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VOICEOVER: This is Alumni Aloud, a podcast by Graduate Center students for Graduate Center students. In each episode, we talk with the GC graduate about their career path, the ins and outs of their current position, and the career advice they have for students. This series is sponsored by the Graduate Center’s Office of Career Planning & Professional Development. 

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Holden Taylor (OCPPD): Thank you very much. Would you want to begin by just sort of describing the job that you have as an assistant professor? The institution you’re at, and maybe speak a little bit about that?

Angela LaScala-Gruenewald: Yeah, totally. So it was not necessarily an original goal to go into academia, but I think at CUNY I really enjoyed the combination of teaching, research, and organizing that you can do in higher education institutions. I knew that I wanted to eventually land at a big public institution with a public mandate similar to CUNY.

The best way to describe the University of Massachusetts system, and the Amherst campus in particular, is that it has a lot of features of a large public institution. I’m expected to do research and keep my research agenda going, but I also get to do a lot of incredible teaching with students in legal studies.

The department itself—legal studies—is multidisciplinary. We have political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and others all working together from different disciplines to understand the social construction of law and legal institutions. My work sits within that department, balancing research, teaching, and service. That’s what I do every day.

Taylor: Amazing. Would you maybe tell us a little bit more about the day-to-day? What do your days look like?

LaScala-Gruenewald: That’s a great question. As someone who just finished grad school, I’m still figuring that out. Sometimes I have a plan, sometimes I don’t—and even when I do, the day usually changes.

Most of the time, I’m balancing the things I mentioned earlier. If I can get to my own writing or research, that’s amazing. I study fines and fees in the carceral state and the use of money and monetary debt as a form of punishment, so I try to do that work early in the morning—more of a hope and a prayer than a guarantee.

A lot of my day is filled with teaching and working with students, both undergrads and grad students—helping them with research, responding to class questions, or putting together lectures and seminars. It’s kind of a healthy or unhealthy balance of all those things.

Taylor: Excellent—sounds fun. Do you have administrative responsibilities?

LaScala-Gruenewald: Yes, mostly responsibilities that pertain to students. A lot of students just need faculty to show up for them—whether that’s navigating college, class-related issues, letters of recommendation, research assistant work, or internships.

I don’t necessarily think of that as “administrative,” but when I reflect on my admin role, I really think about what students need and how I can work on systems that help meet those needs. I also do departmental work—planning events, for example. We’re bringing a film screening to campus next semester that was created by an alum, so I’ve been working on logistics and community-building around that.

And more broadly, as faculty, we’re part of the administration of the institution—curriculum development, making sure grad students are on track, and addressing campus resource issues ranging from food access to mental health. You’re always doing admin; how you prioritize it varies from person to person.

Taylor: That makes a lot of sense. Maybe we can look back a little bit—hey pup, adorable—and talk about your grad school experience: how it started, how it developed, and then we can get into the job search process.

LaScala-Gruenewald: Yeah. I got into the PhD program off the waitlist and felt really lucky. If you’re on the waitlist, stay on it.

In my twenties, I knew I wanted to do something research-related. I had been working in government, which can be really restrictive in terms of the questions you’re allowed to ask. I wanted more freedom—to think through questions, use different methods, and explore ideas more fully. A PhD in sociology felt like the best way to do that.

Originally, my plan was to finish the PhD and go back into the public sector—maybe doing data work for a public defender’s office. But at CUNY, I got bit by the teaching bug, and that really shaped how I thought about what I wanted to do next.

Taylor: That’s wonderful. Where did you teach, and what was your teaching experience like at CUNY?

LaScala-Gruenewald: I taught at Hunter College, which has a pretty sizable sociology department. I taught current social theory—post-Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Du Bois, moving into the mid-20th century—as well as criminology. I also taught at John Jay College in their law and society program. Those were my two main teaching campuses while at CUNY.

Taylor: And at what point did you settle on your research interest?

LaScala-Gruenewald: It took a while. I had a general idea within the first year or two. I got IRB approval in early 2020 to do ethnographic research in local courts just outside New York City, and then COVID hit.

I adjuncted, read a lot, and my research questions shifted while my site stayed the same. I returned to the field in 2022 and started data collection. So in theory it took two years; in reality, closer to four.

Taylor: When did your professional aspirations start to shift?

LaScala-Gruenewald: Honestly, from day one of teaching at Hunter. Teaching felt like organizing—setting goals collectively and figuring out how to get there together. I realized I could do this and still do my research. That’s when I thought, “Oh no—I want to be an academic.” When it tastes good, it tastes good.

Taylor: In narrowing your research interests after deciding on academia, did that aspiration affect your research focus?

LaScala-Gruenewald: If we’re being pragmatic and the goal is to get a job, then yes—it probably should have. If I wanted to go into a more applied space, I might have shifted my research.

But knowing I wanted to be in academia allowed me to be more theoretical and critical. I kept the train on the tracks because I knew I’d stay interested and get it done. I think, especially in sociology, people shift research based on career paths, but for academic jobs it matters less than staying engaged with your work.

Taylor: Let’s talk about the dirty stuff: the job search. How was that for you?

LaScala-Gruenewald: Tough. The learning curve was steep. In sociology, there’s a template for the job market—how widely you apply, how you write materials, even paragraph-by-paragraph guidance for cover letters.

I wrote my materials over the summer and gave them to my advisor, who told me we needed to take big steps back. He was very instructive, and I followed the template closely. My biggest advice is to prepare your materials over the summer so you’re ready to apply as soon as a good fit appears.

Also, have multiple people review your materials. If your advisor isn’t the right person, find someone else. Once your materials are solid, it becomes easier to rinse and repeat.

My advisor also framed it as a market—supply and demand. You control how you approach the market, not the outcomes. That mindset helped me tailor applications to job calls without changing who I am.

Taylor: That resonates a lot. In hindsight, how did the Graduate Center support—or not support—you during this process?

LaScala-Gruenewald: My advisor was a huge source of support. I also relied heavily on peers—people in my cohort or nearby cohorts who shared advice and materials. For things like DEI statements, friends were invaluable.

I didn’t lean much on institutional resources, partly because it can be hard to know what exists or where to find it. I’ve since heard great things about the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development—mock interviews, job talk prep—but I didn’t really know about it at the time.

Taylor: I completely agree. A lot of those supports are there, but it’s easy to miss them in such a big institution.

LaScala-Gruenewald: Exactly. There are so many emails.

Taylor: Last question—let’s end on something fun. Do you have a reading recommendation?

LaScala-Gruenewald: Yes. I Who Have Never Known Men. It’s a novella, recently reissued with an introduction by Carmen Maria Machado. It’s speculative, prescient, and a quick read. There’s a lot of yearning in surprising ways. I really loved it.

Taylor: Beautiful. That’s a perfect way to end. Thank you so much for talking with me.

LaScala-Gruenewald: Thanks for having me, and for all the work you all do.

Taylor: It’s an honor. All right—it’s a wrap.