Student Spotlight Kathleen Prest Stays involved at SU

As a social work major and ethnic studies minor, junior Kathleen Prest finds rewarding experiences through staying involved on campus.

She finds balance between being the president of the Social Work Organization, the president of the Social Work Research Club, being in the cast of this year’s Vagina Monologues and having two on-campus jobs.

As a coordinator of last year’s “Project Homeless Connect,” she helped acclimate volunteers to the process and was able to identify the needs of guests and direct them toward the services that they needed.

She also was able to learn that the stigmas of poverty and homelessness may not always be what they seem. Prest finds it important to inform others of these misconceptions.

With her campus involvement, she loves working with other students to help them reach their full potential and finds this to be the most rewarding.

“Once you get involved in something, opportunities present themselves to get involved in more things, and you can never shoot down a good opportunity,” Prest said.

The experiences she has had through her internship at The Commission of Economic Opportunity, volunteering, as well as the social work program has inspired her to make a difference. With a long line of goals in her future she uses these experiences as inspiration.

She highlights the importance of the reintegration process of individuals who have been incarcerated and stresses the fact that those who end up homeless are more likely to reoffend.

Prest hopes to earn a masters degree in college student personnel at Shippensburg University, work at a maximum security prison reintegration program and, eventually, earn her doctorate degree and become a social work professor.

Prest’s selflessness allows her to thrive as both an individual and a student and continuously presents itself with more opportunities every year.