MSU-Meridian Professor named 2022 Mississippi Social Worker of the Year

Dr. Angela Savage currently serves as the Director of MSU-Meridian’s Social Work program. She says this specific award is special because it is her colleagues who nominated her:

“It feels great. One of the things that I do love is that this award was given to me by my peers. And that's one of the things that's unique about this one”, stated Dr. Savage. “So, it means a lot more to me because to be recognized by the people and your colleagues, the people that understand the work that you do is so important.”

Dr. Angela Savage has been in the field of social work since her days of attending the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Savage says the love for people and investing in them is one of the things that keeps her going.

“A lot of people don't know what social workers do, but my thing is social workers, we invest in people. So that's one of the ways I want people to understand the difference in social work in any other profession is that we completely invest in people We meet people where they are.”

Within the next three years, Dr. Savage hopes that people will become more interested in the field of social work. She believes that over time classrooms will be filled with students wanting to know more about the field.

“I see that our classrooms are going to be so full of students that we're going to have to have a bigger classroom. So, the classrooms that we have right now, the largest one we can seat, probably about 40 or 45 students. That's what I'm hoping. That's what I see. I see that people will start understanding the importance of social work and understanding that we are essential, we are essential to the community, and we are essential to our families. We are essential to the future of anything”, explained Savage.

Dr. Angela Savage has a passion for social work and believes that where there is a person there should be a social worker.