Texas Social Work honored 65 donors at a reception on Tuesday evening, featuring student stories on the importance and impact of financial support.
Donors were able to connect with individual students and faculty members who directly benefit from their endowment support. During the event, students shared stories of how funds helped them focus on school and reduce worry, while faculty shared with donors what impact the funding had on their areas of research and community development.
“Our students will tell you, financial support at all levels makes a difference,” said Allan Cole, dean of Texas Social Work. “Our donors are generous in big and small ways. Together, they make a significant impact in the lives of our students that ripples and reverberates in our communities and beyond. We are better for it. The world is better for it.”
In a highlight of the night, a panel of three social work students who benefit from scholarship support spoke to the audience at large to share their personal experiences. The panel, moderated by Dean Cole, featured MSSW student Hetty Borinstein, as well as BSW students Marissa Gamez and Norma Gay.
All three shared stories about financial support through scholarships allowed them to focus on school full-time, and remarked that scholarships and financial support was a significant factor for choosing the Steve Hicks School of Social Work over other institutions. Borinstein shared about how she was able to explore gerontology in social work and begin a career in aging, and Gay shared about her experience on focusing on social policy, including hands-on experience with legislators in Washington D.C.
Gamez, who shared that her scholarship helped provide financial security to her as a single mother, closed the panel by sharing how her work – as well as other work done by Texas Social Work graduates – impacts the world, and why it is important to continue investing in social work students.
“What you’re investing in is not just our future, but yours as well,” Gamez said. “We all will need a social worker one day. [Financial support] gives us the ability to focus on our goals and become the social workers who can help others.”