social work – Alumni Blog

July 31, 2018

White’s Residential & Family Services: Brittany Makin

By: Dezaray Barr

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Brittany Makin graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2015 with a double major in social work and addictions counseling. “My mom was alumni there, so IWU was on my radar. I went for a visit in 2010 and fell in love with the school,” Makin shared. “I later had more visits and checked out the Social Work program and loved it. I also took two classes my senior year of high school at IWU and loved the classroom and feel of the school.”

During her time at IWU, Makin made a lot of friends, including her closest friends to this day! She said, “I enjoyed the challenge of both of my majors and admired my professors – their hearts for Godwas so inspiring. I learned and grew so much in the understanding of the overlap of serving God through serving others.” She also enjoyed the small size of classes that IWU offered, specifically through her social work program.

Coming from a public high school, Makin said that the transition to a Christian school was difficult for her at first. “Over time though, I grew to appreciate the diversity of the students and how everyone had a way of internalizing their faith and living it out in such genuine ways,” she said. “It truly helped me to press into my own beliefs and figure out what I believed for myself, outside of my upbringing and what I was used to in my home church. I loved how our faith was woven deeply into our academic studies in a very tangible way.”

Now, Makin is working as a Case Manager at White’s Residential and Family Services in Wabash, IN. Makin grew up on the campus as a staff kid for the first 12 years of her life. After she graduated in 2015, she was led right back to White’s, and that is where she met her husband. In 2016, she attended grad school for social work, but returned to White’s in the spring of 2017 to work as a Case Manager. “I love this organization and the mission of serving God through serving our kids. It aligns very much with my training at IWU, and I absolutely love serving the teenagers we work with here. Although very challenging, it is also extremely rewarding,” Makin explained.

Some fun facts about Makin include that she’s been to India three times where she’s taught women to make jewelry as a trade. With her husband, Makin coaches a junior high and high school soccer team together. She is also the third generation from her family to work at White’s!

If Makin could give one piece of advice to IWU students, she’d encourage them to continue along the journey that they’re experiencing. She said, “I switched my major a billion times during my stay, and every time I became very discouraged… I am still finding out new things I like daily and dreaming about what I will be when I grow up. It’s a journey… not a simple checklist.”

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a senior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

July 7, 2018July 7, 2018

White’s Residential & Family Services: Dawn Hobson

By: Dezaray Barr

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Dawn Hobson graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 1987 with a degree in social work. She was drawn to IWU, because her sister attended the school (then Marion College). Hobson would visit on siblings weekends, and she liked the college. “I loved college!” she said. “I had great friends, and we did a lot of activities. We shared a dorm and then a house our senior year. There are six of us girlfriends who continue to do things together. We have gone to Florida, Cancun and other short weekend trips. We did a camping trip with all of our kids and spouses too.”

Hobson’s daughter graduated from IWU two years ago.

During her time at IWU, Hobson’s life changed dramatically, especially spiritually. “I grew a lot spiritually during a crucial time in my life that I was struggling with an eating disorder,” she shared. “I enjoyed most of the chapels and loved the churches I attended there while a student. My favorite professor was Wilbur Williams (as many say), especially when he came into class dressed up as Moses. I enjoyed my New Testament class with Bud Bence as well.”

Since she graduated from IWU, Hobson has worked at Whites Residential and Family Services. She worked on the residential side for 13.5 years and then at the high school. Now she works as a social worker for the foster care program, and she’s been in this role for ten years now. For the first 18 years she was at White’s, Hobson lived on campus and raised her children on the campus. She even met her husband there, because he grew up on the campus as a staff kid.

Hobson explained, “IWU gave me a foundation for what I do. It has been so long since I had these classes, but I took classes such as Child Development that I am using now in my work with foster children. I would say that the program was in its initial stages when I went, but it gave me a cultural perspective that took me out of my comfort zone when we made trips to Chicago. That was the part that I remember the most is the hands-on experience I had. I had the different internships like working at a drug rehab that exposed me to issues that I had never dealt with.”

A fun fact about Hobson is that she was the first female on the men’s IWU tennis team, because they didn’t have a girls team yet. “I played in high school and wanted to play in college, so I begged Coach Porter to let me play. I still am in contact with Coach Porter and Eddy Shigley and Jay Smithly,” she said.

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June 13, 2017June 14, 2017

From Aspiration to Reality After 20 Years

By: Dezaray Barr

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Nicole Brundage and her son, photo obtained from Facebook

Nicole Brundage received her Associate degree in Human Services from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2015; however, she received her Bachelor degree in social work from IWU’s online program just this past week!

Brundage was drawn to IWU because the program was completely online. As a mother with a full time job, IWU’s online program afforded her the freedom to earn a degree on her own schedule. After seeing her stepdaughter graduate from college, Brundage realized that another college degree was the best plan for her and her family.

When Brundage began the online program at IWU, she had never taken an online college course before.

Her favorite class has been her field placement class seminar with Heather Valentino. Despite the busyness and challenges in life, Brundage said that Professor Valentino was graciously willing to work with her.

“Being able to go into the field and then share that experience with my fellow students in the classroom and get their feedback… it was overall a great experience,” said Brundage.

Since November, Brundage has been working at Hospice of the Calumet Are a in Munster, Indiana as a Bereavement Intern and Companion Care Volunteer.

Although her internship is over, she hopes to obtain a casual employee position at this location, where she would have the opportunity to work with individuals much sooner after the loss of a loved one than she has in the past. She is also in the process of putting together a support group that will hopefully begin in 2018.

“It’s never too late to go after the goals and aspirations that you set forth in life. I’ve always wanted to be involved in end-of-life care and could never figure out how to do that. When I had the opportunity to find my field placement, it was the right time and it all fell into place. I’m able to work in an arena that I have always been drawn to help in, even after 20 years,” Brundage shared.

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU, Dezaray runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.