Student Awards

Annual Student Awards

Each year the School of Social Work faculty nominate exemplary BASW and MSW graduating students for two student awards, given away at each level. Winners receive a monetary award and are recognized at The School of Social Work Annual Spring Celebration, on our website and social media pages, and in our spring newsletter. The two Student of the Year winners are also recognized at the Honors Convocation at the end of the academic year.

BASW Student of the Year: This student is a graduating senior social work major who demonstrates outstanding knowledge and dedication to the social work field. This includes strong academic standing and promise as a future social work professional. This person should have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above.

MSW Student of the Year: This student is a graduating MSW student who demonstrates outstanding knowledge and dedication to the Social Work field. This includes strong academic standing and promise as a future social work professional. This person should have an overall GPA of 3.0 or above.

BASW Outstanding Service Award: This student is a graduating senior social work major who has shown great service to the social work field through volunteerism, special projects, community organization, or advocacy.

MSW Outstanding Service Award: This student is a graduating MSW student who has shown great service to the social work field through volunteerism, special projects, community organization, or advocacy.

View our winners 2021

MSW Outstanding Service Award

Joseph Holder

Joseph Holder is an active member of the NIA Mentoring Initiative. He has recruited many members to join the group. He consistently offers mature perspectives on various social justice-related topics. Both peers and mentors appreciate his insightful comments and reflections. Additionally, he is an active volunteer at the Coverdale Crossroads Community Center in Bridgeville, DE.

MSW Student of the Year

Savannah Ott

Savannah currently has a 4.0. She was recently hired by her internship agency and she is working on getting her license in West Virginia where she plans on practicing in the future. She has made herself available to other students in her class to be a peer support and she just generally has a positive and genuine disposition. Regardless of certain challenges that have presented themselves, she has faced them while embodying the values of the NASW Code of Ethics like service and the importance of human relationships. We can be very proud to have her as a graduate of our program.

BASW Student of the Year

Linda Zelaya

Linda Zelaya is a graduating BASW student who has a strong GPA of 4.0. She performs exceptionally in her classwork and as a student leader both in and outside of the School of Social Work. As the BASW student representative on the School’s Diversity Committee Linda has taken the lead on several projects, such as updating the School’s website content related to diversity and inclusion topics, as well as organizing the Hall Space project which entails collaborating with faculty and administration to update the SSW art and images within Conway Hall to be more culturally inclusive. On top of all this, Linda is also the President of Phi Alpha Honor Society and President of the Social Workers for Racial Justice student group. In summary, Linda is a hardworking, diligent student whose commitment to addressing diversity and strong academic record exemplifies many of the positive qualities we desire to see in our undergraduate BASW students.

BASW Outstanding Service Award

Johannah Cooper

As a scholar, Johannah Cooper exemplifies the definition of engaged learner in that she is curious and passionate about her learning. For her honors project, Johannah is conducting a needs assessment of immigrants in Wicomico County, Maryland. Following data collection, Johannah will write a thesis based on what she has learned and present this information to stakeholders in the community and advocate for changes in service provision based on her research. Her commitment to human rights also extends to ensuring that individuals have access to competent, reliable, and culturally-responsive services. Johannah is currently completing her social work internship with the City of Salisbury, where she provides direct services and supports long-term initiatives to address social problems (e.g. racial, economic, and health inequalities, etc) through research and stakeholder meetings. Much of this work has centered on the response of the City to COVID-19 and ensuring access to needed services and information for immigrant populations. Johannah also sought out an internship opportunity as junior and interned with Midshore Pro Bono Services, whose mission is to connect low-income individuals and families to civil legal help. Given her fluency in Spanish, she was able to help with translation on many cases and help prepare documents for immigration cases, including asylum and citizenship cases. Johannah has presented her research at numerous conferences and she was recently selected as a Fulbright Semi-finalist.