After working for five years with a BSW, I felt an urgency for more social work training.  I began my search for MSW graduate schools while living in Nairobi, Kenya, where my husband and I were completing a voluntary service term with Mennonite Central Committee.  I sent out many applications and received a very warm welcome from the Roberts Wesleyan College MSW program.  As I look back over my experiences in the MSW program at Roberts, I realize that the Roberts community is full of warm, welcoming professionals.   I found the MSW program at Roberts to be a challenging environment.  Roberts encourages students through providing opportunities to learn and develop on a personal, professional, and spiritual level.  The classroom environment at Roberts was conducive to learning excellence.  Professors at Roberts were grounded in their commitment to social change; their actions, compassion, and dedication infiltrated the classroom and inspired me.  I also found that professors new my name and seemed to have my best interest at heart when  it came to understanding classroom material.  Professors would welcome me into their offices if I needed further assistance outside of the classroom.  I truly valued the one-on-one assistance that I received and felt secure in knowing that my professors had a deep desire to help students learn and achieve academic excellence.       The faculty and staff at Roberts Wesleyan College were committed to helping me find excellent field placements. As a second year graduate student, I was given the opportunity to work in the Roberts Wesleyan College Counseling Center.  This opportunity was very instrumental in helping me further develop my interests and goals as a social work professional.  The clinical supervision that I received at the RWC Counseling Center helped me utilize my professional and personal strengths in new ways.  Currently, I work for Drexel University in the Office of Counseling and Health.  I am passionate about being able to conduct social work outreach, counseling, and psycho-educational classes/programing with Drexel students.  I find that my training at Roberts has given me a better understanding of how to use my own unique resources and the resources in communities and organizations.  Attending Roberts Wesleyan College's MSW program was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I am truly grateful to all of the staff and professors at Roberts who invested in me. 

Laura Dell O'lio Class of 2004