STUDENT EXCELLENCE
Tassels turned, dreams realized
Spotlighting four graduates from the 2024-25 academic year
Dual degrees that complement
May graduate Kelci Straka-Mai earned dual degrees with an M.S.W. and M.P.H. from the School of Public Health. “Working collaboratively is important to do effective work,” she says of the interdisciplinary approach.
Heartfelt service, hometown impact
May graduate Briany Cruz, a B.S.W. graduate in 2023, returned to VCU for an M.S.W. to better serve Hispanic communities where she lived and worked. “I saw my community being represented as an island of disadvantage. … It’s about lifting one another,” she says.
Right major, right community
After a series of switching majors, Hilda Quansah found social work and a group that could help with her recovery. Now the May B.S.W. graduate is an M.S.W. student at VCU. “It shaped me into who I am today,” she says.
Helping himself, then others
After a jail stint, December graduate James Orr got sober and on a path that led to an M.S.W. degree and a job “trying to serve the community.” On being incarcerated, he says, “I changed everything … I was reframing and then modeling the person I wanted to become.”
Undergraduate roadshow
Spelunking the day away
The B.S.W. Program sponsored a day trip to Luray Caverns in spring 2025 to celebrate the Class of 2025 and a countdown to Commencement.
Rally 'round
14 B.S.W. students and 9 faculty and staff attended Rally in the Valley in spring 2025 at James Madison University with 13 other schools of social work from the commonwealth. The Virginia Social Work Education Consortium sponsors the annual undergraduate mini-conference.
Ph.D. scholar accolades
Entrepreneurship without borders
Ph.D. student Marianne Lund (center) is researching the impact of effectuation, a form of entrepreneurship. “Academics are pretty siloed, so bringing two fields – social work and entrepreneurship – together is a challenge,” she says. I am enjoying being part of two communities.”
With a social work lens, she is challenging assumptions about who can be entrepreneurs and how a learnable, logical framework for entrepreneurship can address poverty and other economic drivers. In addition to presenting at an international conference in France in fall 2024, she is collaborating to translate the latest discoveries into Spanish and Portuguese.
Determined to make a difference
Ph.D. student Rayelle Ross has continually advanced her skills and education to help clients – and now a Council on Social Work Education Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship will support her work at the doctoral level. The focus of Ross’ research – and the fellowship – is policy related to social safety net programs to alleviate intergenerational poverty in Black families.
“If I can do anything to be able to inform legislators about how these policies are impacting people, that would be great,” she says.
Tackling a Grand Challenge
Ph.D. student Ya-Li Yang earned one of 14 doctoral fellow awards from the Grand Challenges of Social Work to explore the family dynamics of substance use recovery. Yang’s award in the “Eradicate Social Isolation” category aligned with her dissertation focusing on how families develop resilience in supporting a loved one in recovery.
“This project seeks to highlight the struggles and strengths within families’ recovery journeys to guide professionals and policymakers in making meaningful systemic changes,” she says.
Yang is the second Ph.D. student from VCU’s School of Social Work to receive a Grand Challenges award – Aaron Kemmerer, a 2024 graduate, earned a fellowship in 2023 for work tied to ending homelessness.
Congratulations!
2024-25 Ph.D. graduates:
- Nicole Campbell (Dissertation: Understanding Identity-based discrimination: Immigrant women of African descent’s experiences in social and human service agencies)
- Jenée Lee (Housing quality for whom? Housing quality as a form of housing insecurity and housing inequality for Black women renters)
- Paola Roldán (A qualitative exploration of the employment experiences and coping strategies among transgender women in Medellín, Colombia)
- Muna Saleh (Health after resettlement: Predictors of health status and primary care utilization among Somali refugees living with chronic illness)
Innovation in action
Mindful research
M.S.W. student Josselyn Valenzuela began working on a School of Nursing-based research project as a B.S.W. student, and the 2024 graduate has continued after entering the master’s program. The project, Mindful Moms Study, examines mental health – particularly depression – and well-being during pregnancy for both Spanish- and English-speaking participants.
“Knowing that our work has the potential to make a tangible difference in the lives of pregnant women is incredibly fulfilling,” Valenzuela says. “Seeing how our research enhances care, mental health resources and community support motivates me to continue this important work.”
Presenting – and representing
A dozen social work students presented their research at two VCU events focused on student research in spring 2025, highlighted by first-year Ph.D. student Lisa Borntrager’s first-place award. Her presentation – "Does Trauma Type Matter When Evaluating Adult Suicide Risk Level?" – led the Social Sciences, Business and Education category of VCU’s Graduate Research Symposium.
Other graduate presenters:
- Aya Caballero, Ph.D. student, "Examining Life Satisfaction and Depression Among Biracial Black-White Emerging Adults"
- Jeff Ciak, Ph.D. student, "Building a Better Estimate of Serious Mental Illness for the NSDUH: Comparing a Latent Profile Analysis with the Current Weighted Linear Regression"
- Zoljargalan Gantumur, Ph.D. student, "Prevalence of non-Communicable Diseases and Behavioral Risks Among Older Adults in Mongolia"
- Rose Miola, Ph.D. student, "Poetic Transcription as a Qualitative Method for Understanding Strategies for Violence Prevention Among College Students At Risk for Sexual Violence"
- Samuel Ochinang, Ph.D., student, "Suicide Risk in College Students: Exploring Alcohol Use and Belonging with a Multinomial Growth Model"
- Erin Trimmer, M.S.W. student, "Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Typology Experience in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients"
Presenters at the VCU Poster Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creativity:
- Kit Curtis, "Autonomic Testing in Pediatric Disorders of Gut-Brain Interface: Relationship with Child Vs. Parent Perceptions of Functional Limitations"
- Matthew Fuller, Olivia Adams and Brianna Fragosa*, "Human Rights and Social Justice in Kerala, India: Photovoice for Transformative Learning in Undergraduate Study Abroad"
- Paloma Rodriguez Saucedo, "Effects of Black and Latine Children’s Academic Self-Efficacy and Skin tone on Self-Esteem"
*Co-authors not presenting: Miangel Brooks, Jasmine Edwards, Cait Parker, Karla Rodriguez and Sam Whichard
From service to research
B.S.W. students Joseph Kniceley, Autumn Matusiak and Julia Stodard presented a poster, "Student-Led Volunteering: How Social Work Students Can Benefit from Out-of-Classroom Experiences," at the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors Conference in spring 2025. Co-authors were Elena Diaz and Dija Ndiaye. A yearlong community service initiative was the basis for their research project.
"I feel that our passion for direct volunteer experience was shaped by our desire to get students out of the classroom and into the community," Kniceley says.
Interdisciplinary undergraduates
Ten undergraduate researchers, including senior social work major Bella Lenzini, attended and/or presented in fall 2024 at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists. The trip was sponsored by VCU’s Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health, led by Karen Chartier, Ph.D., social work professor.
“These are excellent undergraduate students, and we want them to have foundational experiences that will propel them forward in their research careers," Chartier says.