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The New Social Worker is the quarterly magazine for social work students and recent graduates, focusing on social work careers for those new to the profession. This blog is a companion to the free online magazine at http://www.socialworker.com.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Field Instructor Luncheon


TODAY WE SAID THANK YOU to our field instructors. These are the men and women who took us under their wings at our internships. They plotted our journey and guided us along the way all these days and months while we learned how to work in the field of social work.

We treated them to a delicious lunch of chicken, fish, greens, macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake and peach cobbler. We said nice things to and about them. We gave them presents and hugs. We recited poems and letters. And some of us cried.

Here is what I wrote and read to my field instructor (FYI: the references to the peach are because whenever you ask her how she is she always replies, "Just peachy!")

Thank You, _____!
You are a real
Peach!

Thank you for Thursday mornings at 9-ish (supervision)
Thank you for listening
Thank you for teaching
Thank you for NOT candy-coating the realities of the job
Thank you for noticing when I needed to talk
Thank you for the feedback and the praise
Thank you for working in the solution and not the problem — and we all know there are plenty of challenges
Thank you for being so easy to talk to and even easier to trust
Thank you for telling it like it is, with your cup always half-full
Thank you for modeling the behavior that I want to emulate
Most of all thank you for being real and for letting me know that life at the agency can be PEACHY!

With great appreciation and respect,
Ms. T. J., M.S.W. Candidate

(4.29.2010)

4 comments:

  1. Did you request that peach cobbler be served? :-D :-D

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  2. Carolyn!
    I did not request the cobbler, and the Universe has a funny way of intervening in the most wonderful ways, huh?

    ~Ms. T. J.

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  3. This was a nice note of thanks and I'm sure that you were probably a good student too. I believe Social workers do a good job under often very trying conditions.

    But...nice post to someone who must also be a nice person :-)

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  4. Minbani-
    She is a very kind woman (MSW), and I am grateful to be able to work with her soon.

    Honestly, it was quite trying, and I have to say I gave it my all.

    ~Ms. T. J.

    ReplyDelete