Aging issue inspired Alexis Rose to pursue a PhD

Alexis Rose

    June 2, 2008 -  Alexis Rose’s life has taken her from a farm in southeastern Indiana to Hanover College, to the Indiana University School of Social work and now west – to the University for Houston.

     Rose comes from a family that values education – its dictum was to get as much education as you can – so it should hardly be surprising that Rose wasn’t ready to stop after earning her MSW degree.

      Now, she has set her sights on getting a PhD in social work. Rose jokes that while education is a treasured commodity in her family, her parents have wondered when she might be ready to get a job and earn some money.

      Rose started her undergraduate quest at Hanover College, where she majored in psychology. People told her she was such a good listener she should major in psychology, Rose recalled.

      But as she went along, Rose realized she didn’t really enjoy it and an advisor at Hanover suggested she might like social work better.

      “It was a very good fit,” said Rose, who just graduated with her MSW degree. “What I really like about social work is there is so much variety.”

     She started off on a mental health track at the School of Social work but soon became interested in another topic: aging.

      She was drawn to the aging issue after her father moved in with his mother when she became ill. While her father was able to step in and help, Rose began wondering how other older adults who didn’t have someone to help them were making out.

     The more she read, the more Rose saw the need for additional research. In particular, Rose wanted to know more about what could happen as millions of “baby boomers,” if the country's Social Security system fails as they reach retirement age.

     “If it does run out what will happen to their health and quality of life,” Rose wanted to know. “That is the area I am interested in – the quality of life of older adults when we can no longer take care of them as well as we should.”

     After talking it over with Dr. Stephanie Boys, an assistant professor at the School of Social Work, Rose decided to apply to get her PhD.

     Rose decided to apply to Houston as she has family living there. She then went through a telephone interview for graduate school that she won’t soon forget.

     Rose was nervous and found herself laughing too much. She had also heard that if you drink water, it helps make you talk slower and keeps your mouth from drying out. That turned out to be true, but she was also forced to take a, well, bathroom break during the interview.

     Rose was notified by e-mail of her acceptance at Houston and it was so informal, she thought it might be a joke at first. It wasn’t and when she started crying at the realization she had gotten in, friends worried she had just received news that someone in her family had died.

     Eventually, Rose sees herself helping to influence policy issues. “I am a political junkie and that’s one reason why social work is such a good fit – there is a focus on policy and advocating for clients,” Rose explained.

     The idea is to not change the client to fit society, but society to fit the client, which I really like,” Rose said.