Deadline: July 15, 2012
What is the Amy Watkins Scholarship?
The Amy Watkins Scholarship has been established by fellow students at the Hunter College School of Social Work as a tribute to Amy’s life and to the ideas she dedicated herself to as a social worker. The Amy Watkins Scholarship provides need-based scholarships to future community organizers in their pursuit of social justice and a master’s degree in social work at Hunter College. The deadline to apply is July 15, 2012.
Who is Amy Watkins?
Amy had a loving and generous spirit, and a beautiful smile. She was an exceptionally committed student at the Hunter College School of Social Work, who dedicated her life to social justice and building community. Just a few months before graduating, Amy was brutally murdered on her Brooklyn street as she made her way home from the subway. It was 9:45 pm on March 8, 1999. Amy was passionate about galvanizing communities to combat the broader social ills of poverty, violence, and discrimination. Amy worked with battered women and people living with mental challenges. She was also a talented artist. It was Amy’s desire to use art as a social medium to foster relationships among people, giving them a sense of hope and a feeling of belonging.
The tragic loss of Amy Watkins has been felt deeply by her family and by her far-reaching community of friends, students, teachers and others who were touched by her inspiring life.
What Makes the Silberman School of Social Work unique?
The Silberman School of Social Work (formerly Hunter College School of Social Work) is one of two publicly sponsored schools of social work in the City of New York. The school is also one of the most selective in the United States. SSSW is ranked as one of the nation’s top schools of social work.
Nowhere else in the United States do great resources, stimulating cultural and educational opportunities stand side by side with every social problem, every modern issue in both human and community development and every demand emanating from big-city conditions. The school recognizes its responsibility to serve the urban community of New York City.
The school graduates social workers who take their responsibility for the common good seriously, who respect the dignity of people in need, and who seek to humanize the help-seeking process. A Hunter education prepares social workers to meet present and future challenges creatively while promoting human rights and social justice.
How to Apply
Applicants must:
• be accepted into the Community Organization and Planning method at the HCSSW
• demonstrate financial need
• show a commitment to issues of social justice and social change
Application Procedure:
• Essay– In no more than 500 words, please address your commitment to issues of social justice and community organizing as reflected in your life history, work, and volunteer experiences. Discuss your vision and goals in this capacity. Note any life challenges or struggles that have influenced your commitment to these issues.
• Professional and Volunteer History– List all relevant experiences.
• References– Include two letters of reference. One from a supervisor in a professional or volunteer setting. Letters should emphasize your commitment to community organizing, social justice and social change. Be sure to include a copy of your tuition-waiver application with your application for a scholarship from the Amy Watkins Fund.
• Tuition Waiver– Complete and return it with your application. Download at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/admissions/tw.pdf
• Cover Page– Create a cover page including your name, mailing address, contact numbers, e-mail (if applicable), social security number, names and titles of references.
Final candidates may be contacted for an interview at a later date.
Send one copy of your application, including sealed letters of reference, to:
The Scholarship Office
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
2180 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10035
Applications must be received by July 15, 2012.
If you have questions, please contact Mary McGilvray in the Scholarship
Office at (212) 369.7626.
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