A Dream Rekindled

BSW alumna Stefanie Hazard, social services coordinator at Friendsview, returns to George Fox to pursue an MSW

When Stefanie Hazard graduated from George Fox with her Bachelor of Social Work in 2003, the social work industry was undergoing serious change. Several social service agencies disbanded, throwing the job market into disarray and leaving Hazard unable to find work in her field of study. She bounced between several oddball jobs to make ends meet, leaving Oregon to find employment in Texas.

Then, in March of 2020, after receiving an offer for a social work position at Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg, she moved back to Oregon. For Hazard, it was a full-circle moment, as she had volunteered at Friendsview 17 years earlier as an undergraduate at George Fox.

“I remember loving it,” she says. “I would come down to what we used to call the health center and visit residents in their rooms. I just sat there and talked with them or read them their mail.”

Hazard recalls one resident in particular.

“I looked forward to coming and seeing this particular resident and just sharing a little bit of time with her,” she says. “Sometimes it was just me sitting and talking with her or reading a piece of mail to her that she couldn’t read herself. She was just the neatest lady – she was so kind and welcoming.”

Now Hazard is doing the same kind of work in a professional capacity, supporting about 80 Friendsview residents in her role as a social services coordinator.

“I work with all of our health service residents, and I’ve been developing relationships with them and their families over the past five years,” she says. “It’s so rewarding to get to know them and learn what I can do for them here in my job to make things better for them.”

Hazard meets with each resident and their loved ones every three months to make sure they are receiving all the care they need, in addition to providing day-to-day care.

“I’m also in a role where if anything comes up in between those scheduled care conferences, I’m their contact,” she says. “If they have questions, needs, concerns or grievances, they reach out to me, and I go visit them and work with them.”

She walks alongside these residents every day, doing whatever she can to support them and provide the resources they need. Every connection she makes is one she cherishes.

“Because I work with health service residents, I’m working with these people till the end of life,” she says. “There have been a lot of residents I’ve lost since working here, and that’s hard. But at the same time, I feel blessed to have known them while they were alive.”

Hazard’s job is to help residents when they need it, and to empower and encourage them when they are capable of doing things themselves. Sometimes they just need someone to tell them that they can do it.

“Older adults still have a lot of independence, but they don’t always feel like they do,” she says. “It’s our job to show them that they are capable.”

In 2024, Hazard decided she wanted to continue her education in social work. She immediately knew she wanted to return to George Fox, where her social work journey began.

“I really loved the undergraduate social work program at Fox, and I knew that their graduate program would fit my needs,” she says.

Hazard enrolled in Fox’s MSW program and is excited to be continuing her education. She has particularly appreciated how her experience in the classroom informs her work at Friendsview and vice versa. It’s made her a better student and a better social worker.

“I took a gerontology class last semester, which was really beneficial and helpful in my current job,” Hazard says. “This program has broadened my knowledge and helped me look at things from a different perspective.”

The spiritual integration element of the university’s MSW program has also proven valuable, teaching her just how important understanding someone’s beliefs and spirituality are when serving as a social worker.

“I’m always asking myself, ‘What are their ideas, what are their lenses that they look through?’” she says. “Knowing the answers to those questions and being open-minded allows me to do my job better.”

Ultimately, empathy is at the heart of social work. Hazard is always making sure to put herself in her residents’ shoes.

“When I’m interacting with residents, I just think about how I would want to be treated when I’m their age,” she says. “How would I want to be approached? How would I want to be talked to or taken care of?”

The MSW program has not only allowed Hazard to dive deeper into her role as a social worker, but it has also led her to learn more about herself.

“This program makes you think a little bit deeper about yourself and the kind of person you are,” she says. “What is your worldview? What biases do you have that might interfere with a client you’re working with? Learning those things about yourself can be hard, but it’s so beneficial.”

Hazard is excited to continue learning more about her role as she strives to improve her practice every day.

“I’m always asking myself, ‘How can I work with my population here better than I did before?’” she says.