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Featured photo: Student Sara Beth Transue in front of the Sink Building. Photo by Emily Grace Gill.
By Emily Grace Gill, Marketing & Communications Dept.
Years after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in French and history, Sara Beth Transue decided to return to school. She began studying at Blue Ridge Community College in the fall of 2022 and eventually settled on the Human Services Technology program.
Over the last few years, Transue became a wheelchair user, which she says helped her hone her interest in social work.
“When I started with the social work program, I wasn’t 100% sure what exactly I wanted to do with it. I knew I didn’t want to be a therapist or a clinical social worker, but in learning how to navigate with this disability, I had to learn how to advocate for myself, and I think that that’s what got me thinking about social work,” she said. “Just this idea of advocacy for people, and I think that’s the direction that I want to take with it.”
Transue has done her work-based learning at Four Seasons Hospice and intends to focus on elder care in her career.
“Through COVID, I actually did a project on these creative ways that other countries are approaching, taking care of their elderly population,” she said. “It’s an area that needs a lot of work and a lot of creative thinking around it.”
She hopes to begin working on a master’s degree in social work this fall and said it’s never too late to try something new.
“There’s always time to do something. Do the thing, man, even if you can’t walk,” she said.
Learn more about the Human Services Technology program at www.blueridge.edu/human-services.