For as long as he can remember, Jeff Cates has been passionately curious and eager to learn. But going to college was never something his teachers, friends, or family encouraged him to do. Trauma, loss, and poverty during adolescence fostered a tough cynicism that defined him as a young man.
As an adult, his adolescent cynicism about the world transformed into a sense of inspiration to make the world a better place for his two children. He began spending all his free time at the library, developing a critical lens to better understand how and why society operated the way it did.
At 31 years old, he decided to attend college and enrolled at College of Western Idaho (CWI). It was during this time he discovered sociology was his academic path. His first teaching experience was at CWI, where he served as a permanent guest lecturer during the four years he attended (2013-2016). He presented sociological perspectives on topics such as capitalism, global hunger, technological unemployment, social movements, and creativity.
After graduating from CWI, he attended Boise State University. Upon graduating with honors from Boise State, he was accepted into the University of Tennessee’s sociology graduate program, where he taught and served as a research assistant until completing a master’s degree in Sociology with an emphasis in political economy.
Since 2021, Cates has been a full-time lecturer of sociology at Boise State. In Fall 2026, he returned to CWI as an instructor, bringing his academic journey full circle. Teaching at the college where that journey began offers a meaningful opportunity to “pay it forward” to the institution that first sparked his interest in becoming a teacher.