“Sociology is a rich and vast field,” says Juliaty Hermanto ‘12, who majored in sociology at Haverford, “Just think of [the] ways that sociology can be applicable to your broader interests.”

Hermanto currently works for YouthConnect, an advocacy and intervention program run through the Boys and Girls Club of Boston in partnership with the Boston Police Department. She provides individual and family services for youth impacted by community violence who have been referred by the police.

“Haverford classes and specifically my sociology classes helped me think about the world from a systemic and structural perspective,” she says. “The classes I took fostered a deep and critical understanding of social problems, which has impacted how I addressed the issues that come up in social work.”

Hermanto’s road to her current, much-loved work wasn’t linear, though. After her Haverford graduation, she served as a corps member with City Year Boston at a local high school. Through that experience, she realized her passion for social work, and specifically, working with young people. So she then decided to pursue a masters in social work at the Boston University School of Social Work; she received her degree in May. But she isn’t done educating herself yet.

“I think that life-long learning is integral to practicing social work,” she says.