Congratulations to the Seattle University Bachelor of Social Work CLASS OF 2023!!!! And congratulations to your loved ones who share this with you. I would like to take this opportunity to express my admiration, appreciation, and my gratitude to you. In many different ways, you have taken up the challenging and fulfilling path of working for a more just and humane world, in a context in which that can seem a very daunting task. BSW Class of 2023, what a pleasure it has been to walk with you on your journeys. You are unique in your compassion for the suffering of the world, unique in your dedication to working to change oppressive systems and dynamics of human interaction, and unique in your optimism, believing that change can happen and is worth fighting for! I can’t think of anything I would rather do for my career than to support social work students in their efforts to create a better world. Social work IS social justice work. And you have been living the values of social justice in action. You are all engaging with the world through our social work disciplinary lens, using the knowledge and skills you have gained through your Seattle University education and your own life experiences to work for a more just and humane world. Thank you for taking your learning out of the classroom and doing great work in the world. I raise my squishmallow to you! :) You deserve all the respect and accolades we can muster. Be proud of yourselves and each other. Give yourselves and each other the admiration you deserve. There is a lot to do, so use your powers for good, get to work, and take care of yourselves and each other!
Dr. Amelia Seraphia Derr
BSW Program Director
Associate Professor
Dear MSW Class of 2023,
Congratulations! You made it! I hope you feel proud of your achievements. You did it, as J.F.K. said, “not because it is easy but because it is hard.”
Before we launch you, MSW Class of 2023, I would like to share a few words with you.
You may recall the first day of your orientation when you started this journey together. One question that was asked of you was about your purpose. “Why are you here? What is your purpose?”
I hoped that you kept those questions in your mind as you pursued this complex and arduous program because as long as you are clear about your purpose, there is nothing that can detract you from succeeding.
As students of this program know, the MSW program is a highly demanding program that involves completing 66 credits of courses for 2-year students, and 39-credits for Advanced standing students, while completing a rigorous field practicum program.
This is a big commitment that takes rigor and persistence. In addition, the pandemic had a big impact on your life, both on and off campus.
But you showed all of us, and perhaps most importantly to yourselves, that you kept your purpose and rose to meet whatever the challenge that was thrown at you. You indeed stepped up, and I applaud you for that.
Now, Class of 2023, you are ready to embark on a new journey as professional social workers in an environment that needs you more than ever.
The historic pandemic laid bare the inequities and injustice in our society. Structural oppression is more clearly present than ever, and its consequences most undeniable. The country has been seething with righteous anger at continuing and violent racism and white supremacy. We as a country continue to suffer serious attacks on our very foundation of democracy. Sometimes it may seem just overwhelming. But I urge you to know your purpose as a social worker at this time when our world is ripe for revolutionary change.
What is your purpose as a social worker?
Social workers must be clear about their purpose because the lives of the people that we are entrusted to work alongside, and the people’s journeys that we are graced to be part of, are most complex. And because as social workers, we work not only to help and heal but also to challenge and change —because we strive to enact social justice where injustice and inequity persist.
This, my new colleagues, is the most important time for social workers to be clear about our mission, our purpose.
The mission of our program is to educate students for social justice-focused and community-based advanced clinical social work practice. The program seeks to advance equity in access to excellent clinical social work practice for historically marginalized populations by preparing competent and effective practitioners who restore, maintain, and enhance human and community well-being with unwavering attention to social and economic justice.
Now as you are ready to join the profession, I am thrilled to see that you are ready for that.
MSW Class of 2023, welcome to the social work profession. Congratulations!!
Dr. Hye-Kyung Kang
Chair, Dept. of Social Work
Director, Master of Social Work Program
Professor
In May, graduating BSW students presented their final Capstone projects. See students' Capstone topics below:
Lilian Jeanne: Combining EMDR and Yoga to Promote Holistic Healing
Giles Adams: Envisioning Success at Friends of Youth The Landing
Shriya Rao: Evaluating High School Mental Health Services
Asha Fuson: Homelessness & Health Needs at Sound
Mackenzie Lawrence: Case Study of Burnout at Lifelong
Kiarra Woodman: Analyzing Emergency Service and 9-1-1 Use in Connection to Social Service Referral
Katelyn Goetzinger: Housing-First and Engagement in Mental Health Services
Cullin Egge: Community Profile of Latino Gay Men with HIV in Seattle, WA
To our graduating BSW students, congratulations on completing this milestone and contributing to the advancement of our field!
Follow our new Seattle University Master of Social Work page on Linkedin! We are sharing content regularly related to our social work department, social justice, and social work in Seattle. Follow to stay up to date on social work department news and events and to network with the Seattle U social work community!
Sam Harrell, an instructor with the Department of Social Work, recently published their second article on Moral Reconation Therapy, "Moral Reconation Therapy: Incompatible with Council on Social Work Education Competencies?" in Advances in Social Work. Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) is an intervention technique frequently used in correctional settings that attempts to address moral reasoning and problematic behaviors. MRT has been used in countries across Washington state, including Whatcom, Snohomish, King, Mason, Kittitas, Pierce, Thurston, Pacific, Franklin, Columbia, Walla Walla, and Spokane counties. Mx. Harrell's first article on Moral Reconation Therapy, "'The Broker of Reality': A Scoping Review of Moral Reconation Therapy" was published in August 2022 and aimed to identify evidence-based literature supporting Moral Reconation Therapy, concluding that Moral Reconation Therapy's "evidence claims are not supported by peer-reviewed research" (Harrell et al., 2022).
This quarter, SU social work instructor Sam Harrell also published, "Teaching beyond trans-competency: Exploring trans-affirming pedagogy through applied case studies" in the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. The paper shared two applied case studies that social work instructors can use to teach trans-affirming, anti-oppressive practice. In light of genocidal legislation targeting transgender and gender expansive individuals and their communities, the authors write,
"Social work classrooms must facilitate critical, open, and trans-affirming education on how to support trans communities. As social work instructors, we have seen students and faculty with uninterrogated anti-trans bias resist trans-affirming education...Social work educators have an obligation to dispel these myths and to offer consistent and affirming content that recognizes and makes visible trans lives across all areas of practice...Moreover, schools of social work should reinforce these efforts through their implicit and explicit curriculum and their own expressions of committment to listening and always striving to do better in their support of TGE students, faculty, and communities" (Harrell, Mountz, Zaman, 2023).
See the full article for the authors' applied case studies and to learn more about the relevance of trans-affirming pedagogy in social work education.
Social workers face high rates of burnout compared to other professions. In May, BSW Program Director and Associate Social Work Professor Dr. Amelia Seraphia Derr gave a presentation for the Seattle University community on radical resilience and sustaining commitment to social justice work. Dr. Derr's presentation responded to the current crisis of mental health among providers and provided students with education on how to enjoy a sustainable and generative career.
In May, BSW Program Director and Associate Social Work Professor Dr. Amelia Seraphia Derr presented at the European Social Work Conference in Prague, Czech Republic on helping students prepare for careers in social work by focusing on resilience and career sustainability in social work education. The conference was held by the International Federation of Social Workers and the Society of Social Workers of the Czech Republic.
In May, Social Work Department Chair, MSW Program Director, and Professor Dr. Hye-Kyung Kang presented jury-selected paper, "Social justice-focused mental health practice: An integrative model for clinical social work" at the European Social Work Conference, held in Prague, Czech Republic.
In April, Social Work Department Chair, MSW Program Director, and Professor Dr. Hye-Kyung Kang co-facilitated "Education as the Practice of Freedom," a Racial Equity Summit Freedom School session with Darozyl Touch, College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean for DEI. See the description of the session below:
In this session, we invite participants to explore bell hooks concept of “education as the practice of freedom” from her seminal book, Teaching to Transgress. Integrating hooks’ concept of liberatory education, we collectively vision for liberated futures through dialogue. To bridge both theory and praxis and the mind-body connection, we close by embodying hooks’ conception of self-actualization in dialogue with Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice.
In April, four MSW students (Allie D, Alec D, Nanette J, and Simone S) joined faculty member Sam Harrell’s archival research project investigating Oregon and Washington social workers' role designing and administering "medical detention facilities" for suspected sex workers in the Progressive Era. Students are researching physical and digital archives, learning archival data collection and management methods, and exploring local histories. To learn more about this era of criminalization, check out this article by historian Scott Stern and this article by feminist social work scholar Stéphanie Wahab. To learn more about how to provide equitable care to sex workers as future clinicians, check out the Equitable Care Certificate, created by sex workers, sex work-affirming therapists, and sex working therapists.
We sent a survey to our Seattle U social work alumni to give an opportunity for them to share their advice and tips with graduating undergraduate and graduate social work students. Here are some of their responses!
Are you involved in any on-campus groups, clubs, or activities and/or are you involved in any research?
I am currently a part of Student Executive Council, which has been a fantastic experience and a great way to build community. And while I’m not super active in any clubs, I try to go to events around campus that interest me. I recently when on a retreat through campus ministry which was very refreshing.
Have you received any awards or scholarships?
I am currently on the Bellarmine Scholarship and I have made the presidents’ list almost every quarter.
What year are you graduating?
I am graduating this June!
What inspired you to go into social work, and why did you choose Seattle University’s program?
I always knew that I was going to go into a helping profession, but when I started college I wasn’t quite sure of what path to take. I took a few social work class and I really loved the professors and the topics covered. I appreciated the anti oppressive lens that the courses are taught through. And I loved that I could combine social justice with whatever line of work I decide to go into. I also appreciate the ability to switch fields and I think it will allow me to pursue many passions and really be able to find my fit within this career.
What are your plans after graduation? Or what do you hope to do in social work after graduation?
I’m not certain about where I will end up. I currently am doing my practicum through Catholic Community Services and will probably end up with a case management job through them. I hope to move more into policy work throughout my career.
What is your practicum this year, and what population are you working with?
I am at the Bridge Shelter through Catholic Community Services. I work on housing case management. Which involves just trying to get folks all of the paperwork that they need to apply to housing. Our shelter is single adults as well as providing a few spaces for couples. They are mostly aged 30-60.
Do you volunteer or do any social work activities outside of school?
Not currently just because of how busy I am. I do work downtown and a large homeless population often comes into our store and I’ve found that through interacting with these folks I’ve learned lots of skills that can be carried over into social work. Since I’m seeing the direct impact of a lot of policies and the ways that our society marginalizes this group of people.
What has been the most rewarding or exciting part of your time in the BSW program and/or social work?
I think realizing all of the practical skills I’ve learned at my practicum and just becoming more confident in myself and my capabilities.
What personal strengths are you proud to bring with you as a social worker?
I am proud that I can bring my compassion, patience, and humility with me as a social worker.
Are you involved in any on-campus groups, clubs, or activities and/or are you involved in any research?
Unfortunately, the advanced standing class and practicum schedule in addition to working part-time did not provide time for me to be involved in on-campus groups, clubs, or activities.
Have you gotten any awards or scholarships? We want the details!
I was awarded the Entrye-Scheingold Clinical Social Work Endowed Scholarship and the Clinical Social Work Equity Scholarship, both available through Seattle University. I was also awarded tuition assistance through my employer, Seattle Children’s Hospital. In total, I was awarded over 10,000 dollars which made a significant impact on the financial burden of pursuing higher education.
Where did you get your undergraduate degree and what did you study?
I got my undergraduate degree in Social Work from San Diego State University with a minor in corrections and case management.
What inspired you to go into social work, and why did you choose Seattle University’s program? (Feel free to talk about it here if you have prior experience in social work!)
I have been in the field of Social Work for over 10 years. I cannot explain what inspired me to go into Social Work, I just know this is what I am meant to be doing. I chose Seattle University for the small class sizes, social justice focused programing and the length of their advanced standing program- it was a rigorous 10 months and time really flew by. I put off returning to school for 6 years and it only took 10 months to earn my degree.
What are your plans for after graduation, or what do you hope to do in social work after graduation?
Heading into my 6th year at Seattle Children’s transitioning to a new role as a Mental Health Evaluator in the ED. I will earn my SUDP certification and LICSW with a goal to open a private practice that provides services to BIPOC adolescents and young adults.
What is your practicum this year, and what population are you working with?
My practicum was with Seneca Family of Agencies, at Summit Sierra High School. It was such a great placement. They provided a stipend, countless training opportunities and supervision. I was fortunate to serve a diverse clientele of wonderful and bright students. I will truly miss it.
Do you volunteer or do any social work activities outside of school?
I did not have time to engage in these activities and I plan to get back to volunteering now that I have more availability.
What has been the most rewarding part of your time in the MSW program?
The most rewarding part of my time in the MSW program was my practicum learning.
What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self or future students if you could?
You’re not an imposter, you’re actually pretty amazing, you know what you’re doing and when you don’t it’s okay to ask for help! Also, know your worth!
For those interested in participating in trainings or workshops over the summer, here is a list of low-cost or free trainings:
Also, check out this list of organizations that provide trainings for social workers organized by MSW Practicum Seminar Instructor and Field Liaison Alana Honigman for more trainings this summer!
Reading Lists For those with more time to read this summer, here are some reading lists from our Seattle U social work faculty!
Things to Do in SeattleWe acknowledge that summer is often a necessary time for rest and meaningful self care for social workers. Whether or not you participate in social work trainings or engage with social work-related media this summer, we hope everyone in our social work community explores, rests, and engages in activities that to them feel nurturing, exciting, or rejuvenating.
For ideas of things to do in the Seattle area, check out our recent student blog by MSW student Sabrina Figueroa, "Soak Up Summer in Seattle". Sabrina shares some of her favorite summer things to do in the Seattle area, including seasonal fairs and festivals, recreation, sightseeing, and more!
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