Honors Graduate Secures Robert Wood Johnson Post-Doc

The Honors College is delighted to announce that Jason Houle ’05 was recently accepted to the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars program.  The HSS program, according to its website, “is designed to build the nation’s capacity for research, leadership and policy change to address the multiple determinants of population health. Each year the program enables up to 18 outstanding individuals who have completed their doctoral training to engage in an intensive two-year program at one of six nationally prominent universities.”

Jason graduated from UMaine in 2005 with a BA in Sociology (and an Honors thesis: “Should I Stay or Should I Go? The UMaine Honors College: Who Drops Out and Who Stays In?”), and is currently completing his doctoral dissertation at The Pennsylvania State University, titled “The Hidden Drag: Status Attainment and Debt in Young Adulthood Across Three Cohorts.”  His research interests have included such varied topics as social stratification, the sociology of the life course, and medical sociology.  For more information, visit Jason’s personal page.

When asked about his Honors experience, Jason responded:

“What is there to say about Honors? Looking back, Honors was probably the most important formative experience of my college career. There’s nothing else quite like it. I learned a lot in college that I don’t remember. But I remember Honors and value my experience learning from (and debating with) the terrific students and faculty in the Honors College…But most importantly, Honors taught me to think, deeply and critically–about the BIG questions. That’s what I value the most. That’s what made Honors special for me, and that’s what made it stick with me. It’s this big picture perspective that I treasure most when I’m locked down in the minutiae of my scholarly pursuits. For that, I am particularly indebted to Steve Cohn, Jim Gallagher, and (of course) Charlie [Slavin].”

Congratulations, Jason!