Commitment to Help Others Deepened for BVU Social Work Major

Senior Kaitlyn Werner has been preparing for graduate school where she will continue her education in social work. A journey she says BVU has readied her for.

Kaitlyn Werner’s semester-long internship came to an abrupt halt as COVID-19 spread across the country. The Buena Vista University senior social work major was serving both the United Community Health Center, in Storm Lake, and Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.

“It was challenging work, but I was really enjoying it,” Werner says. “I was sad to see it end.”

Werner says the same about her four-year stay at BVU, a University she came to know after finding it on Google while preparing for a paper on social work as a sophomore in high school.

“I visited BVU four times before I came here as a freshman,” she says. “And yet I think I always knew this would be the place for me.”

Werner participated in Student MOVE as a Beaver. She was an AmeriCorps member for three years and served two years as co-president of the BVU Student Association for Social Work.

“I love my BVU professors; they’re so down-to-earth and will do anything for their students. I’ll miss them and the friends I’ve made at BVU.”

Kaitlyn Werner

 Highlights of her BVU career include an Alternative Week of Offsite Learning (AWOL) service experience during one spring break in Georgia. While students from other schools hit the beaches, Werner and nine other Beavers participated in a weeklong examination of human trafficking, a topic that isn’t easy to comprehend.
 
“I learned we can help, and we must help. As a social work major, I met front-line experts who explained why trafficking occurs, where it’s happening, and whom it affects,” she says.

The experience deepened Werner’s interest in social work and affirmed her commitment to help others, a commitment she’ll take from BVU to Clark University as she begins work toward a master’s degree in social work.

“I love my BVU professors; they’re so down-to-earth and will do anything for their students,” Werner says. “I’ll miss them and the friends I’ve made at BVU. This has been my home for the past four years. It’s also been an amazing experience.” 

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