North Vegas Times

The job of a social worker is centered on the idea of helping people navigate through challenging situations in their lives.

According to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), senior and social work major Sarah Mae Agbilay knows that mantra very well.

“My main interest in social work started in high school when I first moved here because I was feeling a bit lonely. I was like, ‘This is very different than where I grew up.’ I didn’t really know too many people, and I found myself just being bored when I got home,” Agbilay, 20, told UNLV.edu. “Because it’s not really as common here for people to go outside and hang out with friends; it’s just too hot here!”

Agbilay, a Hawaii native, moved to Southern Nevada when she was in high school and has been involved in social work endeavors ever since.

“So I started getting involved with community service in high school," Agbilay told UNLV.edu. "All throughout high school, I worked with the Southern Nevada Health District and Planned Parenthood as a peer educator, and I was connecting teenagers in North Las Vegas to family-planning resources, as well as sexual health education.”

Agbilay added that there are numerous resources in Las Vegas for people who need them and don’t necessarily know that they exist.

“People don’t know how to get these resources," she said, according to UNLV.edu. "Realizing those challenges is what drew me to social work as being that link between people experiencing challenges and then those resources that are put in place to help them, as well as advocating for additional resources when we realize access isn’t necessarily the issue.”