![\"Erica](\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/Erica-Warren-.png\")
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Erica Warren’s journey to graduation is built on persistence, purpose and a deep commitment to others.<\/p>\n
A social work major at Bemidji State University, Warren balances a full life off campus while working toward her degree. Originally from White Earth Reservation, she is a mother of two and manages a busy schedule that includes working two jobs and supporting her son’s year-round sports activities alongside her family.<\/p>\n
Warren chose social work with a clear goal in mind: helping people struggling with substance use. She was drawn to the field’s flexibility, knowing it would allow her to grow and adapt her career over time.<\/p>\n
Her decision to attend Bemidji State was shaped by the welcoming environment she experienced on her campus visit, along with its strong sense of Indigenous community. That sense of belonging only grew stronger during her time as a student.<\/p>\n
“The best memories were on class days with my friends and instructors,” Warren said. “I built a family here, and we had a blast during classes and lunches.”<\/p>\n
Through the challenges of balancing school, work and family, Warren found success by staying organized and focused.<\/p>\n
“The checklists I made each week saved my life,” she said. “In the last semester, I just thought: one assignment at a time.”<\/p>\n
Her motivation has always been close to home.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to make my mom proud and create a life where I could help my children when needed,” she said.<\/p>\n
After graduation, Warren plans to pursue dual licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, with a long-term goal of becoming a director or founder of a treatment facility.<\/p>\n
Looking back, she credits the friends she met and instructors who motivated her along the way for making the biggest impact.<\/p>\n
Warren’s journey is also a testament to resilience and self-belief.<\/p>\n
“I never thought after going back to school I could do it,” she said. “I just kept trying and showing up, and somehow got here. You can do anything you put your mind to. Believe in yourself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Erica Warren’s journey to graduation is built on persistence, purpose and a deep commitment to others. A social work major at Bemidji State University, Warren balances a full life off campus while working toward her degree. Originally from White Earth Reservation, she is a mother of two and manages a busy schedule that includes working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":50166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[872,25,1039,1048,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-people","category-social-work","category-success-story","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/593"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50165"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50168,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50165\/revisions\/50168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}