NASW Foundation Awards $73,000 Scholarships to Social Work Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The NASW Foundation today announced $73,000 in scholarships to 16 master's degree level students for the 2025-2026 academic year. The scholarships support social work students who want to work in underserved communities and pursue careers in practice, policy, and specialty social work practice areas.

2025-2026 Scholarship Recipients

The Lawanna Renee Barron Scholarship helps fund the education of one MSW student with demonstrated interest, or experience working in, rural settings and/or health and mental health in African American communities.

Recipient: Aaliyah Gates, University of Alabama. Gates is a first-generation college graduate who hopes to become a licensed clinical social worker. She plans to open a mental health practice focused on healing and advocacy for marginalized communities. Her senior honors thesis, "Mental Health Care Pathways for African American Women in the Mississippi Delta," led her to conduct research in under-resourced communities and to present at Harvard University as a Harvard Public Health Scholar.

Neysa Fanwick Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a master's degree candidate in social work dedicated to addressing injustices within various systems, including, but not limited to, criminal justice, foster care, health care, and education.

Recipient: Jordan Lummus, University of Michigan. Lummus, who has experience in child and family welfare, just completed a two-year stint in the Peace Corps. She worked as a youth and families development promoter in the Amazon region of Ecuador. She's planning to focus on social welfare policy for those youth transitioning out of foster care.

Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship is awarded to master's degree candidates in social work who have demonstrated a commitment to working with, or who have a special affinity with, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations.

Recipients:

• Marilynda Bustamante, University of Southern California
• Itzel Martinez Castillo, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Martha Corona Delgado, University of Southern Mississippi
• Joanna Lara, Washington University in St. Louis
• Nathalie Lobato-Flores, University of California, Berkeley
• Daisy Muniz, CUNY Lehman College
• Karina Rosales, University of Chicago
• Beatriz Sanchez, Columbia University
• Patti Schevers, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Danielle Urista, University of California, Berkeley

To learn more about each individual scholar visit our website.

Verne LaMarr Lyons Memorial Scholarship is awarded to master's degree candidates in social work who demonstrate an interest in or has experience with health/mental health practice and have a commitment to working in African American communities.

Recipients:

• Deyhana Greene, Case Western Reserve University
• Malik Henry, Touro University
• Kathryn McGrady, University of South Carolina
• Ebony Washington, Columbia University

Greene and Henry hope to pursue mental health-focused practice and want to serve African American communities with Henry's focus on the intersection of education and the justice system. McGrady plans to ensure youth involved in the justice system have access to trauma-informed mental health care wjo;e Washington is dedicated to advancing social justice and mental health support within African American communities through community engagement.