MSU Sociology welcomes PhD student Drew Kirks-Cler

August 10, 2021

Drew is a first-year PhD student in the Sociology Department. His research interests lie at the intersection of health and LGBTQ+ identification. He is particularly interested in the relationship between gender identity/expression and medical diagnoses. As a student of the Spanish and Russian languages, Drew also seeks to understand how voice dysphoria differs between languages for multilingual transgender individuals. Drew obtained his B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His Honors thesis examines the correlation between the adoption of a strong “first-gen” identity and academic success for first-generation college students like himself. When he is not studying, Drew enjoys creative writing, reading fiction, playing video games, and hanging out with his cat, Louis Kuitton.