Appalachian State University social work student named NASW-NC 2014 Presidents’ Award Recipient

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1/29/2014

Contact: Valerie Arendt, Associate Executive Director
919-828-9650
valerie@naswnc.org

Appalachian State University social work student named NASW-NC 2014 Presidents’ Award Recipient

Raleigh, N.C. – The National Association of Social Workers North Carolina Chapter (NASW-NC) has named Shannon Saville as the recipient of the 2014 NASW-NC Presidents’ Award for Master of Social Work (MSW) graduate student for the 2013-2014 academic year. Shannon Saville is an outstanding graduate student at the Department of Social Work at Appalachian State University (ASU).

Ms. Saville exhibits a dedication to the social work profession through her academic excellence, community involvement, and professional experience. The NASW-NC Presidents’ Award honors Saville’s exceptional leadership skills and professional potential.

Saville has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the profession of social work by creating a culture of professionalism among social work students at ASU. In addition to developing a guide for professional writing standards for social work students, Saville has served as an undergraduate writing tutor. In her social work field placement at High Country Community Health, Saville has undertaken work on both macro and direct practice levels by working towards the implementation of interdisciplinary collaboration between physicians and social work clinicians to improve the quality of care patients receive.

In her graduate assistantship with ASU, Saville is working to increase knowledge and use of evidence-based social work practice among community professionals. According to Dr. Lauren Renkert, Chair and Associate Professor of the ASU Department of Social Work, "[Saville] noted that practitioners in the field do not have access to the same research resources that students do, nor do they have time to conduct research, yet they frequently have questions related to evidence-based practice. She has initiated that project, now called the Community Research Collaborative, by bringing the idea to faculty and working to create the beginning policies, documents, and database to implement it.”

Saville has been highly praised and regarded by the ASU faculty as a vibrant and committed member of the student body and larger community.

Saville will be honored at the NASW-NC Annual Ethics Conference and Awards Luncheon on March 7, 2014 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh.

The Presidents’ Award/Fund provides an annual award of $1,000 to an MSW student from a CSWE accredited social work program in North Carolina. This is an award that honors past NASW-NC Presidents and is awarded to MSW students who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and potential.