In the Spotlight: Jaime Eller, Social Work

Jaime '01 is a work camp coordinator with Brethren Volunteer Service in Elgin, Illinois. Simply, but with purpose, Jaime acts for change. Socially conscious, Jaime spent her social work practicum helping Bosnian, Burmese, and Vietnamese refugees adjust to living in the United States.
After graduation, she worked with mentally disabled women as an assistant house manager before volunteering with Brethren Volunteer Service.

Jaime believes Manchester's emphasis on accepting those of diverse backgrounds had a strong bearing on the career path she's chosen. Influenced, too, by many college friends who had international roommates, Jaime soon realized how much she enjoyed the interaction between cultures. By her senior year, she had invited five Japanese students to her parents' Florida home over vacations. Immersed in serving, Jaime lives out what she believes.

Ashley Bogue '08 was hired by the Area Five Agency on Aging & Community Services to be a case manager serving Miami County, IN. She credits the gerontology courses she took at MU with giving her the knowledge she needs to make a difference for local elders.

Maggie Miller '06 was a Community Inclusion Specialist for ADEC Residential and Day Services for persons with disabilities. She then took the position of Kaleidoscope Coordinator with the Brethren-Mennonite Council for LGBT interests located in Minneapolis.

Jill Kline '05 was accepted into graduate school —well, actually three of them!  Jill chose to attend the Master of Arts in Public Service at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where she received a full fellowship.  She will specialize in non-profit management.

Kris Posthuma '05 mentored and tutored youth with City Year Greater Philadelphia after graduation from Manchester.

Amanda Smith '05 earned the highest overall GPA of all 2005 Manchester University graduates. She now works as an organizer with the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) in Pittsburgh.

Rosetta Burkholder '04 continued her studies in Mannheim, Germany under a Fulbright grant.

Hannah Ditmars '04 received a Fulbright grant and used it to travel to South Korea where she taught English for a year. Then she pursued a Clinical Doctorate of Audiology at the University of Nebraska.

Katie Hudson '04 will be entered the Social Work Program at IU-South Bend to pursue a master's degree.

Rachael Waas Smith '03 and Nate Shull '03 will be married this fall in North Manchester. They are living in Portland, OR, where Nate is working with Hispanic youth and Rachael is employed by an insurance company.

Jenny Durnall '02 is a graduate student in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Laurel R. Sampson '02 of Waukesha, WI, works at Jeremy House, a homeless transition shelter for adults with mental illness.

Jennifer B. Bruhler '02 of Lewes, DE, is a program assistant in direct service coordination, HIV prevention education for Public Allies Delaware, AmeriCorps, with the Sussex County AIDS Committee.

Kristin M. Morris '02 of Muncie, IN, received a masters degree in applied gerontology from Ball State University in July 2003 and is the Alzheimer's residential care program director in an assisted living facility.

Nicholas J. Studebaker '01 of Vancouver, WA, is a manager for Smile Savers, a non-profit dentist facility serving low-income families.

Jennifer Witty '00 of Portland, OR, is an administrative assistant at NPC Research, a social research firm in Portland.

Jill Hoppenjans '96 is employed as the Assistant Director of Orientation and Leadership Programs in the Dept. of Student Life at the University of Vermont.

Kim Johnson-Spratt '96 was admitted to the Indiana University School of Law.

Anthony Todd '92 is a police officer with the Connersville Police Department in Indiana.

Kelly Geckler '91 works in Detroit, Michigan, at the Ennis Center for Children as a therapist.

Michael Young '90 is an Indiana State Trooper in LaPorte, Indiana.

Richard Cool '88 lives in Granger, Indiana, where he is an Indiana State Trooper.

David Allbritten '87 is a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the US Justice Department.

Lisa Lloyd '86 is an attorney in Winamac, Indiana.

Brian D. Harley '85 of North Manchester is Assistant Dean of International Programs and Director of Programs for Study Abroad at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

Alan Mock '83 earned his PhD and taught at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Judy Warner '80 combined an associate of arts degree in gerontology with a business management major and worked as a nursing home administrator in Chesterfield, Indiana.

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Megan Birky '13 accepted a position with the Otis R. Bowen Center for Human Services in Wabash, IN 3 weeks before gradation!  Her job title is Rehabilitation Service Provider, and she helps emotionally/behaviorally troubled youth and their families make positive change in their lives.  At Manchester, Megan double-majors in social work and sociology, with a minor in criminal justice.

Libby Rhoades '13 and Alyssa Dibley '13 have been accepted into the MSW program at Indiana University South Bend. Both were granted advanced standing. Way to go!!

After completing a successful field placement serving homeless families at Vincent Village, Stacy Koch '12, who earned a double major in social work and economics, was hired by Healthy Families in Indianapolis to assist new parents and their young children.

Brit Betz '11 was named 2011 BSW Student of the Year by NASW-Indiana. Her accomplishments at Manchester led to this prestigious honor. Among other things, Brit wrote grants bringing in over $20,000 to Living Well in Wabash County COA, Inc., for elder services. Brit was later accepted into the presitgious University of Chicago Master of Social Service Administration program.

Katie Hileman Foster '10 loves her work as a Mental Health Technician at Oaklawn in Goshen, IN. She was also the only applicant in her cohort accepted into the advanced standing track of the Indiana University-South Bend MSW Program!

Kristen Patz '10 was tapped for a leadership position within a few months of graduation as the Director of Social Services at Miller's Merry Manor in Peru, IN.

Nora Heggen '09 landed a job working with exactly the kind of people she most wanted to help: children and adolescents who have autism.

Tim Polakowski '08, MSW (double-major Spanish/Social Work, minor in Gerontology) was honored with a prestigious Fulbright grant. He spent a year teaching English in South Korea. While at Manchester, Tim won MU's Capstone Outstanding Senior Leadership Award and the state-wide Richard J. Wood Student Community Commitment Award. He then went on to win a full-ride scholarship to the University of Michigan MSW program. In graduate school, Tim was selected as the NASW University of Michigan Student of the Year! He passed his LCSW exam and started his career in gerontological social work in the Caregiver Support Program at the Toledo, OH, Area Office on Aging. Tim is pictured above in his MU senior field placement - the Dr. Jorge Prieto Family Health Center in Chicago.

Melinda Harris '06 earned advanced standing status at the University of Denver MSW Program and completed the "At-Risk Youth" concentration. She was then hired by the Fort Wayne Women's Bureau to work in their Rape Awareness Program.

Brooke Pyles '06 served as an Americorps volunteer in two Indianapolis high schools after graduating from MU with her social work degree.

The day after graduating from MU, Laura Rutledge '06 accepted a position working with adolescent girls at the Indianapolis Children's Bureau. She received a promotion within 18 months.

Emily Davies '06 oversees a county-wide program for developmentally disabled persons in Ohio.

Gessica Brown '05 served as a Memory Care Social Worker with American Senior Communities in Indianapolis.

Crystal Waggy '05 was hired as a bilingual counselor at the YWCA RISE Children's Center in Chicago. She later entered the Jane Addams School of Social Work for her MSW degree.

Bree Day '05 landed a position serving developmentally disabled persons in Fort Wayne, IN through Your Friends and Neighbors, Inc.

Amy Hopkins '05 was hired by Sarah's Circle in Chicago to meet the needs of homeless women in the Windy City. She later entered the Jane Addams School of Social Work for her MSW degree.

Katherine (Weikel) Lyon '04 found her dream job at The Carriage House in Fort Wayne, IN.  She loves the clubhouse model used there because it truly focuses on empowerment!

Jenn Morris '04, MSW spent a year serving the homeless in northern California through Brethren Volunteer Services. She then completed her masters degree and has been working for Homeless Initiative Program in Indianapolis.

Eddie Miller '04 was worked for the Yolo County Probation Department in northern California before moving on the Child Protective Services in Phoenix, AZ.

Sarah Dillon '04 is using her social work degree in her work with sex offenders at the Wabash County, IN Probation Dept.

Jessica Hamlyn '04, MSW completed the MSW Advanced Standing Program at Indiana University-Indianapolis. She then accepted a position with Foster Care Plus in Central Indiana.

Jen Bell '04 joined the Youth Service staff of Vincent Village, which provides shelter, care, advocacy, affordable housing, and support services to homeless families in Fort Wayne, IN. She also entered the MSW Program at IPFW.

Amanda Schuknecht '04, Josh Van Houten '04, and Heather Clark '04 entered the world of professional social work as Child & Adolescent Case Managers at the Otis R. Bowen Center.

Josih Hostetler '03 served as the Coordinator of Kaleidoscope, a program of the Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests.

Margo Miller '03 of Goshen, IN, has taken a Church of the Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) assignment with Bridgeway Homes for Pregnant Teens in Lakewood, CO.

Miranda Miller '03 Sipe of Rochester, IN, was an adult case manager at Four County Counseling Center, then she served as a social worker with Preventative Aftercare, Inc.

Tara Niles '02 is a case management supervisor at REAL Services, Inc., in South Bend, IN.  She received her MSW in May 2004 from Indiana University-South Bend.

Willie Phillips '96  worked in AIDS services and mental health before completing his MSW degree at Indiana University. He then worked as a clinician before earning his LCSW license. He currently serves as a clinical social work director in Chicago.

Heather Marschand '00 dreamed of working with troubled youth in a wilderness program and has found just such an opportunity at the Anasazi Foundation in Mesa, AZ.

Sarah Kanouse '99 was employed as a case manager at the AIDS Task Force and then served victims of domestic violence at the Center for Nonviolence in Fort Wayne, IN.

Steve Miller '98 worked with homeless students and their families in the Marion, IN schools and provided child protection services through the Grant County Office of the Division of Family and Children. Most recently he became the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Wabash, IN.

Since she completed her social work degree at Manchester University, Julie Hostetler '94 has worked with pregnant women in Healthy Beginnings at the Elkhart County Department of Health.

Angel Tate '93 became the Texas State Program Director of the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Program.

Lisa Keller '83 "rose through the ranks" and to become a District Director of the State Child Protection and Juvenile Services in Brattleboro, VT.

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