UMD Grad Receives NASW Social Work Student of the Year Award

Bryana Cook, MSW, recently was chosen by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers to be recognized as the "2012 NASW MSW Student of the Year". The award was presented at the NASW Annual Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota on Thursday, June 7th.

In nominating Bryana for the award, faculty member Kathy Heltzer noted Bryana's many accomplishments and leadership while in the MSW Program:

"Bryana demonstrated leadership in her role as a Graduate Assistant, first with a federally funded project that focused on creating access to employment for persons with disabilities. As a part of this project, Bryana developed curriculum modules at the BSW and MSW level and presented these materials to faculty at the University of Minnesota Duluth and also the University of Wisconsin-Superior Social Work Programs. Bryana clearly recognized the lack of integration of content regarding people with disabilities in our programs and worked hard to research content appropriate for social work education. Additionally, she piloted the materials in BSW courses and worked collaboratively with faculty to adapt materials, as appropriate.

Bryana has been involved in a variety of social justice activities while pursuing her MSW degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She has taken a leadership role in many of these, including the “Take A Stand” rally in the Fall of 2011 in response to racism on campus. Bryana recruited other MSW students to participate in this as well as other activities, particularly around issues of race. Bryana helped draft a letter on behalf of the MSW Student Organization to the Mayor of Duluth in support of the UnFair Campaign. The Un-Fair Campaign was developed to look at racism and to encourage a community dialogue about the causes and solutions. A white supremacist group attacked the Mayor and other UnFair Campaign partners following launch of the campaign and Bryana was quick to demonstrate leadership in addressing this attack."