Officially an MSW (Master of Social Work)

Graduation was long but satisfying. We spent 2 long hours sitting in the sun but there was a cool breeze so we didn't melt. It was sooo great to see all my fellow graduates one last time before I take off for Costa Rica. I can't believe I have a Masters degree, it hasn't really sunk in and I don't think it will until I settle down and join society with a real full-time job. It has been awhile since I have done that. Thank you to everyone who supported me through 2 years of hard work and dedication! I couldn't have done it without you!

Mom and Dad are so Proud!

My brother Ryan and his girlfriend Taryn

The Sohm family (My sister)

My beautiful friend Jenn and I. Our friend and fellow graduate Shay couldn't be with us at graduation because she is busy working her butt off at the Ranch for Biggest Loser. That's right, she is going to be on the show that will air in the fall! She is such an amazing friend, social worker, and person. She inspires us all! We made a cut out of her so we could have pictures with her and send them to her.

After 2 long years...

I finally cut my hair. I decided to grow out my hair for as long as I was in graduate school. Well, I graduate next week, and I was ready for a change. I like it shorter, even though sometimes I can make my long hair look really pretty. I am glad to have shorter hair again!

Only 18 Days left until......

I get to enjoy all of this in the beautiful land of Costa Rica!

2004 Toyota Camry For Sale!!!

Hello everyone, I am leaving for Costa Rica for the summer and need to sell my car before I leave on May 30th!!! It is in great condition, only 57,000 miles, new tires installed 6 months ago, sun roof, automatic locks/windows, very spacious and comfortable. I am selling it for $11,000. Please tell your friends and family and contact me by email if they are interested. shawni721@gmail.com
Thanks!!!

Graduation is Coming

So I only have 3 more weeks until I finish school and about a month until Graduation. I can't believe it is really almost over!!! A few weeks ago my wonderful friend Jenn King and I went to downtown Fullerton to take some pictures of me for my graduation announcements! I can't begin to explain how amazing the pictures came out. Jenn is so talented and creative!!! She has a way of incorporating surrounding scenes into the picture to make them look fabulous!!! I just absolutely love them! I only posted a few of my favorites here but there were so many I loved it will be hard to choose the one for my graduation announcement! Thanks Jenn, I love you!!!

This one is a bit white washed but I love it anyway!

I love this wall!!

So fun and creative!

Puerto Vallarta

So for my Spring Break, since my thesis was finished and I had a credit on Mexicana Airlines I needed to use up, I decided to take a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect! My friend Jason and I rented a condo at the Holiday Inn resort and it was perfect!!! We got to enjoy all the amenities of the resort and the condo was right on the beach with a balcony overlooking the bay! I loved just waking up each morning and sitting on the balcony eating breakfast.

View from our balcony

We went on a zipline tour at the set of Predator, a 1980's movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Here I am on the zipline, it was so fun, there were 12 ziplines we went on over a river and through the forests. It was so beautiful.

Night view, didn't come out too good but it was beautiful.

Down on Malecon Blvd. there were very different looking bronze sculptures, I think they may have been sea gods or something.

View from our balcony. The beach and pool we got to spend our lazy time at.

Beautiful view of Bandaras Bay from our balcony.

These were some crazy Mexicans who climbed to the tops of this huge pole and then dropped off attached to ropes, swinging all the way down and playing music.

I had lots of fun and if you want to check out some more of my pictures go to my Picasa Web Album.

Lobby Days in Sacramento

So I had one of the best learning experiences ever! I was able to travel with about 125 of my fellow peers from the Social Work department at CSULB to Sacramento, CA to lobby to our legislators at the capitol. What an amazing experience to be empowered and motivated to work towards progress and better policies that will better serve the people in our communities. The bills we advocated for were on foster care, elder care, budget cuts, and mental health services for youth. We also had the opportunity to rally on the capitol steps and hear from 7 legislators who support our work as social workers. This experience taught me so much about the importance of policy and especially of voting. Enjoy the pictures below.

Here are all of us from CSULB on the steps of the capitol after the rally.

Over 1,000 social workers from 20+ schools in California rallying on the capitol steps.

CSULB School of Social Work

Some friends from school (Jenn, Me, Shay, Alicia)

Great picture with the capitol in the background.

We had a pizza dinner and the pizza was HUGE!!! The slices were so long it didn't fit on the plate.

Some signs we made for the rally, and my face in the bottom right corner.

Showing off our creative signs!

Walking around Sacramento I saw a few gold bears and couldn't help but jump up on one!

Well, the experience was amazing and of course there are tons more pictures than I could post. If you would like to see more just go to our Lobby Days Photo Album.