Two Winthrop Social Work Students Earn State Association Awards

Quick Facts

Wendy Adams of Rock Hill was selected as the Master of Social Work Student of the Year, while Katherine "Katie" Zanowski of Neptune, N.J., was picked as the Bachelor of Social Work Student of the Year.

The two received their awards at the 26th annual spring symposium,“Social Work Matters,” held in Columbia, S.C., on March 13.

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Two Winthrop social work students won top honors this month from the S.C. chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Wendy Adams of Rock Hill was selected as the Master of Social Work Student of the Year, while Katherine "Katie" Zanowski of Neptune, N.J., was picked as the Bachelor of Social Work Student of the Year. The two received their awards at the 26th annual spring symposium,“Social Work Matters,” held in Columbia, S.C., on March 13.

Adams is a non-traditional student who has distinguished herself as a McNair Scholar. Awarded the Lisa Evans Scholarship College of Arts and Sciences twice, she also holds a New Start Scholarship and was an AARP National Women’s Foundation Scholarship Award recipient both as an undergraduate and graduate student. Adams has conducted original research on the needs of people who attend suicide survivor groups and formulated recommendations on how to make societal changes. She shared these findings at two conferences.

She has since expanded on her work and co-presented on bullying and suicidal behaviors at the March 13 symposium.

Zanowski is in Winthrop’s honors program. This semester she undertook an original research project focused on helping others understand the body image challenges faced by some university students and will report on her findings at the Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium at Winthrop on April 13-14.

As a volunteer she has advocated for children who have faced illnesses that will prevent them from reaching adulthood. She has also worked with hospice patients in nursing homes and tutored at the Emmett Scott Center and Richmond Drive Elementary School.

Zanowski is captain of the Winthrop University's Quiz Bowl team, president of the Social Work Club and is a Winthrop Ambassador with the admissions department.

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