Elizabeth Grauer ’24 is an amalgamation of many things based on her various life experiences. She’s a first-generation graduate, who earned a bachelor’s in social work and will complete a master’s in social work in the spring of next year. She’s also an alum of UCF’s TRiO Project Building Exemplary Scholars for Tomorrow (BEST) Program, which is a federally funded program that aims to bolster college retention and graduation rates.

Most importantly, however, is Grauer becoming the person she says she felt she needed growing up in a household of domestic violence and with parents who were incarcerated. Through education — which she says has always been a haven — and her future career as a school social worker, she’s looking to give back to her family and others in similar situations.

“Having a household where there was so much violence and all those things that we as children endured, it made it really hard to say, ‘I wish there was something who could come and help us, who would protect me, my brother and my older sisters,’ ” she says.

Throughout her childhood, Grauer, her two older sisters and younger brother moved around, living with her grandmother for a time as her father was incarcerated and her mother wasn’t around. For a period, Grauer and her family were even homeless, with food insecurity being an issue. She says school allowed her to work toward financial freedom from her father and turn a negative situation positive. It also helped her discover her career path of social work.

In high school, Grauer maintained good grades, leading to multiple scholarships and grants, such as the George Snow Scholarship, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and Florida Pell Grant. When deciding where to attend college, she chose UCF because of the proximity to her family — namely, her little brother — in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“I wanted to give myself the freedom to be far away enough where I could learn to take care of myself, but close enough that if he ever needed anything, I’d be able to go back and help him,” Grauer says.

Two undergraduate classes at UCF have impacted Grauer personally and professionally, she says. A Student Success class helped her throughout her college experience, teaching things such as better study techniques as a person diagnosed with ADHD. Grauer’s Culture Competence course taught her about different cultural backgrounds, which is critical in the social work field.

Grauer has also been impacted through her field experience through internships. Last year, she interned at Aloma Charter High School (ACHS), an institution that helps students at risk of not graduating earn a high school diploma. At ACHS, Grauer was able to promote the importance of various education options, such as college or trade school, to 300 students. With a diverse group of students who spoke different languages, she converted class documents in Japanese, Spanish and Creole to ensure they and their parents understood the curriculum. Grauer also conducted an art therapy class, which allowed her to connect with students in a different way.

As a graduate student, Grauer currently interns at Park Maitland School, which has students from preschool to sixth grade. During her internship, Grauer works with teachers, principals and other mental health staff to discuss how to help children succeed to the best of their ability. Through her work, she has learned about the restoration process of social work and the importance of the child’s environment. Grauer says studies have shown that children kept in their homes — as long as they aren’t in danger — are less likely to develop mental health concerns such as anxiety.

During her undergraduate studies, Grauer’s time in UCF’s TRiO program allowed her to continue to make a difference in the community. She worked with the program to promote three to four workshops every semester about budgets, personal spending and scholarships to help students develop financial literacy.  One of the workshops was a savings meeting on applying the 50/30/20 rule, with 50% of income being for bills and needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings.

Grauer has also contributed to the campus and local community through her work with Black student organizations. As Miss 1969, the community service director for UCF’s Black Student Union for 2022-23 school year, food insecurity was part of her platform, so Grauer worked with TRIO also gave out free Chick-fil-A gift cards as part of the workshops. As a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Grauer collaborated with cosmetic company Mary Kay to create 30 “So Strong” bags, which contain new skincare and makeup for women in homeless shelters. The sorority raise $300 to create the bags.

“The purpose of the [Mary Kay] project was to make sure that women and children were feeling beautiful inside and out,” Grauer says. “When my siblings and I were in the shelter, you just don’t feel nice and you don’t really feel like supported, so I really wanted to make sure that I brought that to the Orlando community.”

After getting her master’s, Grauer plans to pursue a doctorate in social work, allowing her to supervise others and support staff in learning. She also plans to put her efforts into workshops to teach more about domestic violence as a survivor and open a nonprofit for people who have suffered abuse like her.

While Grauer is focused on the next goal on her list, she often looks at a tattoo she has that says, “One step at a time,” as a reminder of the process emerging from a difficult childhood and into the academic and career accomplishments she has enjoyed. The phrase is also Grauer’s advice for anyone trying to emerge from a similar life she grew up in.

“It only takes one application for you to get into a school or it only takes one essay for you to get that grade that makes the difference between an A or B,” she says. “It’s really those first couple things that you have to do to set yourself up for success.”