Page 8 - Fall 2017 Magazine

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aNNIKa (harGreaVes) st. JohN
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Ever since high school, Annika (Hargreaves) St. John ’10 was certain that she wanted to use her gifts to help people, speci cally in the area of social work. While attending Providence, her teachers and peers encouraged her to follow God’s calling.
by mark Pomerville
’10
“Providence shaped me heavily,” says St. John. “Not only did I learn a great deal about a variety of subjects, but I also made friendships with my classmates and professors that had such a profound impact on me. Everyone cared about each other, and they inspired me to seek the Lord in whatever career I chose to pursue.”
In May 2010, St. John graduated from Providence and began to search for opportunities to serve others. Wanting to be certain that social work was truly God’s calling, she began working as an Early Intervention Tutor at Behavior & Education Strategies & Training (B.E.S.T.) in Salida, CA.
Part of St. John’s duties included performing behavioral therapy with kids who were recently diagnosed with autism, utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis to help children of all ages improve their coping skills with sensory overstimulation.
“My goal was to make kids feel like they belonged because sometimes they struggled to connect with others,” reflects St. John. “I did my best to help them through their loneliness and frustration by communicating in positive ways. I look back fondly at my time in college and know that because of the friendships and connections I made at Providence, I was able to show these kids the same care and personal connection that my professors and peers had shown me. After serving so many kids, I knew that social work was truly where the Lord wanted me to be.”
After serving at B.E.S.T. for a year, St. John began to pursue higher education in the hopes of earning her Master’s degree in Social work. Graduate school proved rigorous and demanding, requiring strong commitment and determination, but St. John was up for the challenge.
“The first quarter of graduate school was intense,” says St. John. “However, Providence prepared me for anything. I had written so many papers during my time at Providence that my graduate studies didn’t seem as difficult.”
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