Careers & Graduate Study

Graduates of the women's studies program have left Cornell with the knowledge and skills to pursue a wide range of careers and graduate studies, including work with victims of domestic violence, a directorship of a campus women's center, and graduate studies in social work, public health, women's history, sociology, and political science.

See how former students’ careers have evolved over time and enact the priorities associated with the gender, sexuality, and women’s studies program. 

Brenna Glaeser ’15 conducted research on midwifery practices and experiences in Iowa and in the United States while at Cornell, and began doula training in 2016.

Hannah Altman ’13 conducted a semester-long Healthy Relationships class at the Iowa Juvenile Home under the Skylark Project with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence as her senior capstone project. After graduation, Altman worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at the Shelter House Fairweather Lodge, a recovery program for people with mental illness who are seeking community, long-term stable housing, and supported employment.

Liz Bennett ’10 completed the Cornell Geiger Fellowship in Advocacy during her Cornell student career. As a Cornell Fellow, she worked with community organizations, writing and executing volunteer training and recruitment strategies, as well as training and running a volunteer phone bank. Following graduation she worked for a firm that provides financial planning for individuals with disabilities, and was then employed as a regional organizer and advocate for One Iowa. At One Iowa she worked to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons living in Iowa, and for the freedom of all Iowans to marry. She currently works as a trainer for internet company Go Daddy. In 2014 Liz was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives for District 65, Cedar Rapids.

Lena Hann ’06 (photoed above) completed her Master of Public Health degree at the University of Iowa and worked as the education programs coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. One of her main duties involved training teen peer educators and implementing comprehensive sexuality education throughout the community and the state. She then worked as the coordinator of the Master of Public Health Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she also taught Public Health and Human Sexuality courses. While in Champaign she served on the board of directors at the Greater Community AIDS project and volunteered with Rape Advocacy Counseling and Education Services. Lena received her Ph.D. in Community Health and Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016 and now works as assistant professor of Public Health at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.

Shannon Peters ’04  completed her J.D. at Drake University Law School and then worked as an associate attorney at Corso & Rhude. There she handled civil and criminal traffic cases, DUIs, misdemeanors, and felonies. Peters then worked as an associate attorney at Allen, Tunac, & Coughlon, where she worked in criminal law and immigration law. Now, she is at The Tyler Allen Law Firm.