Alumni & Friends

In the wake of the pandemic, many college students have been left discouraged at the loss of in-person opportunities to gain real-world work experience. My experience this summer in a field-placement with Voices for Florida (Voices) demonstrated that not only are virtual field placements available, they can be an incredible opportunity for personal and professional growth. In fact, virtual field placements may open you to even more opportunities, as I was recently hired by Voices as an education and training consultant!

For years after his father’s death in 1999, Ahmad Aliyy (formerly known as Skip Young) contemplated a way to honor his father, Edward Young’s legacy as a father and mentor, and his influence on Aliyy. “I once asked my father what goals he had in life, and he replied, raising a family,” Aliyy recalls.  

Online MSW Student Matthew (Matt) Walsh sees many similarities between social work and law enforcement. As a person in law enforcement, Matt serves in multiple roles where social work skills as a helping professional come into play.

In a time when many people are finding themselves isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one organization is finding space both in-person and online to offer heart-centered listening. The organization Sidewalk Talk was established in 2014 by two San Francisco-based therapists who were heartbroken by the growing loneliness, violence and inequality they observed in their community.

Florida State University celebrated its Summer 2020 graduates with a virtual celebration on July 31st at 7:30 pm. The College of Social Work along with the other colleges across campus provided virtual celebrations for their graduates.

When Alexis Smith and Julia Kendall heard about an opportunity for a supported summer internship in their home county of Brevard, they both jumped at the chance. “I was so excited to be able to serve my home county during this difficult time in any way that I could, as well as gain experience in this wonderful field,” said Julia, a double major in social work and psychology.

A team from Florida State University has received more than $400,000 from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how closely children who receive a heart, liver or kidney transplant adhere to medication regimens post-surgery.

Michael Killian, an assistant professor at the FSU College of Social Work, was awarded the two-year grant to explore pediatric patient medication adherence and test what factors might predict specific patient trajectories. The team believes this could improve accuracy in the prediction of post-transplant health outcomes.

Director of the Institute for Family Violence Studies (IFVS), Karen Oehme, admits that the social distancing and other effects of the pandemic have posed a challenge for the institute, which highly emphasizes teamwork. Collaboration has continued, but the context has shifted to virtual connections and the resurgence of phone calls and conferences.  She and her team are grateful that federal work-study students, graduate assistants and interns are still allowed to work on institute projects from afar.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gained a foothold in the US and colleges and universities were moving online, Carol Campbell Edwards, an assistant teaching professor at the FSU College of Social Work, was inspired to develop a Spring 2020 webinar series that would promote virtual engagement for social work students who were suddenly disconnected and isolated.