“I tell people my favorite thing about my job is that I get to learn something new every day. But really, my favorite thing is the people.   

I’ve been at the College of Social Work for over 20 years. I’ve served four deans, dozens of faculty and staff, and hundreds of students. I love it when an alum who graduated 15 years ago responds to one of my emails and asks if I remember them. I often do! 

It is an honor and a responsibility to have people trust you to share their stories and the often-personal motivations behind their work. I absolutely adore it when I can see how genuinely excited a student or colleague is about an idea they have, a project they’re working on, a grant they were just awarded or important research they just published. Sometimes it means a lot of emails, but I love seeing people celebrate each other’s successes.   

The amount of caring demonstrated by my colleagues on a daily basis is truly remarkable, and supports an organizational culture that values mental health, physical health, quality of life and quality of work environment. It really makes it an amazing place to work. I’ve had incredibly supportive, caring colleagues and supervisors; I know that’s not something everyone gets. I’ve been very, very fortunate. 

I have always felt really proud about what I do and where I work. Although I am not doing the vital work of a social worker, I am supporting exceptionally smart, skilled caring individuals who have dedicated themselves—their careers—to directly impacting people’s lives in positive ways. I want to do something good and valuable with my life; I feel like this is a way for me to do that.” 

—Jennifer Nozawa, B.S. Communication ’03, MPA ’09, senior manager of marketing and communications in the College of Social Work