Sara Hughes, winner of the 2023 Psychology In Seattle Podcast $3,000 Scholarship! (Patreon)

Please join me in congratulating Sara Hughes!  She is the winner of the  2023 Psychology In Seattle Podcast $3,000 Scholarship, which is awarded  to mental health students who have already made the world a better place  and have firm plans to continue making a positive difference. Sara is  currently pursuing her Masters in Social Work at Colorado University.

Sara  is deeply passionate about working with children affected by trauma and  their families. Currently, she works at a non-profit organization,  providing mentorship to youth in her local community. Over the past two  years, she has personally served over 50 youth, connecting them with  mentors and assisting their families with various resources. In  addition, she volunteers her own time to mentor youth. She has  independently created Trauma-Informed Mentoring training for volunteers  and leads these educational sessions, even training colleagues on the  topic.

As a queer individual, she finds great fulfillment in  mentoring LGBTQIA+ youth, empathizing with the challenges they face and  knowing the importance of guidance and support. Actively involved in her  organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, she  collaborates with others to conduct workshops that align organizational  values with ethical decision-making. Sara is also leading a campaign to  recruit more people of color as mentors, aiming to deconstruct white  supremacist ideas and foster community connections.

With a future  Master's degree and a certificate in PreK-12 School Social Work, she  plans to become a school social worker, providing continued training to  educators and promoting a compassionate and trauma-informed approach to  education. Sara also actively works to recognize the flaws in the  observed educational system and has an interest in policy work to  influence change on a larger scale. Her ultimate goal is to create  strong and supportive communities, where schools serve as safe spaces  for learning, growth, and support by serving her community.