. Dr. Swartz is published in multiple research journals and received the Motley Teaching Award.