Jayme is originally from Talkeetna and moved to the big island, Hawai’i, in 2020 to begin a two-year advanced standing graduate program in social work. She is currently a MSW student focusing on behavioral and mental health in the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health at the University of Hawaii Manoa. On what drew her to the program, Jayme says, “After many years navigating the UA system, I graduated with a BSW from UAF and not long after decided that I should continue on to get further education. At that time, however, there were no appropriate online options to obtain a social work graduate level degree in Alaska, so I began searching outside of my home state for other options and found that many Alaskans had attended UHM.”

After graduating, Jayme plans to work at a rural area employment site where she can put in the required 3000 hours of clinical supervision needed to apply for the LCSW exam. Her best study tip is to learn how to be a good “skimmer.” She says, “It is near to impossible to live a normal life and read everything required for graduate level courses. Learning to skim for most important content and to summarize material effectively is a very valuable and time saving skill.” Outside of school, Jayme enjoys being outdoors and connecting with nature. She also loves to sing and play music, read, bake and be creative, as well as keep in touch with her Alaska family and friends.

Of her MSHF scholarship, Jayme says, “Without the assistance I have received from the MSHF scholarship I most likely would not have been able to seek higher level education. Knowing that my student loan debt will be substantially lower, thanks to the MSHF scholarship, helps set my mind at ease and allows me to focus on what is really important: being the best MSW student I can be!”

Interested in learning more about Mat-Su Health Foundation scholarship programs? Click here to register for an upcoming virtual MSHF Scholarship Info Session!