Mariana Stein
Mariana Stein, a sociology major at Tennessee Technological University, is taking her research on food and multi-cultural backgrounds across the globe.
“I’m a huge foodie. And I also love culture,” she said.
Her research takes a deeper dive into the food we enjoy and the stories behind it. She is presenting her research at a conference in Rome, Italy.
“It’s a food and migration conference. I’ll be presenting all the different maps that I made with restaurants and food trucks,” Stein said. The conference will be with people from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds and different food demographics who may not know much about the U.S.
“I’ll get to start from square one and introduce them to how things are here, as far as the food culture. And I’ll get to share part of my culture through that,” she explained.
This will be her first time presenting her research at a conference. She hopes that her research will inspire people to ask more questions and gain a better understanding of culture.
Stein said that Tech professors want to see their students succeed. And they are willing to work with them on an individual level to make that happen. She said, “Tech has a really strong sociology department.”
She specifically mentioned Cynthia Brown, a professor who has advised her research, as being particularly passionate about student success. “She’s helped me be the best I can be,” Stein noted.
Brown said that her goal as an educator is to help students find their passion. She loves helping students fine-tune their research and watching them succeed in and out of the classroom. Talking about Stein, Brown said, “She’s a rockstar. A really neat aspect to Mariana’s story is that her grandmother is also a faculty member at Tech who does research. So, she comes from a long line of research.”
Stein mentioned that she is excited to attend the conference but also to explore Italy. She mentioned experiencing the culture as well as tasting the traditional Italian cuisine. She is most excited to see the religious architecture such as the Sistine Chapel.
After graduation Stein wants to go into social work, specifically medical social work. She would like to be able to help support emotionally struggling patients and families.
She said, “I would be able to be a light in people’s journey.”