Charlotte has served as a Groups Ambassador and Groups Peer Advisor, She is currently the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention for Indiana University Student Government, and is completing her BSW practicum with the Office of Sexual Violence Prevention & Victim Advocacy. Charlotte also loves vinyl shopping and collecting records, going to concerts, traveling, thrifting, coffee runs, and trying new restaurants with her friends. Two of her most recent concerts were Bruno Mars and Phoebe Bridgers.

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​EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND RESEARCH: WHAT LEAD YOU TO IU BLOOMINGTON?

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I chose IU Bloomington because it was one of the campuses where I had the opportunity to receive a full-ride scholarship while also getting the chance to experience life on my own and figure out who I was outside of everything I had always known. I definitely gave other schools a chance—I considered IU Indianapolis and Ball State because there was always that little voice in my head asking, “What if I don't get the additional scholarship I need?” or even, “What if I don't get accepted into IU Bloomington?” I tried to keep my options open.

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But I actually fell in love with IU Bloomington before I officially knew it would be my home. I was visiting one of my friends to see Peach Pit at the IU Auditorium, and just driving around campus had me in awe. I remember seeing places like Franklin Hall, Dunn Meadow, and the IMU and thinking about how different everything felt from what I was used to.

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Looking back now, I think I came to Bloomington searching for change, but I ended up finding so much more than that. I found communities that made a huge campus feel small. I found opportunities that freshman-year me wouldn't have imagined myself doing. Most importantly, I started figuring out who I wanted to become. Bloomington gave me enough room to get a little lost, change my mind, start over, and eventually find where I belonged.

PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL  MILESTONES

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I actually didn't come to IU as a social work major! I started as a nursing major. By my second semester, I was honestly so unhappy. I know classes aren't always supposed to be rainbows and butterflies, but I wasn't engaged with what I was learning, and even when I tried to completely immerse myself in it, I wasn't enjoying it. I started realizing that maybe the problem wasn't that I wasn't trying hard enough—maybe I was just trying really hard to fit myself into something that wasn't meant for me.

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Around the middle of Spring 2025, I met with a career coach. We talked about what I actually wanted from a career: helping people, healthcare, human rights, counseling, advocacy, and being able to connect with people. My top match was social work; and suddenly, everything made sense. When I thought about high school, I remembered how much my school social worker had impacted me. From my junior year through graduation, she made me feel heard and seen without ever invalidating what I was feeling. I genuinely don't think I would have gotten through high school without her and the many other people who supported me.

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I also realized that throughout high school, even while I was going through my own struggles, I was constantly someone people felt comfortable confiding in—even people I didn't know very well. That summer, I took social work courses through IU and Ivy Tech, and I genuinely enjoyed what I was learning, even though my classes were asynchronous. Once Fall 2025 came around and I started taking in-person courses through the School of Social Work, I found something else I didn't expect: I LOVE the smaller cohort environment.

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It's funny because one reason I wanted IU was to escape the small-school feeling I grew up with, only to discover that I actually thrive in smaller, personable learning environments. I like being able to have conversations with my professors, ask questions, receive meaningful feedback, and feel like my concerns are heard instead of feeling like another name on a roster of 50+ students. The craziest part is that Fall 2025 was my first semester officially in the School of Social Work, and now I'm a senior preparing to graduate in May 2027. Sometimes, it genuinely feels like I was made for social work. I just had to find my way to it first.

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​WHY WAS PURSUING AN EDUCATION IMPORTANT TO YOU?​

 

Getting my degree means that I get to do what I feel like I was made to do. There's something so special to me about having the privilege of helping another person holistically—seeing someone as a whole person rather than only seeing the problem in front of them. Whether I'm directly helping someone, connecting them with resources, advocating alongside them, or simply being someone who makes them feel heard, that's the kind of work I want my life to be centered around.

My degree is also one step closer to my ultimate goal of becoming an LCSW, but the diploma itself represents so much more to me than a credential.

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When I think about graduating early, what makes me proudest isn't necessarily the fact that I'm graduating early. It's knowing everything I went through and realizing that somehow, I'm still here. There were points where I struggled tremendously with my mental health, including during my first year in the School of Social Work. There were moments when I truly didn't know if I would make it to where I am now. But I did.

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I'm doing this for myself, but I'm also doing it for my little sister, who I love more than I could ever put into words. I'm doing it for the little version of me who would sit at the top of the stairs just in case something happened. For the little girl who would lock herself in her closet wondering what she had done wrong. I'm doing it for every person who has ever felt like they couldn't use their voice. So when I walk across that stage, I'll be walking for every version of myself who wasn't sure we'd ever get there, and for every person I hope to stand beside in the future.

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WHAT RESEARCH OR PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
 

One of my biggest accomplishments recently has been Know the Zone, an initiative I created through my role as Director of Sexual Violence Prevention for Indiana University Student Government. The initiative focused on educating students about the Red Zone, consent, and bystander intervention through interactive, educational stations. It was also my first major initiative since stepping into my director role, which made it even more special.

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And let me tell you, it was A LOT! There were late nights, countless Canva designs, emails, meetings, and moments when I wondered how everything would come together. But seeing something that once existed as an idea in my head turn into an actual campus initiative was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had at IU. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with the Residence Hall Association and work alongside student volunteers who helped bring everything to life. None of it would have been possible without them!

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Now that Know the Zone has wrapped up, I've shifted my attention

toward two projects that I'm particularly excited about. The first is

Behind Closed Doors, a project I'm developing for Domestic Violence

Awareness Month in October. The idea behind this project is to

challenge the romanticization of toxic and unhealthy relationship

behaviors, especially those that are often normalized in everyday

conversations, social media, and popular culture. I want students to

think critically about the difference between what society sometimes

portrays as romantic and what could actually be an early warning sign

of an unhealthy or abusive relationship. My hope is to create something

that encourages reflection, conversation, and awareness without

judgment.

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I'm also currently researching stalking, particularly cyberstalking, in

preparation for Stalking Awareness Month in January. What actually

sparked my interest was reading an opinion article written by a guest

contributor here at IU Bloomington. The article included statistics

comparing different reported crimes between 2022 and 2023, and one

number in particular caught my attention: the difference in reported

stalking cases was nearly 100.

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I remember reading that and thinking, How many students actually recognize what stalking looks like, especially when it happens digitally? We live in a world where technology is so deeply integrated into our relationships and everyday lives. Behaviors like constantly monitoring someone's location, repeatedly contacting someone after they've asked you to stop, or using social media to keep track of someone's activities can sometimes be minimized or mistaken for affection. I want to explore how we can better educate students about cyberstalking, recognize concerning behaviors, and understand what resources and support are available.

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I think what excites me most about these projects is that they're all connected by something much bigger than hosting events or creating educational materials. They're about challenging the things we've learned to normalize, encouraging conversations that aren't always comfortable, and hopefully helping someone recognize something they might not have recognized before.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND LEADERSHIP​

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Each role reminds me of my ultimate goal, which is to help people holistically. Sometimes that looks like mentoring another student. Sometimes it's creating sexual violence prevention programming. Sometimes it's advocacy, education, outreach, or simply making sure someone knows they're not navigating college alone. Freshman-year me would absolutely NOT believe how involved I am now. Sometimes current me doesn't believe it either!

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I remember how proud I was of myself when I first became a Groups Ambassador. At the time, that alone felt huge. I couldn't have imagined that a couple of years later I'd be balancing campus leadership, practicum, work, school, and creating programs of my own.

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That's why every role matters to me. Each one has stretched me a little further, taught me something new about myself, and shown me that I'm capable of more than I originally thought.

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LIFE AFTER COLLEGE 

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My next big goal after completing my BSW is earning my MSW and eventually becoming an LCSW. I see myself working as a social worker in a small rural hospital. My life has been incredibly fast-paced. I'm constantly moving between school, work, practicum, meetings, projects, events, and whatever else I've somehow added to my calendar. One day, I'd love to enter a chapter of my life where I can wake up in the morning and not immediately feel like I'm rushing out the door.

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At the same time, my interest in rural social work isn't only about wanting a slower lifestyle. Rural communities are areas where social workers are deeply needed, and healthcare systems don't always have adequate access to dedicated social work professionals. I want to bring my training somewhere it can genuinely fill a gap.

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I think I'd be really fulfilled knowing that I built this busy, chaotic, exciting life in my twenties so that one day I could take everything it taught me and bring it somewhere that needs it.

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WHAT MAJOR WOMEN INSPIRE YOU?

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One woman who immediately comes to mind is Zariya Burnes. I've had the privilege of watching Zariya grow into the hardworking woman she is today, and what inspires me most isn't simply what she has accomplished. It's knowing that I've also witnessed some of the trials and tribulations she's had to overcome along the way.

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There's something incredibly powerful about watching another woman continue to show up for herself despite what life puts in front of her. Seeing her work hard, grow, and continue becoming the person she wants to be reminds me to keep going when things in my own life become difficult.

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I think sometimes we look for inspiration in people who feel so far removed from our everyday lives—celebrities, historical figures, or people with massive platforms. But some of the most influential women in my life are women I've had the privilege of knowing personally.

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Watching Zariya grow makes me want to continue growing too. More importantly, she reminds me that I want to be that kind of woman for somebody else someday. I want another girl or woman to look at something I've done, see parts of her own story reflected in mine, and think, Maybe I can do that too.

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WHAT DO YOU HOPE SOMEONE TAKES AWAY AFTER READING YOUR FEATURE?

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DREAM BIG. Like, ridiculously big.If there's anything my college experience has taught me, it's that we put limits on ourselves long before the world ever gets the opportunity to. There are things I'm doing today that freshman-year me wouldn't have even thought to dream about because she didn't believe they were possibilities for her yet. That's why I hope someone reads my story and realizes that they don't have to have everything figured out. You can change your major. You can take a completely different path than the one you originally planned. You can struggle. You can start over. You can surprise yourself.

 

My favorite way to put it is:

“Dream beyond the version of yourself you know today. Some of your biggest dreams are waiting for a version of you that you haven't met yet.”

 

I don't believe dreaming big means everything will happen exactly the way you imagined it. Sometimes the path completely changes—and mine definitely did. But if there's something you genuinely want for yourself, give yourself permission to pursue it before deciding you're incapable of it. The person you are today doesn't have to know exactly how you're going to get there. Sometimes she just has to believe that she can.