Last month, Megan Dodds graduated cum laude from the School of Social Work with a BSW. Dodds returned to school after taking a decade-long break and serving in the military. In 2026, she will enter UMSL’s MSW program. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

Weeks before commencement festivities at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Megan Dodds was relishing her achievement. After starting college and taking a decade-long break, Dodds was set to graduate from UMSL – a feat accomplished while juggling a full-time job and family.

She had fulfilled the promise she made to herself, her family and her community.

“I just have to sit back and reflect because I’m so proud of myself,” Dodds said. “I’m so proud of myself and this moment to know, not only will I be graduating, but I can actually call myself a social worker. I did exactly what I told myself I would do. It’s a great feeling. It’s an absolutely great feeling.”

Last month, Dodds graduated cum laude from the School of Social Work with a BSW and also served as the school’s student marshal during the commencement ceremony on Dec. 20. During her time at UMSL, Dodds was highly involved on campus and excelled in the classroom, earning straight A’s every semester. She aided Teaching Professor Linda Wells-Glover and Academic Advisor Tchule Moore as an active learning assistant, worked in the Office of University Student Support as a tutor and mentor and served as an officer in the Student Social Work Association.

From a young age, Dodds knew she wanted to help people, but she wasn’t sure what that would look like as an adult. To explore her options for the future, Dodds participated in two summer internship programs as a student at Gateway STEM High School. She spent one summer at St. Luke’s Hospital as an operating room intern and another at SSM Health’s corporate office. Those experiences first led her to the notion of becoming a pediatric social worker.

“The main thing I wanted to do was help children,” she said. “Children are the future, and if you can make a positive impact on a child’s life, they can remember that for the rest of their life. I wanted to be the impact. I wanted to be that positivity for children and give them a memorable role model.”

However, as college approached, Dodds’ ambition shifted to pediatric physician. In 2012, she entered college for the first time as a biology major. She was committed to serving others but realized that medical school and the hours required of a physician would take her away from her family.

Eventually, Dodds left school and enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving on active duty then transitioning to a reservist, continuing to serve for more than a decade. Toward the end of her service, she moved back to St. Louis and began working in the financial field. It was a stable position, but it wasn’t a true calling. That realization spurred her to reflect on recent events, including a challenging pregnancy, and the future she wanted for herself.

“During my pregnancy, I became very ill,” she said. “Through the end of my pregnancy, delivery and birth, it was social workers that really helped me through a lot, from diapers to children’s book and resources. Social workers and the impact they had on me just kept coming up.”

The care she received was also a stark reminder that many in St. Louis lack proper access to social services and mental health care resources. The ordeal rekindled her dream of becoming a social worker to better serve her community.

The second attempt at college would be different, though. Dodds was determined to apply the discipline she learned in the military to her studies, not only to serve as a positive role model for her child but also to fulfill her own potential. Thankfully, UMSL’s flexible course offerings and robust support services made it possible for Dodds – a parent working full-time – to return to the classroom.

“From deciding that I wanted to go back to calling Dr. Tchule Moore and talking to her, everything was just smooth sailing,” she said. “As far as getting enrolled, getting into the university, the process was so seamless. It motivated me, ‘OK, I really want to go back, and I want to do this.’”

In the School of Social Work, Dodds found a supportive, tight-knit community. She was particularly impressed with the passionate faculty members who went above and beyond to care for their students. Wells-Glover and Assistant Professor Annah Bender were particularly impactful.

Two of Wells-Glover’s discussion-oriented classes were especially memorable. In one, students participated in the “fishbowl,” an exercise that encouraged them to approach difficult issues from a variety of perspectives. In the other, the class took part in the “great debate,” taking sides on salient issues.

“It made me say, ‘Yes, think outside the box,’” Dodds said. “Not only did it solidify that I was in the right major, but it forced you to bring out your biases, to look inward, to have those uncomfortable conversations. Everybody was forced out of their comfort zone. That class was so impactful to me.”

Dodds was also captivated by Bender’s course on human behavior and social environments. The class covers human development from infancy to adulthood, and Dodds found herself genuinely excited to learn more each week. Later in the program, she applied lessons from both classes during her practicum with Paraquad, a nonprofit that works to foster independence for people with disabilities through advocacy, education and a variety of services.

This summer, Dodds helped facilitate a Paraquad summer camp for preteens, teenagers and young adults with disabilities. One of the primary goals of the camp was to teach the participants how to advocate for themselves, especially in spaces not designed for people with disabilities.

“One thing I learned is when people have disabilities, especially children, people don’t give them that autonomy to make their own decisions,” Dodds explained. “Working there made me have a new outlook on people who have disabilities and all the things that they can do and all the things that we think they can’t do. That may sound cliché, but being able to work in that environment has been so enriching to me.”

In 2026, Dodds will enter the MSW program at UMSL. In the future, she would like to open her own practice to serve communities experiencing systemic resource inequities, engage with marginalized and under-resourced populations and address service gaps in communities with limited institutional support. But in the meantime, she plans to work with two distinct populations: students and their families as a school social worker and, in a separate capacity, with military veterans.

“I’m just pleased and proud to be able to have come to UMSL,” she said. “I had such a great experience with my professors and UMSL as a whole. I had professors, faculty and staff that poured into me and made sure that I was able to get where I needed to be. Overall, it has been an experience of significant value, that has contributed meaningfully to my professional development. That’s why I decided to apply for graduate school.”