Hello, my name is Jodie Glaspie. I teach Social Work 801: Field and Integrative Seminar Social Work Practice in Child and Family Welfare. I grew up and currently reside in the Twin Cities. I graduated with my undergrad in social work from St. Catherine’s University and immediately thereafter completed the Advanced Standing MSW Program at the University of Minnesota. I have been told social work is not just a career, it’s a calling. I believe this to be completely true. Ever since I was a child, I have always advocated for and protected those in need. Often times this was in the form of my standing up for others against bullies, and in turn being the target of the bullies. However, I still felt better knowing I helped someone else! When asked about what inspired me to become a social worker, I never have just one experience to pinpoint. I truly believe all of my lived experiences as well as my wanting to make a change inspired me to pursue the field of social work. Currently, in addition to being a Field Instructor in the Part-Time program, I am a Child Protection Investigator. My entire career has been in child welfare, partly because I was an Title IV-E Scholar but mostly because I genuinely enjoy the work. I started as a Child Specific Adoption Recruiter at Children’s Home Society. Shortly thereafter, I started my career in child protection. Child protection is my passion! I enjoy connecting with families and being a resource to help them thrive. I truly gain inspiration from client’s incredible resilience and tenacity. Being able to listen to the stories of others and be a helping resource for them is truly the most rewarding part of for me as a social worker.
In additional to my passion for child welfare, I am extremely passionate about racial and social justice. For many, the past year with the many injustices highlighted by law enforcement, has, if nothing else, forced others to have conversations about change. As a person of color, these are realities of what I and those I love have endured for the entirety of our lives. It has become one of my many goals to fight for equity and racial justice, personally and professionally. I believe it is important to not only have these conversations within the social work community but also with others. I work with several law enforcement agencies and have had to several hard but courageous conversations with detectives and their superiors about their unfair treatment and bias of African American clients. I encourage you all to do the same! Sometimes people aren’t hearing points of view that differ from their own and therefore do not even believe there is racial and social injustices occurring. But most times people refuse to accept the reality of BIPOC and the injustices that we are faced with. I believe, it is our job to humanize BIPOC while validating the generational trauma that continues to exist. How we do this is by listening to people’s stories, recognizing the need for a change and advocating for equity! Be courageous, and reflect on your own bias every day and remember every day is a new chance to be greater than the day before!
Best Wishes and Happy Social Work Month,
Jodie