Community in Messiah University's Social Work Department
Within the major, students develop a closely-knit community through shared experiences and taking many of the same classes. Students can also get involved in groups like Messiah's Social Work Club and Phi Alpha Honor Society. As the social work community, we strive to extend our influence to the Messiah community, the Grantham community, the national community, and even the international community.Social Work Club
The Social Work Club is the Department club for the Social Work Program. The club's goal is to foster connection within the Department through three main programs and its own monthly events. The three programs that are conducted by the Social Work Club are the peer mentor program, the prayer shawl ministry, and the prayer chaplain events. Overall, the Social Work Club strives to promote self-awareness, self-care, and community for the Social Work Department at large .
| Peer Mentor Program | Prayer Shawl Ministry | Prayer Chaplain Events |
|---|---|---|
| connecting underclassmen with upperclassmen in an intentional mentoring relationship to provide guidance in the department and in the college transition to underclassmen and leadership opportunities to the upperclassmen | fostering connections with community members by knitting, crocheting, or looming prayer shawls. As the Department is made aware of community members suffering a loss, tragedy, or other hardship, social work students pray over the shawls and they are distributed to the family or community member | fostering faith within the Department by holding prayer events and bible study for other social work students and faculty |
2022-2023 Social Work Club Officers:
Phi-Alpha Social Work Honor Society
Phi Alpha is the official Lambda Psi Chapter of the National Honor Society of Social Work. Phi Alpha rewards students for their academic excellence and provides an opportunity for furthered professional development through the club’s events and service projects. Each month the club holds an event which provides an opportunity for social work students of all classes to gather and develop their professional skills. Once a semester, the members of Phi Alpha participate in a service project to demonstrate their adherence to the core values that are described in the NASW Code of Ethics. Being a part of Phi Alpha is meant to inspire growth toward becoming a professional social worker in the final years of a student’s formal education.
2022-2023 Phi Alpha Officers:
President: Kyra Shoenberger, Vice President: Darren Miller, Secretary & Historian: Emily Caulfield, Treasurer: ZiYan Horne
Send email to the Phi Alpha officers
Membership Information:
Membership is by invitation only. To be invited into the Phi Alpha Honor Society at Messiah University, a social work major must achieve sophomore status, hold acceptance status in the social work major, and have an overall GPA of 3.0 and a 3.5 major GPA. There is a membership fee of $15. After being inducted in Phi Alpha, students are expected to maintain academic excellence, along with attending member meetings, monthly events, and a minimum of one service project a year.
Service Projects:
The Phi Alpha National Honors Society is committed to serving to others. Our chapter has been involved in multiple service opportunities. Each year we host two service projects, one in the fall and one in the spring. Members are required to attend one service project each year.