HHS student winner of 2019 Flora Roberts Award for outstanding senior woman

Olivia Glowacki, a senior in Human Services who is passionate about social work, is already on her way to making lives better.

Not only was Glowacki named a 2019 Outstanding Senior in the College of Health and Human Sciences, she was also named the 2019 Flora Roberts Award winner—an honor bestowed upon the outstanding senior woman at Purdue, overall.

During Spring 2019, she undertook an internship in San Francisco at the Coalition on Homelessness. She has visited homelessness encampments and has worked at City Hall to advocate for homeless policy.

I was drawn to Human Services because of the one on one, direct interaction with people. I’ve worked at a domestic violence shelter and I love seeing the influence I can have on others… changing their life in a positive way.

– Olivia Glowacki, HDFS ’19

Glowacki feels that the mentorship she received while studying in the College of Health and Human Sciences has given her the tools to be successful. “Dr. Jennifer Dobbs-Oates and Dr. Natasha Watkins (professors in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies) really challenged and pushed me to do thhings that were outside of my comfort zone. Dr. Dobbs-Oates pushed me to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship as a senior in college, even though most students start applying during middle school. It was a giant leap and a huge success when I became a finalist.”

“One thing that HDFS has done well,” says Glowacki, “is that we really press the value of self-determination. I think that’s a big thing in social work… when you have clients, and you want them to progress. They need to feel involved and have ownership of their goals. They have to want to do it.”

Olvia Glowacki has even bigger plans after graduating with a degree in Human Services in May.

“I see myself moving toward broader social work… influencing policy so I can work on legislation that would influence hundreds of people.”

About the Flora Roberts Award

The Flora Roberts Award for the outstanding senior woman is awarded each year to “the ideal Purdue woman” who is outstanding in “character, citizenship, leadership, and scholarship.”

A committee composed of student peers and representatives from the Office of the Dean of Students selects each award recipient, who is presented with a bronze-plated medal, a certificate, and a $2,000 gift.

The names of the winners of the Flora Roberts and G.A. Ross (outstanding senior man) Awards are inscribed on an obelisk located at the northeast corner of the Purdue Mall.

Excerpts from A University of Tradition: The Spirit of Purdue, Purdue University Press, 2002. Video produced by Jack Klink.