Sierra L. Nelson

Department of Sociology

Mississippi State University

206 Bowen Hall

Starkville, MS 39762

(662) 910-6268(cell)

Education:

2014Mississippi State University

Pursuing: Masters of Science in Sociology

Concentration: Criminology

2014Delta State University

Bachelor of Science in Social Justice and Criminology

Concentration: Psychology

Geospatial Information Technology Certificate

ResearchExperience:

Manuscripts in Progress:

None

2011 to 2012Delta State’s Center for Interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Technologies (Delta State University) Cleveland, MS

Geospatial Information Technologies Tech/Project Manager

  • Utilized aerial imagery
  • Developed maps of Louisiana coastal wetlands that exposed land loss and land gain for USGS
  • Organized and coordinated Wetlands project
  • Prepared reports for USGS officials
  • Assisted with the creation of maps used by emergency officials during hurricane relief
  • Created address maps for Bolivar county’s 911 emergency department

Presentations at professional conferences:

Nelson, Sierra. “Melting the Iron Curtain while standing on the bricks of a fallen wall.” Mississippi Political Science Association Conference. Cleveland, MS.2012.

This conference was held on the Delta State campus and student involvement was greatly encouraged. I was taking a Women, Politics and Policy class. My paper described the many barriers the women of Russia and Germany face when trying to achieve political mobility.

Trinh, Maria and Nelson, Sierra. “Exploratory Study of Rape Rates in the United States.” Southern Sociological Society Conference. New Orleans, LA. 2015.

This paper used exploratory methods to discern patterns in rape rates across US counties. Subsequently, the paper also focused on characteristics of social and physical environment that may correlate with higher rape rates.

May, David, Nelson, Sierra and Elrod, Preston. “Examining the Effectiveness of Mentoring At-risk Youths by College Students.” Southern Criminal Justice Association Conference. Charleston, SC. 2015.

This paper focused on examining the effectiveness of mentoring at creating positive outcomes and changes in At-risk youth. The paper also focused on highlighting positive outcomes college mentors received from the mentoring process.

Research Interests

I am interested in deviance, specifically violence and violent crimes such as spree murder, mass murder and serial murder.

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant, Sociology of Sports, Fall 2014

Teaching Assistant, Sociology of Gender, Spring 2015

Teaching Assistant, Social Research Practice, Spring 2014

Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Social Research,Fall 2015

Teaching Assistant, Marriage & Family, Fall 2015

University Service:

2011 to 2012 Delta Center for Culture and Learning (Delta State University)Cleveland, MS Reading Volunteers

  • Assisted with the processing of paperwork for major summer workshops
  • Organizing and prepared a portfolio of Delta Center media releases
  • Managed the flow of visitors
  • Facilitated the sale of Delta Center paraphernalia
  • Expedited communications from outside sources to management staff

References

Dr. Leroy Brown

Associate Dean, DRD/Dir/Prof

Delta State University

132 Ewing

Cleveland, MS 38733

332-846-4311

Talbot Brooks

Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for GIS

Delta State University

DSU Box 3325

Cleveland, MS 38733

662-846-4520

Lynn Pazzani

Professor of Social Justice/Crime

Delta State University

215 Kethley

Cleveland, MS 38733

Office: 662-846-4359

Cell: 949-300-4692

Gavin Lee

Prof of Social Justice/Crime

Delta State University

210 Kethley

Cleveland, MS 38733

662-846-4065

November 2015