What made you decide to enroll in the Social Work program at UNH?
I enrolled in the social work department because ever since I was little I knew that I wanted to do something within the helping profession, & the social work department does an amazing job of not only teaching students how to help people on a direct practice level, but also on macro levels through policy.
Describe your most memorable experience as a student in the SW Dept.
I had a really serendipitous experience of taking both Practice II and Policy II at the same time that I was working as the Associate Chaplain at the Waysmeet Center-- a community center on campus that runs food pantries every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday-- where I was doing a lot of community organizing. This was really amazing because what I was learning in class was helping me in my job very directly, and I think it was really important to be taking these classes while I was Associate Chaplain because it sculpted the way I entered and lead conversations surrounding social justice
What are your future career plans?
I hope to work as an organizer around systemic problems like mass incarceration, poverty, climate change, & all of the intersecting social problems that follow those large systemic issues.
Explain some of your favorite aspects of our program.
I think the social work department has a really amazing community & professors who genuinely care about their students. This is so important and such an amazing refresher-- to have mentors who want to hear about the projects you are investing your time in.
Why would you recommend this program to future students?
This program will help you realize what impact you can tangibly have on society. One of the biggest opportunities that I have had in college was spending the second semester of my sophomore year at Semester in the City in Boston. I worked for The Petey Greene Program where I helped coordinate tutors to go into prisons and jails to facilitate the educational programming for incarcerated students. I am so thankful that the social work department gives students the option of doing amazing programs like this because it changed the entire trajectory of what I was doing in school & lead way to so many amazing opportunities.
Describe why you would recommend UNH to potential students.
UNH provides students with the opportunity to expand their education past the classroom. I think that it is important students do as many things at UNH that will expand their knowledge of intersectionality & social justice, and that's why I appreciate the social work department. The classes help to form an understanding of cultural competency.
