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Mrs. Bruce decided to become a social worker
her senior year of high school. She spent all of her life helping friends
and strangers with their problems, so it seemed like a good choice for
her. When she was in college she decided that she wanted to work in a
school, because she wanted to focus mainly on children and teenagers.
 Mrs. Bruce has always admired her mom and her older
sister. She says they are two of the most amazing, caring, intelligent,
capable people she knows. They always makes people feel important and
valued, and she wants to have that effect on people.
She likes spending time with her family, hanging out
with friends, watching movies, reading, and she really enjoys kickboxing.
She says it’s a good stress reliever.
She really enjoys working in a grade school and high
school. She says, “It’s awesome to get to view the full spectrum of child
development.” She also really likes listening to people, hearing about
people’s lives, and getting a chance to do that on a daily basis.
Mrs. Bruce grew up in a town of about 4,000 people
called Eldorado. She received her associate’s degree from Southeastern
Illinois College in Harrisburg, and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Mrs. Bruce graduated from Eldorado High school, in a
class of about 100 students.
Mrs. Bruce absolutely loves being a school social
worker. She loves meeting with students one on one and in groups. She
enjoys being involved with student council and being a class sponsor. This
year she is teaching a class for the 7th graders called Habits. It’s based
on the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. She says, “It’s been
different being a “teacher” instead of just the social worker, but I’m
adjusting and we do a lot of interesting things in class.”
She feels that she never has enough time for
everyone. There is so much more she would like to do for the students, but
it just seems like there are not enough hours in the day
Mrs. Bruce did an internship for one year, and
this is her second year as a fully employed school social worker.
So far Mrs. Bruce is very happy. Being in a smaller
school is ideal for her, because she likes knowing everyone. “I feel like
I’m accomplishing more.”
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