Graduating BUSSW Students Receive 2025 Commencement Awards & Scholarships
Thirteen graduating students from Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) have been selected for the school’s 2025 student commencement awards and scholarships.
The winners were chosen from a large pool of nominations submitted by BUSSW faculty, staff, administrators, and field supervisors.
The 2025 commencement award winners are:
- Jenny Zhang wins the Saul and David Bernstein Prize, awarded to a ‘group work’ student who demonstrates outstanding merit in the classroom and the field.
- Sofia Vargas wins the the Carl D’Ettore Memorial Prize, awarded to a clinical practice student placed in a healthcare setting who demonstrates outstanding merit.
- Caren Hunter wins the Sarah B. Lange Change Maker’s Prize, awarded to a macro practice student who demonstrates a commitment to social justice through work, community service, volunteerism, and/or field placement.
- Maris Sarnacki, Osvaldo Martinez, and Tabitha Vagas win the Dean’s Award for Leadership in Social Work, awarded to a part‐time student who demonstrates outstanding merit in the classroom, field, and community.
- Julia DeAngelo, wins the Faculty Award for Excellence in Social Work Practice, awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding merit in the classroom, field, and community.
- Colleen Wasson wins the Online Program Leadership Award, given to an online student who demonstrates outstanding leadership excellence in both classroom and field.
- Mich’Lene Davis wins the Frances (Frankie) Frank Award, given to an outstanding student in the Advanced Lowy-GEM Program in Aging and/or Aging Specialization.
- Emma Cook wins the Herbert S. Strean Memorial Prize, awarded to outstanding second-year clinical students at BUSSW.
- Jessie Birnbaum and Alexis Kilgore win awards from the Richard Cohen Scholarship Fund, established in 1957 to support second-year BUSSW students planning to enter the field of group work or community organization.
- Beatrice Ferguson wins the Lenny Bloksberg Prize, named in honor of a former faculty member committed to the importance of policy education in the MSW program. The prize is awarded to a graduating MSW student who has demonstrated outstanding merit in social welfare policy.
The students will be recognized at the 2025 BUSSW Commencement Ceremony on May 15th.