I Want to Change the World for Children

For Amanda Rodriguez, it was simple: "I looked up grad schools for social work, saw U-M was at the top, and applied!"

"The options offered here intrigued me," Amanda says. "Other schools focused on one method or concentration, whereas this school covered everything. That's so important in social work. We must know something about everything and how each area affects individuals, organizations, communities and policies. I knew at U-M I was going to learn how all levels of the profession are connected, even though I had selected one concentration."

And yet, in spite of her enthusiasm, Amanda says, "I didn't think U-M would be an option."

Amanda and her mother and grandmother struggled financially. Amanda has always taken her academics very seriously, she secured scholarships to attend a private high school in her native Chicago. The classes were strong, but the student body lacked the socioeconomic diversity of her grade school. The sudden lack of classmates with backgrounds like hers awakened Amanda's social consciousness. She also knew she wanted to be involved in a helping profession. When she received another scholarship to attend Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, she did not yet know social work as an academic discipline, but she dove into volunteering, especially with people with intellectual disabilities. Soon she learned what was possible beyond undergraduate school. She applied to get her Master's in Social Work at U-M, and she applied for financial aid.

Part of the process is writing a detailed essay about one's social work interests and career plans. Amanda recalled the many essays she wrote for undergraduate aid, the challenge of being vulnerable and sharing her hopes, dreams and needs again and again. "I told myself, ‘I'm going to try one more time."

Amanda wrote the essay, and soon learned that she would receive additional financial aid at the U-M School of Social Work the Mary DeLue Romano Memorial Scholarship, established in memory of a leader in medical social work, for students interested in that field.

"Honestly," Amanda says, "the U-M School of Social Work would not have been in my range, without this scholarship. It's a blessing for me to be able to continue my education. I never, ever take my education for granted, because other members of my family have not had the opportunities I have. I am so grateful for what this school has given me. This scholarship takes a weight off my shoulders." Amanda still works about 15 hours a week, a figure that would be much greater-perhaps impossibly so-had she not received scholarship support. "This way I can concentrate on what I'm here for," she says. "Hopefully, one day soon, I can give back."

Amanda plans to focus her career in the field of children and mental health. "I want to work with children who have experienced some form of maltreatment," she says. "My field placement at the Family Assessment Clinic is preparing me for this. I provide treatment for children who have experienced maltreatment in the forms of abuse and/or neglect, and I include the family unit in the treatment. Children are the most vulnerable population, especially those already hurt. My professors tell me, if you can deal with trauma, you can take on anything. So my learning goes hand in hand with my field work. One day, I'd also like to mentor young Latinxs. There aren't many of us getting educated at this level. My message would be, ‘We can do this. It's not easy. I want to help you and guide you."