Claudaisha Sherman

Claudaisha Sherman is scheduled to graduate from the Phyllis & Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, in May 2022. Sherman chose to major in Social Work in order to become the kind of social worker she wishes she had when she was growing up. "I have a passion to help people living in poverty, specifically, children. I knew this was a field that I could make a difference in." Sherman has made the Dean’s list the past four semesters and the President’s list three of those four semesters. She plans to pursue a Master’s degree.

When not in class, Sherman is a mentor to boys and girls in foster care, aging from 6 to 17 years old. Sherman is also in the process of obtaining a child welfare certificate and interning at a child welfare agency. "The organization that I work for has four goals that we try to address with our mentees (social skills, community service, vocational or educational skills). I don’t do the same thing with every child or teen because all of their situations are different, and they have different interests. The younger kids enjoy going to the park. But with the older ones, I sometimes help them with their homework, we go to museums or shopping. Recently, one of my mentees and I participated in a community service event where we created holiday care packages for veteran women." Sherman said she would love to continue working within the foster care system with a goal to become a family therapist in the next ten years she said.

Sherman is also a sociology minor. "I took sociological perspectives during my first semester of college and loved it," she said. "I enjoyed learning about why and how people interact. I think it’s good to have this knowledge as a social worker because you will be working with diverse populations, no matter what."

Sherman, who was born and raised in Miami, has been spending a considerable time at the FAU Davie campus since the pandemic. "The thing that I enjoyed most was the welcome bash. It was a good way to get acquainted with the Davie Campus." She says she has enjoyed most of her practice courses and cites Social Work Practice with Groups (SOW 4322) as her favorite. "This course has challenged me, in more ways than I thought," she said. "I got a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses because I worked closely with others, which is something that I had not really done before. It was also my favorite because it was a combination of all of our other practice courses."

During her free time, Sherman enjoys spending time with her family and friends. "We have parties for almost every occasion – every birthday, Holiday, and celebration of success. We go out to dinner and sporting events. We do different activities like paint balling or bowling. I also enjoy traveling. My favorite are our family vacations because there are so many of us," she said.