hi my name is Jamie I am a first-year MSW student here at the University of Washington my name is Victor Rodriguez and I’m a first year student master’s program of social work hi my name is sean ross and i am a MSW grad student and this is my first year my motivation for coming into the program started I’m a psychology major and I started working at the National Center for PTSD working with veterans with PTSD I was talking to some college scholarships of mine and they told me you have you ever considered social work I think my family were inspired me to call my parents you know and all the struggles they went to you know my parents would come from Mexico they migrated up here for that reason for us to have a better opportunity and education
I got involved as a community organizer and so I felt like Social Work was one of the few careers that addresses you know systems of oppression addresses social justice and so that’s my commitment my commitment to social justice so one day I was in DC lobbying for healthcare bill for people who have had kidney transplants and realized just by educating the Congress member in his legislative aide that we need people who can really cheer on and deliver a message of people who are like me and like you who are who are in need of something but cannot go to the person who makes the decisions for us at that moment I realize I should be a social worker well the breakfast scholarship basically is the reason why I’m here to be completely honest I’m from Hawaii and coming here especially not coming from a privileged background was very difficult but when
I received the breakfast scholarship I just thought to myself for a second if I can just get there then I can probably find something else after I feel really blessed because that’s how it worked out for me the breakfast scholarship paid for my first quarter at u-dub and then for my second quarter I got a graduate assistantship and so I have my tuition covered now with the breakfast scholarship end my GE ship here I’m doing it on my own and I’ve never been prouder I family i said with farm workers all their lives on the first one to i think college the only one right now to my sister’s didn’t didn’t get the opportunity to do so so I’m the only one and so my parents couldn’t pay for me to go to college so I had to figure out ways to to fun could find my way here and having a scholarship definitely helps one practical thing that held me in was you know I wasn’t I didn’t take any loans my first my first quarter
I was working 40 hours a week and was trying to go to school full-time up by the way that’s impossible and the scholarship allowed me to not work this quarter at all which is great and I only live one block away when you’re really looking at what does it take to be successful at grad school not working 40 hours a week and not living you know in another city where your rent maybe a little bit cheaper but actually living literally living only a block away is is extremely helpful I like to say thank you to all those who did contribute to the scholarships and you know I especially in social work we tend to not get as much funding to my understanding and
I think it’s such a blessing when people do support social work because we’re here to help people and a lot of these people that come to school like particularly the school social work they come with the intention to meter communities better you’re investing in a better world you’re investing in a more just world so think about your contribution I just like giving a you know some money to a student go to school but really you’re contributing to social change I guess I want to say thank you because I would probably be still working 40 hours a week and trying to pull off a full load as a day graduate student and impossible to do so thanks thank you thank you
