Stories

Researching Racial Disparities, Testing Healthy Smoothies, and Learning in Jamaica

Aubrey Baldauf '19 had transformational experiences in college — and next heads to the Peace Corps to promote health in Zambia.

Aubrey Baldauf at CGIU

Aubrey Baldauf '19 became a social work major because she wants to advance social justice, human rights, and help people improve their well-being. In college, she repeatedly jumped at opportunities to make a difference for others and to advance her learning.

"I wanted to become engaged, and there are opportunities at every turn," says Baldauf, including locally and overseas. Her involvement:

  • For her honors program thesis, she researched how income, housing, food, and structural and interpersonal racism contribute to racial health disparities — and what can be done. Her in-depth honors project “was a reason to push myself, to learn more, to become more confident in the field I want to go into. It was a self-driven learning project, that I’d never done before. I had to set my own due dates. It also helped me understand how to do research. I have a feeling it’s going to help me a lot in the future — both the practical information and the skills I learned.”
  • When a professor invited students to help at a community meal program, she became a weekly volunteer. She grew up in the middle-class, mostly-white town of Queensbury, NY, a suburb about an hour outside Albany and says she wasn’t familiar with cities. She’s been impressed with Rochester’s network of organizations to serve people.
  • Her proposal for an innovative solution to a pressing global challenge was selected by Clinton Global Initiative University — earning her a trip to attend an international conference of workshops and networking in Boston, plus Nazareth funds to pursue her proposal. Her project explored a way to provide healthier food options to people dealing with housing or financial insecurity. She then presented about her experience at Nazareth to help other students interested in CGI U. She says the CGI U conference was a great place to learn how other students were putting their own spin on ideas to make a difference in society.
  • She joined Nazareth’s social work service trip to Jamaica, where a dozen Nazareth students served and learned at schools, hospitals, service agencies, and a home for elders; saw how social services are carried out in Jamaica; and heard evening lectures about policies and history that provided context. “It was a really cool way to learn a lot really fast.” Bonus: “We were all really good friends at the end of the trip."
  • She interned for a semester with Metro Justice and with the Sisters of St. Joseph, seeing different approaches to promoting change.
  • She pursued advanced work in her field practicum at Person Centered Housing Options, a local non-profit serving the homeless community.

In her senior year, Baldauf won her third president’s civic engagement award at Nazareth, recognizing “outstanding commitment to service.” The College’s campus-wide engagement in the broader community earned Nazareth national recognition recently from Washington Monthly. Out of 695 colleges, the magazine ranked Nazareth 4th in service for “encouraging students to give something back to their country,” 5th in voting engagement, and 6th for the percentage of students doing community service through federal work-study.

Aubrey Baldauf and Leanne Charlesworth

"She's been there for me every step of the way," says Aubrey Baldauf (left) of Prof. Leanne Wood Charlesworth, LMSW, Ph.D., director of the social work undergraduate program. Charlesworth helped Baldauf apply for the Peace Corps and, with others in the Social Work Department, helped Baldauf get all of her internships. Bauldauf wasn't interested in research until taking a research class with Charlesworth. Charlesworth says, "Aubrey combines knowledge and skills with enthusiasm and compassion. During her short tenure at Nazareth, we have learned as much from her as she has learned from us. Whatever she chooses to do and wherever she goes, we know she will have a positive impact. We will be cheering her on every step of her journey."

In a recent interview, Baldauf reflected on what she’s learned from her academic and service experiences:

How did you think of social work?
Individuals are the expert on their life
Be persistent to pursue your interests
Her advice for other students
Aubrey Baldauf

Aubrey prepping ingredients for her community smoothie project