Student Resources

Financial Assistance

The Lara Sobel Scholarship

Lara Sobel was a Vermont Department for Children and Families social worker killed outside of her office in 2015.

NASW-VT Chapter The Lara Sobel Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a rising junior Vermont BSW student who reflects Lara’s ability to:

• seek out the good no matter how overwhelming and negative the circumstances
• never allow the misfortune of individuals or their level of despair to become routine or acceptable
• strengthen the cause of child welfare, social justice, and health and wellness of child welfare staff

The scholarship consists of a $1,000 award, free membership to NASW-VT, free admission to all NASW-VT events, including the annual conference for the scholarship year, and the appointment of a mentor for one year.

Interested applicants, please email lstanley.naswvt@socialworkers.org. Students will be asked to fill out an application, write an essay about how they fit the scholarship criteria listed above, submit a recommendation from a social work professor. Finalists will be asked to participate in an interview.

How To Donate to The Lara Sobel Scholarship

To make a gift by check, contact the NASW-VT office at 802-223-1713.

Student Member Benefits

• Why Join NASW
  • As a Social Work Student you are already part of a dynamic profession, now is the time to join your professional organization! NASW is the largest and most recognized membership organization of professional Social Workers in the world, with 150,000 members across the nation Being an NASW member means not only having access to our unique membership benefits but also promoting, developing, and strengthening the professional practice of social work. NASW is the leading organization in lobbying for social work student loan forgiveness, improving salaries for professional social workers, and monitoring social work licensing regulations. Don't wait until after graduation to join, why not promote the social work profession now?
  • Benefits:
    • Access to chapter committee meetings.Check here for a complete list of Vermont committees.
    • Advance your Career.Connect with Social Workers from across the state, learn and network.
    • Take part in MyNASW Community and MyNASW Student Community connect online with thousands of social workers from across the country. Create posts and reply to others' feeds.
    • Attend training offered monthly by the chapter to enhance your educational background. Most are little to no cost for Student Members of NASW.
    • Protect your practice; Legal Resources and free ethical consultations.
  • Student Board Members: MSW members and BSW members. Each year one student from the state of Vermont MSW and BSW programs is elected through an application process to sit on the NASW VT Board.
  • Joining NASW as a student is ¼ of the cost as a licensed social worker joining the association.This cost is grandfathered in when you maintain membership through licensure, occurring only a fraction of the regular price or membership.Click here to sign up now.
• Advocacy
  • Action Alerts- Action alerts can be sent to your email address or found on the homepage of the chapter website.These inform you about real time action needed that is needed for a social justice issue such as support or opposition a bill in the state House of Senate.This is a quick and easy way to advocate for human rights, remote sign in to hearings and petitions will help advance humanity with the click of a button.
  • Policy Issues -National’s list of Hopes for the Biden Administration Issues that should be addressed that are in support of the Social Work Professions Core Values.
  • Voter voice- NASW VT Voter voice platform allows you to keep up with the state legislature.The website outlines what bills the chapter, and profession are in support or opposition of and which require action.
• Find a Job
  • NASW chapters send out current job openings on a regular basis.
  • Click here for interviewing tricks, tips and questions.
  • Be prepared with knowledge of Social Work salaries by state and position.Projected growth in the number of Social Work professionals in practice.
  • Check out NASW Joblink here.
• Licensing Test Prep
  • NASW Vermont uses Social Work Exam Services to offer training to students of all levels. Prepare for your Bachelors, Masters, and/or Clinical exam.

By using Social work examination Services, NASW Members get a $25 discount, email Lynn for the code - lstanley.naswvt@socialworkers.org