Alumni Update: Where are they now?
Name: Linda M. Burton
Degree(s) Received: B.S.G. in Gerontology
Year of Graduation: 1978
Job title: James B. Duke Professor of Sociology
Company: Duke University
Location (city and state): Durham, NC
Please briefly describe your position and your company:
I currently hold a named professorship in the sociology department at Duke University as well as direct two large ethnographic studies. In July 2008 I also will assume the role of Director of Undergraduate Studies for the sociology department.
Why did you choose to study gerontology at the USC Davis School?
My first job, at age 14, was as a feeder in nursing home in the community of Watts in South Central Los Angeles. I fell in love with working with older people and thought I would pursue that line of work by getting a bachelor’s degree in the health sciences at USC. However, in my second year at USC at took a class from Kate Wilber and learned at the time USC had an undergraduate degree in Gerontology. I made a beeline for the Leonard Davis School right after the class and immediately changed my major to Gerontology.
Please briefly describe how the USC Davis School’s curriculum helped prepare you for your current position.
Although I have my Ph.D. in sociology, I use the developmental perspectives I learned in the gerontology program in my teaching and research activities.
What advice would you offer to a prospective student interested in studying gerontology at USC?
Enjoy the ride! A degree in gerontology will prepare you for more opportunities than you know. Be creative in how you apply the degree to your work.
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