Social work student wins Student of the Year honor

Youngstown State University graduate student Nicole Zayas of Boardman has been named Student of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers – Ohio Chapter.

Zayas, who is pursuing a Master’s of Social Work degree at YSU, is employed as a performance facilitator specialist for the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association, where she is the agency’s official Spanish translator.

A Boardman High School graduate, Zayas earned baccalaureate degrees in Psychology and Spanish from YSU in 2008. She is serving a clinical student internship at the Ohio State Penitentiary and expects to graduate with an MSW degree in May.

Active in the community, she is operations manager of The Rust Belt Theater Company and has volunteered with the Youngstown Pride Festival as a performer and advocate. She is president of the Youngstown Area Community Theatre Alliance, vice president of YSU’s Latino Organization, a member of Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society and of the YSU Social Work Honor Society.

She was named NASW Ohio’s Region 4 Student of the Year previously, and the NASW – Ohio Chapter board of directors chose her for the top honor from a pool of regional award candidates.