Savannah Bezotte ?23

Savannah Bezotte

Class Year

’23

Hometown

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Major(s)

Social Work

Minor(s)

Criminal Justice and Religion

“I have formed many amazing relationships with the faculty members here, and I often tell my friends at other schools that one of the best things about Carthage is the communication between professors and students.”

Savannah Bezotte, ’23

Career goal

“After graduating from Carthage, I plan on continuing my education in pursuit of a master’s degree in social work. With this degree, I hope to become a licensed clinical social worker, which will allow me to work in clinical settings. Specific areas of interest for me are therapy, counseling, corrections, or medical social work.”

How have Carthage faculty had an impact on your life or Carthage career?

“I have formed many amazing relationships with the faculty members here, and I often tell my friends at other schools that one of the best things about Carthage is the communication between professors and students. I could send an email (or text message in some cases) to my professors and would almost immediately get a helpful or positive response. In my experience, everyone is very willing to help, and it is clear that they want you to succeed because they truly do care about you.”

Favorite class

“Surprisingly, The Gospels religion course with Professor Michelle Eich has been my favorite. I have taken two different courses with her in the past, and I would do another if I could! She is so passionate about her teaching, and it makes her students excited too. I actually decided to pick up a religion minor after taking this class with her.”

Toughest class

“The toughest class I have taken so far has been Human Anatomy and Physiology. I don’t think I’ve ever studied as hard for a class in all my life! Learning the terminology of everything was a piece of cake, but it got pretty difficult when I had to remember the processes of everything.”

Internships or on-campus employment

“I currently work as a library social work intern through the Kenosha Public Library system. Library social work is an emerging field, and I am actually the first intern that the library has had. In this position, I serve as a resource referral point for social services and act as a bridge between community organizations and the various unmet needs of patrons.”

Opportunities at Carthage

“I had the opportunity to be a panel speaker at the 2022 conference for the National Association of Social Workers Wisconsin Chapter. At the conference, I shared how I’ve been navigating the newer field of social work within a library setting. This presentation was organized by my field director and professor Debbie Minsky-Kelly and the Racine Public Library’s first full-time social worker, Ashley Cedeno ’19.”

Scholarships

“I am incredibly grateful and honored to have been selected as a recipient of one of the Kenosha Oaks (or John Antaramian) Scholarships. This scholarship covers all four years of my undergraduate studies and has allowed me to pursue a rewarding career, in which I will hopefully be able to pay it forward.”

What would your 8-year-old self think of you now?

“When I was 8 years old, I wanted to be an author. I don’t even think I knew what a social worker was back then. If the 8-year-old me could see me now, I think she’d be extremely proud that I’m still doing things that I love. I still love to write — I will just be using that skill in a different way!”

Why should other students consider your major? What advice do you have for them?

“I think that everyone should major in social work! There are so many things that you can do in this field that you may not have even considered before — it is so broad! There are social workers everywhere…in schools, hospitals, prisons, non-for-profit organizations, large companies, therapy offices, and more.”

Why Carthage?

“I chose Carthage for many reasons, but the main factors that contributed to my decision were the location (I have lived in Kenosha my whole life), the small class sizes, and the social work alumni who told me about their positive experiences at Carthage.”