Students doing a Field Placement with a community agency also take a Field Seminar to complement and investigate their work. The emphasis in this unit is on problem-solving and multi-method, evidence-informed, interventions with active consultation, support, and teamwork from the student, agency staff, faculty, and other professional relationships.
Ron Chance, Senior Field Instructor, has taught the course since 2003. Recently, he invited several students from his very first class to share what they had been up to in their careers after 22 years and to share their experience with his current students.
Former students on the panel included an interim county executive; a director of social services for a non-profit; a community relations manager; a professor; a community social worker; and an administrator of employment services. They came from Minneapolis; Santa Cruz, CA; UCLA; and Madison. One of Ron’s students from that year teaches social work at the University of Chile.
According to Ron, panelists gave students advice on career paths, self care, and their need to have balance in their life. “They emphasized how social workers play a critical role in engaging other professionals and resource networks to help their clients. They indicated that they decided on social work because of the variety of different types of work they could do after receiving their degrees. They stated how important the students will be in effectively addressing social issues in the future.”
What will Ron’s current students be doing in 22 years?