William (Bill) Anderson came out of the U.S. Army in 1972 looking for a social work MSW degree program. He had three to choose from, and it was the financial support FSU offered that first brought him to Tallahassee. It would be his experiences in the program and faculty support that made him stay.
FSU College of Social Work students proceeded into the FSU Ballrooms at the Oglesby Union wearing their regalia surrounded by proud family and friends and cameras clicking. The College’s annual Spring Graduation Reception started early Friday morning, May 4th with more than 650 people in attendance to watch FSU social work students graduate among their peers.
Second-year social work doctoral student and Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Sarah Rakes is a lifelong learner in her own right. She spent more than ten years in the field in roles focusing on older adults. These roles included activity consultant at a memory care facility, social services director in a long-term care facility, and an as an inpatient psychiatric social worker working with older adults.
With more than 450 attendees at this year’s Women in Leadership Conference at FSU, there was scores of remarkable female leaders from a wide variety of professions and from the co-sponsoring organizations of the event – the College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work, College of Business, and the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. A dozen College of Social Work alumni, faculty and students participated as panelists for this much-anticipated, inspiration event.
At the 2017 CSWE Annual Program Meeting, many social work scholars were recognized for their contributions to the field, including FSU College of Social Work doctoral program alumna and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work (VCU) Professor Dr. Kia J. Bentley. At the Journal of Social Work Education Reception, Dr.
Social work doctoral student Ruben Lane Forsman is no stranger to service. Forsman served as an intensive outpatient substance abuse counselor in New Orleans, Louisiana and as a member of the Florida Assertive Community Treatment Team in Leon County providing community-based mental and behavioral health services to individuals experiencing severe, persistent mental illness prior to entering the Doctoral Program at the FSU College of Social Work.
The social work profession has strong historical roots in the concept of social justice—roots that are acknowledged and promoted within our professional associations and educational standards. For me, the concept of social justice has always been an important cornerstone of the work that I do in the field of maternal-child health. Within this field, my work focuses on understanding the who and what that define access to important resources that help promote healthy families and healthy child development.
This past July, I attended and presented at the 35th International Congress on Law and Mental Health. Leading experts from around the world in psychiatry, nursing, social work, psychology, law and other helping professions, convened from July 9-14th at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic to share their ideas about today’s most pressing issues at the intersection of mental health and law.
Arriving at Florida State University as an undergraduate with an interest in film and creative writing, Danielle, or Dani, Groton thought a major in marketing and advertising was a practical use of her skills. But something was missing, and she wasn’t quite satisfied with the trajectory of such a career. A visit to the FSU Career Center introduced Dani to the possibilities social work had to offer.
Growing up in South Korea, FSU College of Social Work doctoral student Jungup Lee witnessed a time of rapid economic growth, but she also noticed the severe competition, inequality and social discrimination that accompanied it. “I was curious why there were gaps in social status, gender, race, or political group,” Jungup reflected.
