senior handsMaster’s students Nadia Velasquez and Krysel Walasik are the 2015 recipients of the I.J. Shapiro and A.J. Borrell Award for Best MSSW Student Paper on Geriatric Mental Health Services.

Velasquez and Walasik co-authored a paper titled “The effectiveness of reminiscence therapy with persons diagnosed with dementia.”

“I am proud of the work these students did on this paper and gave it the highest ranking because the practice implications are insightful,” said professor Namkee Choi, a committee member and the Louis and Ann Wolens Centennial Chair in Gerontlogy.

The Shapiro and Borrell Award is sponsored by Senior PyschCare, a leader in innovative care for age-related problems in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. The purpose of the contest is to solicit ideas from master level social work students on ways to improve geriatric mental health services by making them more innovative, effective, and efficient. Dr. Leo Borrell, President and Senior Consultant of Senior PsychCare, initiated this paper contest in honor of his father and father-in-law.