Chenghui Zhang (China)

PhD Candidate in Sociology

 

Chenghui studies how different stakeholders influence the social construction of hate crime statistics (officially recorded data) in the United States. She has an LLM and a bachelor's in Law from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. 

 

"While laws tell people what they should not do, they do not explain well why some people would follow the rules but others don't," Chenghui said. "I wanted and still want to look for answers to these questions. Sociology is a discipline that welcomes different perspectives and methodologies and which not only offers rigorous training but also encourages and inspires scientific, creative, and interdisciplinary studies. Sociology is THE area to study if you would like to understand society and human beings."

 

Chenghui chose UK for its reputation and as an R1 research university with many opportunities for graduate students to conduct interdisciplinary research and gain teaching experience. She also enjoys the quality of life in Lexington.

 

A highlight of her time at UK so far was participating in the Pedagogies Learning Community in 2018-2019. "I met many graduate students and professors who share the same passion in creating an inclusive culture on campus through our teaching and mentoring process here at UK," she said. "It was inspiring and challenging." Chenghui hopes to continue her research after graduation with a job in academia.