“It’s incredibly corny to say, but there’s absolutely nothing like looking into a child’s eyes and knowing that you’ve made a difference,” she said. “Or hearing from a young person 30 years later, ‘Are you the Judith Schagrin who saved my life?’ Or, ‘You’re always someone I knew I could trust.’”

Take time to read Schagrin’s full interview with The Atlantic. And to learn more about how social workers help people overcome life’s challenges visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Start Here” website.