The Two-Month Countdown is On!

WHEN I LOOKED AT TODAY'S DATE, I knew there was something significant about it. Hmm... March 8--what could it be? Then I realized that it is exactly two months from graduation day! May 8, 2010 is truly just around the corner. We passed the half-way point of the semester last week, completed our mid-terms, and we are definitely on the downhill slide!

I was having coffee with a friend today and I shared that now that graduation is so close, I am having many feelings. I am naturally a bit nervous, and I have a lot of faith in the future. The sky is the limit! I know that I can do many things with this degree, including, and not limited to, child welfare.

As a Title-IV E grant recipient, I still have the option to opt out and pay back the grant that covered my tuition and books. My plan, since the very beginning, has been to pay back the grant with my employment at a child welfare agency.

A friend of mine is chief of surgery at a local hospital in my city and, before I started school, I consulted with him about the child welfare idea. He encouraged me to apply for the Title-IV E grant, and he likened the child welfare agency to the "bowels" of big city hospitals where he completed his residency in New York--where they get the chance to treat the "sickest of the sick." He said the state agencies would be the best training grounds for me, because I would be working on the toughest cases in child welfare.

I am excited about it. I believe I have something to offer, and I want to help. There have been days when I have left my internship deeply saddened and disturbed by the behavior of human beings--and the ways they maltreat children. And, I have not wanted to leave when it was time to go because I was so impassioned about the work.

In a mere two months, I will be a M. S. W., and qualified to take a job as a clinician. It seems hard to imagine, yet totally real! And, what a journey it has been so far.

~Ms. T. J.

Finishing Fall Field Practicum

IT'S ALMOST OVER. It's gone pretty quickly, I have to say. What have I learned? So much. I've been on investigations. In homes, at schools, with children, with parents, in nice homes, in not-so-nice neighborhoods. I've felt fired up. And privileged. And nervous. And confident.

I think the coolest days were when I was partnered with a case manager whom I really respected. Her style was real. She cared about her clients. She knew her limitations. She didn't give herself enough credit for her strengths. She was humble.

I was a team player. I did what was asked of me without exception. Well, there was that one day when I knew I was being taken advantage of by a worker who was so far behind that it was ridiculous. So I opted out. I wasn't supposed to be doing that anyway. So I went back to my responsibilities. I stood up for myself. That was a good thing.

I look forward to a break. And, I'm happy to report -- I look forward to returning for the second half of field practicum in January 2010. I wondered if I'd like it. I prayed I would -- since I have the Title IV-E grant and all. Since I will be working there after I graduate. At least until I pay the grant back with my time. Who knows? I may stay longer.

For today, though, I think I'll take it one day at a time. This day is pretty awesome, after all.

~Ms. T. J.

Booked my flight/signed up to volunteer

ONE OF THE MANY BENEFITS OF BEING A TITLE IV-E GRANT RECIPIENT is travel and conference reimbursement. Due to my former full-time job, I have passed up educational trips to Costa Rica, Tobago and Trinidad, as well as a couple of in-state workshops.

No more, I say!

I am taking advantage of this benefit and heading to San Antonio, Texas, in November to attend the CSWE conference. I signed up as a student volunteer which waives the registration fee of $110. If you are a BSW or MSW student and it is feasible for you to attend, check out the Website. You can sign up to volunteer through October 30.

My gratitude cup runneth over!

~Ms. T. J.