Chamberlain Colleagues Inspire During Social Work Month

Every March, Chamberlain University celebrates Social Work Month, honoring social workers who act as advocates, champions and leaders and make our society a better place to live. The theme for 2021 is Social Workers Are Essential, and this year we’re turning the spotlight on the profession and highlighting the critical contributions that social workers make to support the well-being of individuals, families and communities. Especially during these unprecedented times, social workers are on the front lines serving as agents of change. Chamberlain University colleagues, Stacey Borasky Ferguson, EdD, MSW, dean of the Master of Social Work (MSW) degree program, and Linda Quast, MS, MBA, PMP, faculty manager of the MSW degree program, are two social work professionals we’re celebrating this month.  

Chasing A Passion for Social Work  

Stacey serves as dean of the MSW degree program and growing up in West Virginia, she heard ridicule of her state and its people, and saw people left behind by leaders who didn’t care about Appalachia. “I remember being so outraged by the ignorance and it made me realize that I would always fight for people who were left out, mistreated or made to feel like they didn’t matter. I would fight for justice because everyone matters and everyone deserves a safe, secure life.” Read more about Stacey’s passion for social work and how she turned it into a career.  

From Wall Street to Academia  

Linda serves as faculty manager of the MSW degree program and began her career on Wall Street but pivoted 180 degrees when she decided to pursue a career in social work. Through various family-life events and furthering her education, Linda always had a hint that social sciences was for her. “I’ve been wealthy and I’ve been dirt poor, I’ve lived through domestic violence and have been successfully remarried. I understand how it works from every angle.” Read more to find out why Linda believed it was her calling to make such a drastic, yet meaningful career change. 

This is part of a series of blog posts we’ll be sharing this Social Work Month. We hope you join us in honoring the powerful, positive impact social workers have on society today, tomorrow and every day.  

Learn more about Chamberlain University’s MSW degree program. 

By Rubina Ali