Two Austin Graduate Social Work Students Win Scholarships for Mental Health Studies
August 26, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas - Maxey Elliott and January Moult, second-year graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin's School of Social Work, are among five recipients of the prestigious Ima Hogg Scholarship for Mental Health for the 2009 - 2010 academic year.
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health awards up to five $5,000 scholarships annually to students who demonstrate a strong commitment to providing mental health services after graduation. Applicants must attend an accredited graduate social work program in Texas and be nominated by the head of their program.
Maxey Elliott
Elliott has studied the connections between environment, nutrition and health for more than 10 years and wants to establish a holistic therapeutic farm for youth. He has a master's degree with a concentration in sustainable food systems from the University of Essex in England and a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Tulane University.
In 2006 he founded Urban Roots, a program that enables Austin area high school students to grow food for the community on a local urban farm. He also worked with youth and communities in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to promote sustainable gardening and improve access to healthy foods.
"The healing potential of gardening and farming is just beginning to be realized. I have worked with hundreds of people in gardens and on local farms. These natural settings provide a unique therapeutic space for people to explore how growing food can affect mental health," Elliott said.
Moult's goal is to provide direct services to people with severe mental illness and empower them to make positive changes in their lives and advocate for their needs. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Dartmouth College, where she was a presidential scholar, researcher and teaching assistant.
Moult has professional and internship experience working with children, teenagers and adults at Big Brothers Big Sisters, Austin State Hospital and a New Hampshire behavioral health clinic.
January Moult
"The idea of recovery can be difficult to embrace for people with mental illness who repeatedly are sent explicit and implicit messages about their limitations rather than their capabilities. I hope that by combining social justice work and advocacy with individual therapy, I can help educate the community about the realities of mental health and how it affects all of us," Moult said.
Other 2009 recipients are Karla Auten, Our Lady of the Lake University; Tiffanie Franks-Carothers, University of Texas at Arlington; and Sheri Swandal, University of Texas at San Antonio. The scholarship program was created in 1956 by Miss Ima Hogg to attract Texas students to mental health careers.
The Hogg Foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Texas Governor James Hogg to promote improved mental health for the people of Texas. The foundation's grants and programs support mental health consumer services, research, policy analysis and public education projects in Texas. The foundation is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.
For more information, contact:
Merrell Foote
Communications Director, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
512-471-9142
merrell.foote@austin.utexas.edu