Alumni & Friends

The Florida Institute for Child Welfare, housed in the Florida State University College of Social Work, is launching a new resource to inform and support the child welfare workers of Florida. 

The podcast series, “Child Protection Caseworker Support,” starts Monday, Aug. 26. The eight-episode series will feature the institute’s director Jessica Pryce, who will discuss issues facing frontline child welfare professionals and offer guidance on a variety of issues pertinent to the field.

In 2013, Alumna Jocelyne (Josie) Fliger (MSW, 2015) did her first internship during her MSW program at FSU College of Social Work with the Tallahassee Senior Center, which offers activities and opportunities for senior citizens living in Tallahassee, Florida. Here she has introduced the idea of active living for seniors, a concept contrasting a societal focus on abnormal aging.

Doctoral Candidate Erin King graduated this summer with her doctoral degree in social work from the FSU College of Social Work. She successfully defended her dissertation titled “An exploration of the effects of primary and secondary trauma on child welfare workers’ mental health and commitment to the field” on June 25, 2019. In the fall, Dr.

As a first-generation college student, Samiah Bansal has experienced a wide range of new challenges, along with innumerable opportunities, in the university setting. One of her biggest dreams was to study abroad, but the challenge of funding such an adventure seemed insurmountable until she followed the example of other FSU students.

“I decided to apply for the Gilman Scholarship because I witnessed many student leaders at FSU become Gilman Scholars. It motivated me to apply,” she explained.

On the last day of the summer 2019 semester, the FSU College of Social Work hosted its summer graduation reception, honoring the of 23 BSW students, 93 MSW students, and one doctoral graduate (Erin King) graduation this semester.

Undergraduate social work student Faith Dekanter addressed attendees as the highlighted student speaker and graduate. From Jacksonville, Florida, Faith completed her degree in social work in three years along with a minor in child development.

Barbara Williams White (1943-2019) passed away on July 19, 2019. She was born February 26, 1943, in Macon, Georgia and was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. White completed her undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University in music education (BS, ’64). She went on to complete bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in social work at Florida State University (BSW, ’74; MSW, ’75; Ph.D., ’86).

Florida State University has launched a new online curriculum for Professional Certification in Trauma and Resilience.

As a macro-minded undergraduate social work student, Cassidy Lewis was on a lookout for opportunities to hone her skills at Florida State in 2018. With the guidance of BSW Program Director Pam MacDill, Cassidy connected with Ken Baldauf at the FSU Innovation Hub and learned about the opportunity with Design for America.

Relay races on Landis Green and jam sessions in the William Johnston Building are just a couple of the experiences dozens of middle school students from Tallahassee and the surrounding area participated in during a weeklong camp at Florida State University.

For the eighth year in a row, the FSU College of Social Work hosted its annual Arts and Athletics Summer Camp for two weeks in June.

Dr. Terriyln Rivers-Cannon was named the 2019 National School Social Worker of the Year by the School Social Workers Association of America (SSWAA) for her contributions to the profession of school social work. She is not only the first school social worker from Georgia, but is the first African American and African-American woman to receive this national recognition.