MSW student Michel'le Long writes about her experiences in the field:
I chose Pitt School of Social Work because of its ranking. I also chose the program because I’ve always wanted to help children in a way that would have a long-lasting positive impact on their lives. I want to be able to give resources to families of low socioeconomic status to make sure they have an equal opportunity at success.
My field placement was at a K-8 school in the Pittsburgh Public School District. My field experience was great, and I was exposed to various opportunities! I was able to experience being a part of Multi-Tiered System of support (MTSS) meetings. I was a part of the Student Assistance Program (SAP) Team and had the opportunity to facilitate restorative circles. While I was in field, I was able to check in with students to see how they were doing; socially, academically, even emotionally. I was able to be there and offer them support throughout the academic year.
With my degree I hope to become a school social worker, work with impoverished communities to ensure students living in these neighborhoods have access to resources to restore their confidence and contribute to their success in the future. I would like to create a life skills class for middle schools, and lastly, I would like to give professional development courses to educators on inclusivity, modifications, accommodations, and restorative practices.
Doing my field placement in a school really helped me to see how the students and staff could better be supported. This exposure really helped me to build a network of people that I can continue to learn from so that once I graduate, I will already have an abundance of information and skills needed to execute the plans I will have developed to make my goals achievable.
I have many memorable moments from my field placement, but the one the resonated with me most was a conversation I had with my field advisor. We discussed the importance of not being afraid to have conversations with ALL students about behaviors that I observe that can cause people in society to view them negatively, label them and cause them to get in trouble with authority. I found it difficult to have these conversations with all populations, but she really challenged me to think of how this would impact students negatively if I didn’t address these hard topics with all students exhibiting these behaviors. Although society views minority groups as being problematic it doesn’t mean that students of the majority group will not fall victim of negative labeling as well.
Fun facts I work at the school I did my field placement, my bachelor’s degree is in psychology not social work, I have a 3 year old daughter and I play the flute with my students in their concerts!