It isn’t uncommon to see Jasmin Terven, a Junior member of the BVU Cheer and STUNT team, always around on campus. Active both on and off the mat, as she is further involved with Crim Club, Psych Club, Psych Research Club, and works as a direct support professional at Hope Haven. Most importantly, she is a social work and psychology student while being the co-president of the Student Association for Social Workers (SASW) with big plans in mind for Jane’s Closet.  

Terven first came to BVU for psychology but added social work as a double major during her freshman year. On the topic of why she made the switch, she said it was “because I have friends in the social work program and my aunt went through the foster care system a lot, so I have a lot of relationships with that.”  

Additionally, Terven attributed her desire to pursue social work to her nature. “I grew up as a very helping person,” she said. “And I’d always help people in need even when it came to the smallest things with my family. My family has stood for helping people who needed it even when we were struggling.”  

As the current co-president of SASW, Terven does a lot with Jane’s closet. Her responsibilities include getting work days organized and supervising service learning for Prof. Marian Riner’s Introduction to Social Work class. Recently she has even helped organize a service trip to Kansas City. She is hoping to increase the availability of Jane’s Closet and the expansion to more populations.  

In the last year and a half since its grand opening in April 2021, Jane’s Closet has dramatically expanded already. In addition to the foster care population, Jane’s Closet now serves the Storm Lake community school district through its case managers, BV County Head Start, and the Department of Health and Human Services. It is not uncommon for social workers in the community to stop by Jane’s Closet and pick up clothing and other items for those in need. SASW has been working hard to maintain awareness and constantly evaluate the community’s needs to best served. When Jane’s Closet originally opened, it consisted of one room filled with children’s clothing and shoes. Now, it consists of seven rooms, including a toy/children’s room, a teen room, and a baby furniture room. These rooms, organized to target specific needs, have grown and are overflowing with resources. But SASW isn’t stopping there. Riner stated that in addition to these rooms, “We have hopes to have a separate shoe room eventually because we’ve noticed a big need. We are looking at expanding that and organizing that in a better way.” 

Jane’s Closet is all about outreach to the community and meeting people’s needs, so it’s a good fit for where Terven sees her life going. The concept of hardship isn’t foreign to Terven and her family. It’s one of the main reasons why she chose to pursue social work. “When I was younger, I always knew I wanted to help people. I’ve been around and lived in situations where we needed extra help so if I can help others even the slightest, I want to be able to,”  she said. “I love social work as a whole because it stands for helping individuals no matter who they are and what they stand for.”  

Terven’s dedication to social work isn’t foreign to Riner, Director of Field Education and Assistant Professor of Social Work, either. Riner said, “Jasmin has such a passionate viewpoint in many ways, related to her own experiences, and is a strong advocate for a lot of groups that are often underserved or are discriminated against.”  

Riner added, “Jasmin is a very dedicated and intentional student. She grasps very deep concepts, she wants to understand, she’s not walking away from difficult conversations and challenging concepts.” Riner is also the faculty advisor for SASW and works with Tervin as current co-president of SASW. 

Terven and Jane’s Closet are only getting started.  “I definitely want to expand it more, at least to get our name out there because we do a lot to help the community and I definitely feel like SASW is one of those clubs that deserves to be recognized more,” said Tervin.