As a case management assistant at AdventHealth Central Florida Division, Online MSW student, Fabiana Mattos Da Rocha, works alongside hardworking doctors, nurses, and other helping professionals and connects with patients and their families on a daily basis. She noticed in 2025 an increase in signs of quiet burnout, exhaustion and being overwhelmed across the board.
“I grew up in a very musical family,” recalled Brianne Rucker. “So I always knew music would be a big part of my life.”
Rucker began playing the saxophone at the age of six and performed in ensembles throughout her childhood and into adulthood. While she was always fascinated by psychology and human behavior, her love of music and the joy of sharing it with others led her to pursue a career in education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Tennessee State University, a historically Black college/university (HBCU).
Bailey Marie Latchford, a junior at Florida State University, is pursuing a dual degree in social work and criminal justice. Her journey to FSU was influenced by her three brothers who attended the university before her, the size of the campus and the many opportunities it offers.
Undergraduate student Jackzyri Torres knew on her first campus visit to Florida State University that it had for her a “homelike vibe” and could envision herself as a student there. “It’s safe to say that the community and hospitality is what drew me to FSU,” she conveyed.
Originally from Miami, Florida, she was thrilled to come to Florida State as a first-generation college student. She declared a double major in psychology and social work with a minor in Italian to combine two of her passions, helping others and travel.
A substantial gift from Florida Blue will establish an endowed scholarship at Florida State University Panama City for students in the Social Work (BSW) program.
“Within health care, social work is so critically important,” said Hong Potomski, spokeswoman for Florida Blue. “In order to support that need, it’s important to us to support workforce development and work with organizations like FSU Panama City.”
In light of the recent tragedy at the FSU Student Union, the College of Social Work relocated its Spring 2025 Graduation Event to Opperman Music Hall in the College of Music’s Kuersteiner Building. The event welcomed spring 2025 graduates and their guests, celebrating 51 BSW, 141 MSW and two doctoral graduates.
Meet some of our current on-campus Master of Social Work students who balance the demands of their graduate coursework with work experiences on campus provided through graduate assistantships.
Their campus experiences allow them to have hands-on service roles with a broad range of entities and support teams across campus.
In his Social Policy and Programs course, adjunct professor and doctoral candidate Christopher (Chris) Collins worked with undergraduates on projects in the Tallahassee community.
“Students facilitated community-wide projects in support of local non-profits,” explained Chris. “They were tasked with identifying a piece of social policy legislation that impacted a disenfranchised community and to develop an assistance campaign educating the public on the bills.”
