Ryo Sato

Ryo is a fourth-year Sociology and Statistics double-major interested in how shared moral ideas emerge, shift, and impact people’s everyday lives. An aspiring sociologist, he has used and plans to continue using both computational and qualitative tools to understand culturally shaped moral foundations of what social rights and privileges a particular social group deserves. As part of the Keck program, he is currently interviewing international students on the Optional Practical Training program (OPT), during which they are allowed to work for one to three years under a student visa after graduation. By doing so, he examines how OPT participants envision their future as it relates to international mobilities, with specific attention to how they draw from, combine, or recreate prevalent cultural narratives surrounding international education and life trajectories. In addition to the guidance of Dr. Collett in the Keck program, he feels privileged to have ongoing mentorship from Dr. Zsuzsa Berend and Yiran Yu in the Sociology Departmental Honors program. Apart from his research, he leads the Sociology Undergraduate Association to foster a community among sociology students on campus and sings Japanese pop songs as a vocalist in AGAMO, an organization that shares and spreads Japanese arts and culture.