Student Awards and Recognition

Linyun Fu
Examining Effectiveness, Mediators, and
Moderators of a Culturally Sensitive School-
Based Social-Emotional Learning Program
for Rural Chinese Children: Evidence from a
Matched-Pair Cluster Randomized Trial
Advisor: Curtis McMillen, PhD

James Green
“TikTok ≠ Therapy”: Queer Mental Health
Practitioners of Color in Spaces of
Digital Care
Advisor: Gina Samuels, PhD

Alizé Bershet Hill
Accessing Whiteness: The Process Through
Which Black-White Multiracial Youth and
Their Parents Navigate the School System
Advisor: Gina Samuels, PhD

Eunseok Jeong
The Interplay of Cultural and Structural
Barriers in Mental Health Service Utilization
among Chinese American Young Adults
Advisor: Miwa Yasui, PhD

Caroline Hope Kelly
School Medicaid Expansion: Examining
Child Access to Mental Health Services
Advisor: Colleen Grogan, PhD

Lester Jackson Kern III
Between Two Worlds: Crisis Care and
Institutional Decline in a Closing Psychiatric
Emergency Department
Advisor: Reuben Miller, PhD

Lauren Andren Peterson
The Role of State Medicaid Waiver Policy
Design in Home and Community-Based
Services Utilization among Adults with
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Advisor: Colleen Grogan, PhD

Sabaha Lee Round
Populating the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act
Advisor: Reuben Miller, PhD

Brianna Joyce Suslovic
Litigation and Its Discontents: An
Interpretive Policy Analysis of a Lawsuit,
Settlement, and Compliance Monitoring
Process in and around New York City Jails
Advisor: Matt Epperson, PhD

Anthony Paul Verdino
Queer Imaginings
Advisor: Curtis McMillen, PhD

This award is given to a first-year student who has done outstanding work in the first year and promises future achievement in their profession.

2026 Recipients:
Jean Ahn
Alyssa Davis  

2026 Recipient:
Caty DeBroux 

This award is given to graduating master’s degree students for scholarship and professional leadership.

2026 Recipient:
Kat Ellis Reynders 

This award is given to graduating students (master's and doctoral) who have demonstrated their commitment to social justice within the communities to which they belong. 

2026 Recipient:
Shaleyah Carter 

Honorable Mention:
Kianni Qierra Robinson 

Black Student Association 

This award recognizes and honors PhD students who have demonstrated outstanding teaching and instruction in the master’s program. Winners are selected each year based on the instructor’s contributions to developing inclusive pedagogy in social work education and to a classroom that promotes critical thinking, advances knowledge, and supports students’ academic and professional development.

2026 Recipients: 
Soo Young Lee 
Elizabeth Sanchez 
Brianna Suslovic 

This award is given to first and second-year master's students for exceptional performance in field education. It considers the student's ability to integrate field education with coursework, seminar performance, quality of reflection logs, and high achievement of CSWE's core competencies as evidenced by quarterly field evaluation ratings, narrative, and site visit.

2026 Recipients:

First Year Awardee
Dominique Moore 

Second Year Awardee
Ana Castillo James 

Part-Time Awardee 
Jessica Ekhoff 

Hester Buell
Samantha Yarelis Candelario
Ana Castillo James
Yichun Chen
Eve Cohen
Adriana Coria
Alexander Cowan
Case Dimov
Kat Ellis Reynders
Michelle Lopez
Estrellita Cinzia Mondragon
Leslly Razo
Karina Rosales
Em Sandberg
Aylin Sanjuampa Cerezo
Courtney Sauder
Desiree Sedillo
Stacey Stiffler
Gray Williams

Anna Volz, President
Kat Ellis Reynders, Vice President and Treasurer
Gray Williams, Secretary
Shaleyah Jennel Carter, Social Chair 

PROGRAMS OF STUDY
Advanced Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor Training Program

Samantha Yarelis Candelario 
Brian Carter
Shianne Heeraman
Sara Hogenboom
Eaden Hvarre
Valentina Raciti
Em Sandberg
Aylin Sanjuampa  

School Social Work Program of Study 

Adenike Adeniji
Katherine Ambrosino
Brigid Anderson
Rachel Amegatcher
Benny Benavides
Ryley Boddeker-O’Connor
Shaleyah Jennel Carter
Naomi Clarke
Alysha Coyle
Anna Lou Dassinger
Miles Dunna
Julian Feliciano
Maja Gavrilovic
Grace Grindell
Eivan Herrera-Valdez
Julia Hirschfield
Fatima Jaber
Peri Kaplan
Greta Karisny
Roy Lewis
Taylor Loeber
Samantha Manno
Zoë Miller
Izabella Millimet
Leslly Razo
Karina Rosales
Itzel Salgado
Daniela Shorser
Erica Yoshimura

Trauma Responsive Social Work

David Ashley
Larrita Bryant
Adriana Coria 
 

Graduate Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies
James Green 

Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy Certificate (GPHAP)
Samantha Bartolai 
Emma Clark 
Marelin Enriquez-Paloalto
Julia Fryrear
Sunny Kadesh 
Raina Kamdar
Veda Kumar
Kaira Mack
Kianni Qierra Robinson
Sophia Todorov
Anna Volz
Wendy Widom 

GPHAP Ray E. Brown Fellow
Emma Clark  

GPHAP Arthur Quern Fellows
Kaira Mack 
Wendy Widom

GPHAP Erikson Fellow
Samantha Bartolai
Emma Clark
Marelin Enriquez-Paloalto
Julia Fryrear
Kianni Qierra Robinson
Sophia Ivanova Todorov
Anna Volz

Immersive Track
Melissa Brito
Frankie Irvine
Alina Popatia
Delaney Wallace 

Parallel Track
Sajid Ahmed
Joshua Anaya
Rachel Castro
Alexander Cowan
Abby Demarest
Elizabeth Ebeling
Shoshana Holt-Auslander
Ana Castillo James
Debi Jin
Kaira Mack
Kaitlin McClure
Julianna McKenna
Joshua James Reyes
Casey Waskiewicz  

Alma Empowering Minds Scholarship & Mentorship Program, American Psychological Foundation, 2025-2026 

Karina Rosales

Cardenas Markets Foundation Scholarship, Cardenas Markets Foundation 2025-2026, Consuelo W. Gosnell  

Karina Rosales 

Kreisman Initiative on Housing Law and Policy Graduate Fellow 

Hailey Aldrich 

Dani Ediriweera 

LSP 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Scholarship, Latina Sweat Project, 2026 

Marelin Enriquez-Paloalto 

Memorial Scholarship, NASW, 2025-2026  

Karina Rosales 

Minority Fellowship Program, Council on Social Work Education, 2025-2026  

William Wang 

Obama Scholars, The Obama Foundation, 2025 – 2026  

Jessica Perez 

VA Interprofessional Fellowship Program in PSR and Recovery-Oriented Services  

Joshua James Reyes