BSW students receive honors and a tip on the meaning of success 
BSW students pose for a picture following honors ceremony
April 7, 2009 - Just before passing out a series of awards to Bachelor of Social Work students, School of Social Work Dean Michael Patchner asked the students to reflect for a moment on the meaning of success.
By today’s standards, success is often measured in terms of how much money a person makes, or the power and influence a person has, the dean said at the 2009 BSW Kappa Gamma Phi Alpha Honor Society and Recognition of Awards Ceremony on April 6th..
“Bernie Madoff was considered to be a great success until we all discovered how he made that money,” Patchner said of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Or take Andrew Carnegie, who made his fortune in steel.
While he is noted for giving his money away for philanthropic causes, Patchner asked the students to think about how he made his money. “I look at my own history growing up in Appalachia. “When I grew up, I saw the coal mines, all the people with black lung (disease), the poor working conditions and the injuries people had to live with and you wonder if having that kind of money is a measure of success when you think where does it come from and what do you do with it.”
And there are people who have power and influence, such as political leaders, and those who could create a nuclear holocaust because they have power, Patchner said. “Is that what we consider to be successful?”
“As social workers, we have to take a different path,” Patchner noted. “We have to look at success by the content of our character, by what we do to make life different.” For social workers, success is measured “one person at a time, one contribution at a time, no matter how big, no matter how small.”
He recalled seeing a man standing at I-465 and Meridian Street begging for money. The traffic light changed before Patchner had a chance to do anything. He drove off, but he and his wife, Lisa, began thinking they had to do something for the man. He drove back to the intersection and gave the man $5.
“He took the $5, he thanked us and got on his knees, folded his hands and thanked God for that $5,” the dean said. “I thought about the man and why he was there, what were his life’s circumstances and how can so little make sure a difference and for him to be so grateful for it.”
As social workers, they will each have those types of opportunities to make a difference in a person’s life day in and day out, Patchner said. The opportunities could be at a counseling center, listening to the last words of a dying person or helping a child who has been abused and neglected.
Success, the dean said, will come when “we think about what’s important in our lives, those people who we touch and we stop looking after what’s unimportant, the fame, fortune and power and influence, and we bloom where we are planted and we do the best we can to touch the lives we are blessed to come in contact with,” he said.
“We make a difference…because we are doing what is important.”
During the ceremony, BSW Phi Alpha Initiates included: Amanda Adams, Sara Bales, Teresa Bowne, Kathy Campbell, Carissa Cartwright, Jennifer Cornett, Katherine Esarey, Christal Esposito, Elizabeth Finley, Rhonda Funkhouser, Hannah Hammack, Emily Hickman, Alexandra Jacobs, Elaine Marsh, Aileen McClenning, Erin McAloon, Stephanie Meyers, Allison Moffett, Maureen O’Keefe, Amber Overbey, Rhonda Schlechty, Sarah Sexson, Amy Shackelford, April Smith, Jacqueline Webster, Alisse Wilburn, Britney Zollicoffer.
To be eligible for the honor society, candidates had to have at least a 3.5 grade average.
BSW students who have received scholarships were also recognized: Amanda Adams, Elaine Bell, Brianne Booram, Kristy Bowen, Katherine Christian, Tracy Harvey, Jeremy Forcier, Shayna George, Mirriam Katema, Mary Mallay, Holly McLauchlin, Regina McQueary, Deborah Mendenhall and Laura Patton.
BSW honors were also announced for the top students in the BSW class: Mary Mallay – Highest; Niki Viehe – High; Shalonda Lyons – High; Catherine Powell – With distinction; Sarah Sexson – With Distinction; Rachel Smith – With Distinction.
Mary Mallay was recognized as an IUPUI Chancellor’s Scholar, while Emily Hickman and Bryan Overbey were recognized as IUPUI Top 100 Students.
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