Haiden Lancaster is an MSSW student in her concentration year. She is part of the Extended Study cohort and is in her third and final year. She has been instrumental in the Rocky Top the Vote campaign and is working tirelessly to get the word out to students about the importance of voting.
What has been your favorite part(s) of your experience so far?
With the Rocky Top the Vote project, one of my favorite parts has been getting to design artwork for the initiative – buttons, flyers, brochures, website. I have really loved getting to connect my creative side with my social work side.
What are you interested in doing once you graduate?
I am on the clinical track of my master’s program and am also working to graduate with a certificate in trauma treatment. I hope to use those skills to provide therapy in a community-facing agency. Currently, I am interning with the SC Department of Mental Health, working with their community crisis response and intervention team. The work really interests me, allows me to be involved in the local community, and aligns with my skill set so I hope to pursue something with a similar community focus.
Can you tell us about the Rocky Top the Vote project?
The College of Social Work partnered with a nonpartisan organization called vot-ER and their Health Democracy Campaign during Voting is Social Work Month to promote voter registration last spring. vot-ER is the result of an observation made by Dr. Alister Martin, who recognized a demographic overlap between unregistered voters and highly marginalized patient groups. They provide tools and resources for students to lead voter registration initiatives. As a result of the initiative, 265 people were aided on their civic journey – whether that was registering to vote or helping with a mail-in ballot, or checking registration status. So, with the upcoming November 2022 midterm elections, we re-engaged that partnership with vot-ER. A group of students representing the Nashville, Knoxville, and online College of Social Work campuses will be traveling to Knoxville to host a student-led voter registration initiative. We will be actively engaging fellow students, faculty, and the community to be a part of the democratic process by registering people to vote and encouraging them to participate in the midterm elections. Folks can visit www.sites.google.com/vols.utk.edu/vot-erutkcsw for more information and tons of resources!