As a Tallahassee native, Hannah Kinnon has always been proud of her hometown. “This city has a small-town community feel, coupled with the political and governmental opportunities a capital city provides,” she explained. “Attending FSU has given me an opportunity to experience a totally different side of my hometown.”

Kinnon began her undergraduate experience at Florida State University (FSU) as an exploratory major, searching for a service-oriented major that would allow her to help others. A friend described her own major in social work, and Kinnon was “captivated.” 

As a social work major, Kinnon focused her energies on the area of child welfare, which helped her to earn the title of Garnet and Gold Scholar. Kinnon and 57 other undergraduates were inducted into the Garnet and Gold Scholars Society this fall because of their involvement on campus and in their community through three of the five areas: international experience, internship, leadership, research, and service.

“These students have been eager to excel inside and outside of the classroom,” said Amy Hecht, vice president of Student Affairs,” and they deserve our recognition for their involvement in bettering their campus and community."

Kinnon focused her energies on research, internship, and service. She worked with Dr. Lyndsay Jenkins in the area of educational psychology research as a part of the FSU Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program . The project focused on creating interventions to reduce grade school bullying through the early identification of social behaviors in preschoolers, which Kinnon was able to present on at the 2017 FSU Undergraduate Research Symposiums.

She also logged more than 200 service hours volunteering with Guardian Ad Litem as a child advocate in the dependency court system. And, she also successfully completed her social work field placement through an internship with a Healthy Start provider in Gadsden County. Kinnon facilitated emotional intelligence and coping skills group at a local school as well as providing case management services for women. 

“Each of these experiences increased both my knowledge of child development and my excitement for working with children in the field of social work,” expressed Kinnon. She plans to continue her social work education after graduation by completing her MSW degree at Florida State.

“Invest deeply in an area you’re interested in to find out if its somewhere you want to work one day,” Kinnon advised current and future social work students. “There are many areas of social work, so try things out and find out what you do, and don’t, like early on!”