At 64, UToledo Social Work Student Turns Life Experience Into National Scholarship

At 64, UToledo Social Work Student Turns Life Experience Into National Scholarship

For Rochelle Ballard, a nontraditional student at The University of Toledo, becoming a social worker is about more than earning a degree. It is about turning the challenges she has faced throughout her own life into an opportunity to help others.

Ballard, who is completing UToledo's Advanced Standing Master of Social Work program, was recently named one of two students nationwide to receive the 2026 Carl A. Scott Book Scholarship from the Council on Social Work Education, an award that recognizes students who have shown commitment to promoting equity and racial, economic and environmental justice in their social work careers.

Now 64, she expects to graduate in May, just after her 65th birthday.

"One of my biggest hopes is that I graduate, I'll be 65, and ready to get out in the working world," Ballard said.

Ballard's path to higher education was not easy. She grew up in a neighborhood where she saw poverty and families struggling to overcome difficult circumstances. She also experienced addiction and entered recovery as a young woman. Those experiences, combined with her work as a hairdresser and the relationships she developed with women and families in her community, eventually led her toward social work.

She began pursuing higher education later in life, determined to keep going despite doubts others had placed in her mind as a child.

"I said, 'I'm not going to let what they told me keep me from going,'" Ballard said.

Her educational journey was interrupted when her grandmother became ill. After her grandmother's death, Ballard continued her education and eventually transferred to UToledo. During her bachelor's degree program, she worked three jobs to help pay for school.

Along the way, she gained extensive experience working directly with people in need. During her undergraduate social work program, Ballard completed 448 hours of field education at the Correctional Treatment Facility in North Toledo, working with individuals impacted by the justice system. She also gained experience at Unison Health and worked as a social work assistant in a nursing home. Now in the MSW program, she is completing another 525 hours of graduate field education.

"Rochelle has demonstrated tremendous dedication and perseverance throughout her social work education," said Meredith Rinna, director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program and an associate lecturer of social work at UToledo. "What impressed me most was her willingness to take what she was learning in the classroom and apply it directly to the needs of the individuals she served."

Dr. Mamta Ojha, an associate professor of social work and MSW program director, said Ballard's lived experience brings something to the classroom that can't be taught.

"She did not simply learn the concepts presented in class, she actively connected them to real-world experiences and examples from the field," Ojha said.

Ballard plans to focus her social work career on mental health and substance use disorders, areas that are particularly meaningful to her because of her own experiences in recovery.

"It was the neighborhood I grew up in, seeing a lot of the poverty and seeing a lot of mothers that do want to go to school, but they struggle," she said. "Especially dealing with a lot of the women that come in recovery, dealing with the mental health. I've been there, and I now have the strength to help them."

"It's just once you get in recovery and get on the other side, you can just see this is a beautiful thing for people," Ballard said. "If recovery services weren't around, I don't know how many people wouldn't make it."

Ballard credits UToledo's TRIO Student Support Services with helping her stay on track during her undergraduate education. She calls her husband, Ivan, her greatest source of support, he encouraged her to keep going while she balanced school, work and field education. She also found encouragement from younger classmates who cheered her on as she finished her undergraduate degree.

Now, with graduation in May in sight, Ballard is focused on finishing what she started.

"I just want to do these semesters and get done with school so I can get out and help somebody," she said.

Her experience has given her a message she hopes to share with students who may be wondering whether it is too late to pursue an education or change careers.

"The main thing I want to tell them is not to give up," Ballard said. "No matter how hard it seems, the reward is going to be on the other side."