The Division of Social Sciences is pleased to announce Tiffany Carpenter and Lydia Dickson, both of Pittsburg, as the 2019-2020 Outstanding Students in Social Work.
When informed of her selection, Tiffany Carpenter had this to say: “I was completely honored when Professor Shurtleff told me she had nominated me for the outstanding student award. I graduated Pittsburg high school in May 2006. I’ve been married to my husband Russell for 14 years in July, he was active duty Army for 10 years and has been in the reserves for 4 years now. We have five little ones who keep me on my toes. My hobbies include reading, gardening, farming (we have chickens, goats, cows and rabbits). I have gone to college on and off since graduating high school, but last summer decided it was time to finish especially with little ones getting older. I am a social work major graduating this semester. I hope to get accepted in the BSW program at Commerce and start there in the fall. As a military wife I have witnessed firsthand the struggles of PTSD and mental health illnesses among our troops, and most importantly how hard it is to receive adequate treatment in a remote location such as Northeast Texas. My goal is to advocate and bring awareness to appropriate mental health treatment for our veterans.”
Lydia Dickson shared her reaction as well: “I feel incredibly thankful and surprised at being nominated as an Outstanding Student in Social Work. It is a wonderful and unexpected end to my career at NTCC. My experience in the past couple of years at NTCC has taught me so much about my field and myself and I am beyond grateful for all who have poured so much into my education! A special thank you to Carmen Shurtleff for her endless encouragement and support over this semester and her nomination of me for this award. As I move on from NTCC, I look forward to continuing my education by hopefully earning my Masters Degree in Social Work and working as a rehabilitation counselor for sexually exploited children. It is bittersweet to leave NTCC this spring, but I am thrilled for the future and grateful for the NTCC faculty, staff, professors, and peers who have graciously dedicated so much to my education and pushed me to pursue my dreams.”
For more information about the Social Work program at NTCC contact Carmen Shurtleff, Instructor of Sociology and Social Work, at cshurtleff@ntcc.edu or Dr. Fulgham, Division Chair for the Social Sciences, at mfulgham@ntcc.edu
