Year: Senior

School: College of Health Professions and Social Work

Major: Social work

Home town: Dallas, Pa. (Luzerne County)

Why I chose Temple: "I knew I wanted to study social work so I was looking for an accredited four-year program. I wanted to go to an urban area. And I wanted to stay in-state to save money. Temple was perfect. It was in the largest city in the state, it had a great social work program and it was affordable. As soon as I came here, it felt right."

Transformative moment: "I participated in Temple's Capital Semester Program in Harrisburg. I was placed as an intern in the policy office of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging's Office of Long-term Living. Every month, I had a chance to sit in a room with the policy directors of all the state agencies. I got a chance to hear about policy in personal, direct, un-sugarcoated terms from the driving forces behind change in the state. It was very inspiring. Anyone, regardless of major, can benefit from seeing how state government operates first-hand."