The Master of Social Work program held its bi-annual Evening of Celebration last Friday evening. This celebration takes place to honor all MSW graduates, as well as to recognize Phi Alpha members, and our MSW program award winners for each semester. At this most recent celebration, the program honored 5 graduates from the Summer and Fall 2024 semesters.
The Summer 2024 Outstanding Capstone Award was awarded to Andrea Paradis, whose project focused on a family-centered intervention to deliver effective psychosocial support to families with minor children who have been affected by parental cancer. The Fall 2024 Outstanding Capstone Award was awarded to Stephanie Meittunen, whose project focused on how culturally relevant services and curricula can be integrated into the Pear Lake Women’s Program to enhance engagement, program satisfaction, and completion rates for Native American women in a rural residential substance use disorder treatment setting in Northern Minnesota.
The program also honored two Summer 2024 and one Fall 2024 graduate with the Jane Addams Outstanding MSW Student award. This award is given to 1-2 students per semester, who have gone above and beyond in their coursework and dedication to social work practice and who have shown resilience in the face of challenges. Nominated students are seen as leaders in the program and serve as positive student role models for their peers. Honored at the most recent celebration for this award were Robbie Baker and Samantha Wilson (Summer 24), and Alyssa Dobmeier (Fall 2024).
Congrats to our award winners on your hard work and success!
Pictured left to right: Samantha Wilson, Andrea Paradis, Robbie Baker, Alyssa Dobmeier, Stephanie Meittunen, and Dr. Mallory Knipe (MSW Program Director)
