FSU College of Social Work students Rose Antoine and Bushra Rashid both received a 2020 Academic Leadership Award for contributions made in and out of the classroom.

Faculty, staff and student winners of Academic Leadership Awards were honored digitally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 

MSW Student: Bushra Rashid

Since starting the MSW program with a clinical concentration in fall 2018, Bushra has shown independence and leadership through her pursuit of research opportunities along with campus and community opportunities, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. With a background as a domestic violence advocate, Bushra pursued opportunities to work on child welfare research, which included projects with FSU College of Social Work faculty members. Drs. Lisa Schelbe, Melissa Radey and Dina Wilke.

Working with Dr. Lisa Schelbe on a study related to client perpetrated violence among child welfare workers, Bushra decided to deepen her research in this area through an independent study. Supervised by Dr. Lisa Schelbe and Dr. Melissa Radey, Bushra evaluated some of the factors that lead to low retention rates and satisfaction in the field for child welfare workers, including how this work deals with client backlash.

Bushra continued examining the experiences of child welfare workers through a graduate assistantship with Dr. Dina Wilke on a project through the Florida Institute for Child Welfare (FICW). The project, the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, included her work on literature reviews and organizing data to make it more open and accessible to the public. Over the spring of 2020, her assistantship continued with her assistance of FICW Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr. Lisa Magruder conducting qualitative interviews for a human trafficking screening tool and all by working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am so grateful that despite the chaos of COVID-19, FSU has been so incredibly flexible and understanding during this time. This virus has made it difficult to navigate through a newly defined normal, but I have been privileged enough to be able to continue working on research from home,” Bushra explained. “One of the things that have helped me is reminding myself not to compare my level of productivity now to what it was pre-pandemic. Most importantly, my support system has been my saving grace. We live with so much technology now that it is so easy to connect.”

 Along with her extensive engagement in research, Bushra has also helped the campus community through her voluntary participation on a student committee, determining the grade appeals process for other students. “With this process, you are trusted to make the most objective and ethical decision in order to garner a fair outcome for a student,” she emphasized. Bushra also worked extensively with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Tallahassee, which helps homeowners in the community have independence and sustains shelter and support for people in the Tallahassee community. She is very eager after graduation to begin work in the field with clients, with a strong interest in working in the field of end-of-life/palliative care after her clinical internship with Big Bend Hospice’s Transitions team.
 

BSW Student: Rose Antoine

Graduating spring 2020, Rose recalls her four years at FSU with great joy. She made sure her experiences at Florida State were exceptionally well-rounded but also included things that she enjoyed doing. “Lead with passion, intention and authenticity. A good college experience is one that you do for yourself,” Rose emphasized.

As a social work student, Rose stayed active with the FSU Student Association of Social Workers, as both their social chair and treasurer, to form a strong bond with her fellow social work students and the greater social work community. She also worked with the Institute for Family Violence Studies for two years on multiple projects including the law enforcement and emergency medical services human trafficking toolkit, co-parenting toolkits and supervised visitation handouts for service provides. In particular, she enjoyed seeing to fruition the launch of the FSU Student Resilience Project which she worked on from the beginning. “The Resilience Project is the one I got the most emotional about when watching the website role out. I love it so much,” she expressed. Rose was able to get out into the FSU community to talk about the project presenting at events and talking to fellow students and other audiences, including the First Lady of Florida. 

Rose also expresses endless gratitude to the supportive community of the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE), a program supporting undergraduate students who may be disadvantaged by economic or educational circumstances. Going through their Summer Bridge Program as a freshman, she was introduced to the supportive CARE community and has since kept paying it forward by serving as a CARE Ambassador for the 2019 Summer Bridge Program and this year as a recent graduate.  During these experiences, she was also honored as CARE Ambassador of the Year and the Qua’Asia Blackmon Award recipient for going above and beyond to support CARE students.

With the support of CARE, Rose also went on to embrace the FSU community even further as she applied and was chosen to represent the student body as a member of the 2019 Homecoming Court. “The most fulfilling and rewarding part for me was speaking to students,” Rose explained. “Being a resource and a representative of CARE students was awesome to me!”

Originally from Haiti, Rose also sought out opportunities to give back to Caribbean communities including an internship in Trinidad cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. She made the most of the opportunity with St. Dominic’s Children’s Home in Trinidad for her international field internship until she came back to the U.S. prematurely in March. “I feel like I had such a full experience,” said Rose about her internship. In their social welfare department, she was able to get hands-on experience with student support groups and a holistic view of the children’s experiences working with St. Dominic’s clinical team. Even back in the U.S. Rose was able to finish her internship, working remotely on projects for St. Dominic’s.

Now, Rose looks forward to a gap year pursuing social work employment and fellowship opportunities before continuing on with her education. She hopes to earn a master’s degree in social work at Howard University in Washington, D.C.