When Elaine Charpentier-Philippi was awarded the Ford ReStart Scholarship in 2007, she was a single mother of three children, and had never attended college. She knew she had a passion for social work and hoped to one day help teenagers in transition. Her dream is now much closer to reality as she will be graduating this spring from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Elaine feels that her family has been an important part of her academic success every step of the way.
In addition to receiving excellent grades throughout her college career and continuing to volunteer in her community, Elaine has been recognized for her outstanding potential as a social worker. Recently, Elaine was chosen by the Social Work Department at Pacific University to be their Claire Argow Scholarship recipient this year. The scholarship is awarded each year to one senior who has exhibited excellence in the social work program.
Last summer, she was chosen by a professor to assist in research on Pacific University's own B-Street Farm Permaculture Project. Recently, the team shared its finding and next steps at the Pacific Undergrad Research Conference.
Elaine has also been part of a research project that has been working on coding responses from a survey of Oregon social workers in order to identify needs and gaps that professional social workers are experiencing in the field. Elaine has really grown to love research and to understand the importance it plays in practice, implication, and furthering the social work profession.
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Lastly, Elaine will testify soon at a hearing before the Oregon State Legislature’s House Committee on Human Services for HJM 12, a bill that would urge our federal lawmakers to convene a White House Conference on Children. The White House Conference on Children and Youth Act addresses a myriad of child welfare issues. Included are actions for prevention of and intervention in abuse and neglect, as well as increasing the number of foster children that are successfully and permanently placed through kinship care, adoptions, and reunification. The bill addresses issues like poverty and substance abuse, healthcare access, and the over-representation of minority populations served in child and youth systems. It has been more than 40 years since the last White House Conference on Children and Youth. Elaine hopes that advocacy for youth in Oregon will be included in her professional career.
Elaine has applied to PSU's Advanced Standing Master of Social Work program. Elaine says, “The application and interview process for the ReStart scholarship that I was awarded were instrumental in preparing me for the graduate application process, and the support that I've received from the Foundation has prepared me for understanding my boundaries and for setting high personal goals.”