Michaela Cardamone (BSW/22) knew Booth UC was the place for her on her very first day of orientation.
“People started talking to me!” Michaela marvels. “I made friends that very first day! It was an experience I wasn’t used to up to then in my university journey. I knew going to Booth UC was the best decision I could make.
Michaela was a transfer student who joined Booth UC in 2019 after doing nursing prerequisites at the University of Manitoba.
“I kind of stumbled upon Booth UC,” she recalls. A neighbour had graduated from Booth UC with a social work degree, and this inspired her to apply. “And then to my surprise, I got it in!”
Despite the pandemic interrupting in-person learning in 2020, Michaela enjoyed her time at Booth UC. While she wishes she had had more of an experience on campus, Booth UC went to great lengths to keep everyone connected, and the virtual classes were still a success.
“It was nice to have the smaller classes, but virtual was good, too,” she says. “I feel like I really got to know a lot of my peers that I was graduating with.”
As a fitting way to end Michaela’s time at Booth UC, the neighbour who recommended the institution to her ended up being her last field supervisor at Grace General Hospital.
“She herself actually did her student placement there, too, when she was at Booth UC. For me it was a nice way to close the circle.”
Michaela graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work, and was chosen to represent the 2022 graduating class as Valedictorian. She’s grateful for her time at Booth UC, as it gave her an opportunity to build and strengthen her skills as a social worker. In fact, she has already secured a full-time position at a personal care home. But the school did something more.
“I was able to reflect on being myself,” she says. “In the social work program, our professors always told us that we were our greatest tool in our toolbox of social work. But I also feel that I’m my greatest tool in the journey of my own life. And Booth UC helped me realize that.”
