PhD student
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work
Ilana Shtivelman is a second year PhD student at the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Her research interests primarily revolve around moral injury, identity and ideology, trauma, military mental health, and global social work (especially as it relates to culture and ethics). She comes to UTK as an international student, though she has spent most of her life living, studying, and working in the United States. In 2016, Ilana completed her three undergraduate degrees (in foreign languages and communications) as well as a Master of International Affairs (with a focus in Dispute Resolution) degree at the Pennsylvania State University. She then worked for 5 years in the nonprofit sector, the Jewish professional world, and in the youth development field. Throughout her academic, professional, and personal experiences – spanning various fields, disciplines, and countries, Ilana discovered the vastness and importance of social work and decided to contribute to the field by going back to graduate school to receive her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023. Her experience throughout the MSW program ultimately led her to pursue a PhD in the field, wanting to focus on research, policy, and academia, as a way to make positive contributions and impacts within the social work field.
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