MSW Spotlight: Shaye White

For Shaye White, social work is the path to helping her community. 

White, who is in the traditional Master of Social Work program at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, is a proud Indigenous woman who grew up in Lawrence. Her identity and passions are ingrained in her goals. 

The School of Social Welfare offers White a means to enact change in her community. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Antelope Valley in California but didn’t know what she was going to do with that degree until she got a job as a behavioral health technician in Arizona. 

White, who is from the Gila River Indian Community (Akimel O'odtham), started working with youth in Indigenous communities there. 

“I saw a lot of things I had never been exposed to,” White said. “It really opened my eyes and created a passion I didn’t know I had that was driven to my community.”

White knew what she wanted: to further her education. The School of Social Welfare provided her with the opportunity to learn more about mental and behavioral health in Indigenous communities and gain more experience. 

While White didn’t always know what her career would be, she did know where she wanted it to take her. 

“I’ve always been set in stone in going back to my community,” White said. “I really want to help and there’s so much to be done. I see some things are still affecting us and I want to go help my people.”

Getting a master’s degree will allow White to do that. 

What stands out to White about the MSW program at KU is the real-life scenarios she learned through her classes. She’s able to pour herself into the work here. 

Part of that means opening up, and White embraces that challenge. 

“You are going to talk about things that are really uncomfortable,” White said. “It’s to get that perspective to understand what our future clients are going through and that’s what this program does.”

Video edited by Katie Schowe