2006-2007 Tanya and Tom Carter Fellowship Award Winner: Lori Rushing
First-year MSW student Lori Rushing has certainly proven herself academically and professionally. During her undergraduate work at Appalachian State University, Rushing was active in Gamma Beta Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and Psi Chi honor societies. She was on both the dean’s list and chancellor’s list, worked full-time during her last two years of college, and completed an honors thesis while serving on the Gamma Beta Phi presidential board.
After graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in psychology, the Charlotte native who now lives in Raleigh worked as a child and adolescent mental health case manager for Area Services and Programs in Durham, NC. There she assisted nearly two dozen low-income families with children who struggled with various mental or behavioral challenges.
College of Social Work alumna and donor Tanya Carter, MSW ’95 – who also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and worked in a clinical setting – was quite impressed with Rushing’s achievements. That, however, wasn’t all that lead her to believe the student was the most qualified applicant for her Tanya and Tom Carter Social Work Fellowship for MSW students.
“(Lori is) very impressive,” Carter commented after reading Rushing’s application essay. “(She) has a great deal of varied experience and also seems very passionate about the field. That coupled with the last two paragraphs regarding need … definitely makes her an outstanding candidate in my book.”
Carter was recently able to meet Rushing at a charming Greenville café where she personally congratulated the part-time student for winning the fellowship.
In her essay Rushing explained how reluctant she was to leave her case manager job because of the “feeling of accomplishment that I received from helping children and their families better their situations in life.” But she wanted to further her education – choosing the University of South Carolina MSW program over others she had investigated in North Carolina – and she knew along with the degree could come tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
Rushing is an intern and graduate assistant at Kershaw Rural Primary Care Education Center, part of Kershaw Family Medicine Center in Kershaw County. She counsels, under the guidance of a social work instructor, uninsured adult and adolescent clients. However, the support from her graduate assistantship and other financial aid income amounts to only about $4,000 each semester. Classes for part-time, non-resident students cost $874 per hour, not including other university fees.
“Due to the amount of study time that is required to adequately prepare for my classes, I have chosen not to obtain an additional part-time job on the weekends,” Rushing wrote in her essay. “Half of my semester income still goes towards housing costs and utilities. Money is extremely tight, and I often run out of money before the end of the semester.”
Carter said Rushing’s words resonated with her because the intention for establishing the fellowship was to alleviate at least some of the debt students could incur.
“If we can do that,” Carter told Rushing, “it will be worth it.”
With the money she has been awarded from Carter’s fellowship, Rushing can be relieved of at least some of her debt and focus on pursuing certification as a licensed clinical social worker, because social work, Rushing said, is “the most interesting and fulfilling profession that I have ever experienced.”
Pictured above from left to right are Tanya Carter; first year MSW student Lori Rushing.
