Our Students and Alumni

“I want to make change and make a difference.”

Jessica Mencia, MSW ’21, PhD Student

The power of a conversation

Halimah McBryde, MSW ’23

Merging epidemiology and social work

Eric Johnson, MSW ’14

Bridging gaps to improve outcomes

Kathy Lisborg, DSW ’22, MSW ’14

Making an impact

Mel LeMay, MSW ’20

“UB continues to enrich my life, and I am a proud alum!”

Ellen Grant, MSW ’74

Creating order out of chaos

Cindy German, MSW ’08

Our students and alumni find UB to be a rewarding and exciting place to learn, research and collaborate with one another and our world-class faculty.

“I want our society and world to be better, and I will keep fighting for that — with love, humility and compassion.”
11/3/23
Jessica Al Kadi, MSW ’23
“There are so many opportunities here at UB. Take advantage of them, and commit yourself to lifelong learning.”
11/26/24
Rita Andolina, MSW ’88
“Denise Krause, Hilary Weaver, Charles Syms, Diane Elze, Peter Sobota and Glenn Frost... They were amazing professors, and I can't thank them enough for pouring into me.”
11/26/24
Esther Annan, MSW ’06
“I discovered the great diversity and opportunities available when attending and graduating from the UBSSW.”
11/26/24
Terence Askew, MSW ’12
“Field put real meat on the bones of things I had been learning in my classes.”
11/26/24
Caitlin Beck, JD/MSW ’20
“I have to work full time, so the part-time MSW option really offered me the chance to gain new skills.”
11/26/24
Samantha Bowes, MSW ’23
“People are more resilient than they think.”
11/26/24
Brianna Bozeman, MSW ’18
“I was looking for interprofessional collaboration; Social Impact Fellows offered the perfect opportunity.”
11/26/24
Cheney Brockington, MSW ’19
“I knew that social work would align with my strengths.”
11/26/24
Dan Calabrese, MSW ’18
“In my opinion, social workers are uniquely suited to helping medicine transform itself.”
11/26/24
Jennifer Carlson, MSW ’94
“Through my fieldwork at Lake Shore Behavioral Health, I was able to learn and observe evidence-based practices like motivational interviewing.”
1/22/25
Kali Carpenter, MSW ’13
“I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how dialed in I am to being prepared for both social work and my specific niche.”
4/13/22
Erin Casciano, MSW '23
“I wanted to use my voice to address how immigrants were being portrayed.”
5/27/25
Hector Chaidez Ruacho, MSW ’20
“It was an important realization that you can get close to people despite a huge difference between you.”
11/26/24
Marie Clarcq, MSW ’11
“With a professional mentor, students can gain a realistic view of the profession; they don’t have to reinvent the wheel—kind of like built-in career counseling.”
11/26/24
Bonnie Collins, MSW ’80
Adjunct Instructor Emeritus
“The UBSSW really takes pride in adequately preparing students for a career in social work.”
11/26/24
Jose Correa, MSW ’03
“Shortly after transitioning to the School of Social Work, I realized it was exactly what I wanted to do.”
8/9/22
Pabitra Dahal, BA/MSW ’22
“Be open to the idea that you might be wrong—remember that your experience with the world is different than other people’s.”
11/26/24
Victor Diaz, MSW ’17
“Most of my hands-on learning came from my SSW field placements.”
1/23/25
Jennifer Ditta, MSW ’00
“Social work, for me, is about loving people so deeply and fiercely that their success is our collective success.”
1/19/24
Yvonne DuBois, MSW ’09