Students walk outside McGuinn Hall, home of the 乱伦小可爱 School of Social Work.
Teresa Schirmer鈥檚 office is located on the first floor of McGuinn Hall, directly across from the student lounge at the 乱伦小可爱 School of Social Work.
That鈥檚 intentional, says Schirmer, 乱伦小可爱SSW鈥檚 associate dean of student experience.
鈥淚 try to be accessible and keep my door open,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f students want to speak with me, give me feedback, or just let me know how things are going, then I鈥檓 available to them.鈥�
Schirmer鈥檚 open-door policy is one small example of a deeply ingrained commitment on the part of 乱伦小可爱SSW staff to help students become some of the best social workers in the world. Year after year, a close-knit team of field advisors, career specialists, enrollment managers, and others work together to ensure that students have what they need to excel in class, in the field, and in life, whether they have just set foot on campus or are on the cusp of graduating.聽
The support is individualized, designed to meet students where they are in their personal and academic journeys. And it鈥檚 unwavering, with guidance never more than a phone call, an email, or a knock on a door away.聽
Joseph McLaughlin, one of four assistant directors of field education at 乱伦小可爱SSW, prides himself on building an immediate rapport with new students. Even before he dives into the details of experiential learning, he asks them where they grew up, what their family lives are like, and how they want to use their social work degree to stand up for the common good.
鈥淚 think part of my approach is just getting to know the students, not just talking about the requirements of the field,鈥� he said.
Teresa Schirmer, associate dean of student experience.
This strategy impressed Jillian Ouellette, MSW鈥�24, who worked with McLaughlin to land two internships.聽
鈥淗e was so helpful and kind,鈥� said Ouellette, who recently finished a field placement at Project Bread, a nonprofit that works to address food shortages in Massachusetts. 鈥淗e thoughtfully got to know me and his other advisees so that he could best understand what experiences we were looking to gain from our field placements.鈥�
Susan Coleman, who鈥檚 led the field education program as its assistant dean since 2011, said that her team carefully matches students with field advisors. It was no accident that Ouellette, a macro student specializing in health, was paired with McLaughlin, who primarily works with students on the macro track.
鈥淪tudents deserve present, focused, and helpful resources,鈥� said Coleman, whose team includes McLaughlin, Elizabeth Casavant, Sarah Hood, Aniruddha Kulkarni, Matthew Orlando, Ximena Soto, and Kenna Sullivan, all of whom help burgeoning social workers navigate field education. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of attention to detail that goes into ensuring that each student has their own kind of individual experience in the matching process.鈥�
Coleman and her team have cultivated relationships with more than 1,000 field agencies in Boston and beyond. But that list is ever-expanding, built in part on the particular needs of their students.聽聽
Take Rachel Harris, who emailed Coleman to set up a time to chat about her upcoming internship as she was wrapping up her first year in the MSW program. Harris, MSW鈥�24, was a little nervous about her future.聽聽
She was a part-time student who had been working full-time at the Donald McKay K-8 School in East Boston. She loved teaching middle school science to students with learning disabilities and emotional challenges and couldn鈥檛 fathom leaving them to start working somewhere else in order to satisfy the requirements of field education.
Joseph McLaughlin, assistant director of field education.
Harris asked Coleman whether she could do her internship over the summer so she could keep working at McKay in the fall. Coleman, in turn, suggested Harris look into the possibility of staying at McKay and doing her internship there. Eventually, Harris got the OK from her school, thanks in no small part to Coleman鈥檚 advice.聽聽
鈥淗onestly, the idea hadn鈥檛 really occurred to me, and then she really encouraged me to look into it,鈥� said Harris. 鈥淗er flexibility about the idea and encouraging me allowed me to meet a supervisor who taught me so much and was so supportive to me in my social work practice.鈥�
Harris鈥檚 relationship with Coleman exemplified her experience with staff throughout 乱伦小可爱SSW. 鈥淓very staff member that I met seemed very open toward all the students, and I think that鈥檚 really nice and special,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to wait for an opening鈥� all of their doors are metaphorically open all the time.鈥�
Schirmer鈥檚 reach extends beyond the walls of her office in McGuinn Hall. She hosts an annual, off-campus retreat for incoming students, teaches a section of Basic Skill in Clinical Practice, and advises the Student Collective, which oversees nine student groups and committees dedicated to promoting acceptance and inclusion.
It鈥檚 all part of her never-ending effort to have her finger on the pulse of the student population. 鈥淲e want to make sure that we hear people, that we listen to what they鈥檙e saying, and that we鈥檙e open to their feedback as well,鈥� she said.
Susan Coleman, assistant dean of field education.
Although Ouellette studied macro social work, she took Schirmer鈥檚 section of Basic Skills in Clinical Practice and loved it. Then, after building a strong relationship with Schirmer in class, Ouellette reached out to her teacher for help securing a position as a graduate assistant in another department on campus.
鈥淪he treated the students in the class with a great deal of respect and understanding, and you can see how that translates into her work with all students as the associate dean of student experience,鈥� said Ouellette. 鈥淗er door is often open, and she welcomes anyone into her office to hear what is going on with them and to hopefully point them in the right direction if they need assistance in any way.鈥�
Cindy Snell, director of Career Services and Alumni Relations, plays a major role in preparing students for professional success. Her Career Services office, supported by a dedicated staff committed to lifelong professional development, makes it easy for students to tap into a huge jobs database, connect with potential employers, polish their resumes, participate in mock interviews, attend annual recruitment fairs, and more.
Starting at orientation, Snell encourages students to schedule appointments with Career Services to talk about how they can use resources, the curriculum, and their field education experiences to pinpoint their professional goals.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 having conversations to tease out what issues are important to them, what roles they want to play, and what geographic location they鈥檙e looking for,鈥� says Snell, who recently to navigating the career process. 鈥淲e help guide them, either by connecting them with alums they can have informational interviews with or encouraging them to participate in some of our career exploration events.鈥�