Bachelor of social work scholarship
established at local university
PRESQUE ISLE — Through the dedicated efforts and donations of the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Student Organization of Social Workers [SOSW], UMPI faculty and friends, and a generous anonymous donor, the Foundation of the University of Maine at Presque Isle is establishing a new scholarship meant to provide financial assistance for students pursuing a degree in the field of social work.
Photo courtesy of UMPI
Shirley Rush, University of Maine at Presque Isle associate professor of social work and Bachelor of Social Work Program director, signs a trust agreement establishing the new Bachelor of Social Work scholarship at the University during a signing ceremony on Feb. 7. Looking on are, from left: Breigha Debison, a senior social work major from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, who chairs the Student Organization of Social Work, and, at center, Melanie Maynard, a sophomore social work major from Mapleton, who co-chairs SOSW. The student group was instrumental in raising the funds needed to establish the scholarship.
Members of the Social Work Program, SOSW and campus community members were on hand Feb. 7 at the Campus Center for the official signing of the trust agreement establishing the new bachelor of social work scholarship.
The presentation was held during the weekly SOSW meeting.
“We are very pleased to see this scholarship established for our social work students and to recognize the many people who helped to make this possible,” UMPI President Linda Schott said. “It really says so much about our Social Work Program that the students in it now think so highly of the faculty and the program that they invested their own time and energies in establishing this fund for their fellow students.”
“It is such a joy to see the BSW Scholarship come to fruition,” Shirley Rush, UMPI associate professor of social work and Bachelor of Social Work Program director, said. “Watching the students grow this important initiative is another example of active learning outside the classroom and involves empowerment, economic justice, community activism, social change and giving back. It is an honor for me to be part of this amazing process that will continue to develop in support of BSW student education.”
For more information or to contribute to the BSW scholarship fund, call UMPI’s Office of Development at 768-9568.
