Andrea Montgomery, LMSW-AP (MSSW ‘02), is hopeful by nature, which has made her inspired by social work education for decades.
As a long-time mainstay of the UT Social Work community and as a licensed social worker in Texas, Montgomery’s hopefulness has affected countless lives. Students have been admitted to the School of Social Work, studied, and graduated because of her.
With more than 20 years of experience in helping others, Montgomery is still going strong by “being in the trenches” for students, clients, and the academic community alike.
Originally from Florida, Montgomery came across social work through a cold call. Upon completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baylor University, a friend from Florida encouraged Montgomery to check out Austin and UT Social Work.
Montgomery’s cold call went to the dean’s office, which was headed up by Barbara White, who served as the first Black dean at The University of Texas. An assistant from the office invited Montgomery to visit the school for a tour, and shortly after meeting White – a fellow native Floridian – Montgomery realized where she wanted to go.
“After I talked to Dean White, it was a done deal,” she said. “Social work was what I was going do.”
Nearly 25 years later, Montgomery is still with UT Social Work, where she now serves as the director of academic initiatives. During her career, she’s helped navigate students through the admissions process and get to UT, but now she gets to have a more “hands on” experience with students who are on campus.
“I never thought I’d enjoy working on behalf of students so much,” said Montgomery. “It continues to be such a joy to learn in this setting.”
In her current role, Montgomery supports the associate dean of academic affairs, Rebecca Gomez. Her primary duties include providing support for adjunct faculty at the BSW and MSSW level to navigate online systems like Canvas and to help cultivate community among students. She also collects information for the scholarship system, Longhorn Awards & Student Scholarship Opportunities (LASSO).
Montgomery also keeps her social work license active in order to help serve as a social worker in non-profit, private sector, and health care settings. She has worked with minors who have been abused and neglected, adolescents, children of incarcerated parents, and those experiencing mental health crises in the medical setting.
“I do a little bit of a lot,” Montgomery said, with a smile.
Montgomery’s involvement with UT Social Work continues to build up her own hope, as evidenced by the “best and brightest” she gets to interact with on a daily basis. She is hopeful with the students she sees, the faculty and staff she calls colleagues (“We like each other here,” she’ll note), and the mission-oriented work that social work provides.
And more importantly, she’s hopeful because of the community she gets to help cultivate.