OU-Tulsa Tribal Social Work Students Honored in Signing Ceremony
The Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at OU-Tulsa recently held a signing day ceremony for the recipients of WEI-UP stipends. Workforce Excellence Initiative University Partnership, or WEI-UP, is a grant-funded program that provides stipends to students to earn their bachelor or master of social work degrees at OU-Tulsa.
The program is a partnership between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s Children and Family Services Administration and the School of Social Work’s Center for Tribal Social Work at OU-Tulsa. Recipients agree to work in tribal child welfare after graduation.
“WEI-UP has tremendously helped me pursue my career goals,” said Brittani Candioto, a WEI-UP recipient who will graduate in May with a master’s in social work. “I was just hired on at the Muscogee Nation with the foster care and adoption unit. I have gained amazing resources, and the continued support to succeed has been astonishing. I will forever be grateful for WEI-UP for helping to contribute to my tribe with another educated, Indigenous woman.”
Carissa O’Dell, another WEI-UP recipient and social work master’s student, expressed similar gratitude.
“This opportunity to further my education and improve my skills and knowledge is highly valuable to me,” O’Dell said. “I am looking forward to my future as a tribal social worker and the pride, service and dedication I will be able to provide to tribal children and their families.”
The recipients’ families and friends were invited to witness as they signed their stipend agreements.
Learn more about the Center for Tribal Social Work at OU-Tulsa here.
By Bonnie Rucker
Article Published: Wednesday, March 9, 2022