Social work student first to study abroad in Ghana, Africa
By Adrian Kendrick
FEATURE EDITOR
Student helps local community in Africa while completing senior practicum.
Summer is approaching fast and many college students are searching for a summer job or are just happy to get a break from school. Not junior Ashley Fallos. This summer she is off to Ghana, Africa, to do her senior practicum. Fallos will be the first student from the University of Indianapolis Phylis Lan Lin Social Work Program to do her senior practicum abroad.
According to Field Coordinator and Social Work Professor Toni Peabody, a practicum is a chance for the student to practice what he or she has learned in the classroom.
“This is the first time UIndy has ever had a senior practicum student at an international placement. It is unheard of for an undergraduate,” Peabody said. “This is very cutting-edge for her.”
According to Peabody, UIndy has had other students travel internationally with the university, but no student has ever done so for their field practicum.
Fallos came to UIndy as a biology major but changed to social work after taking some courses and realizing that social work was the field for her.
“I am excited about working in Ghana this summer. I have never been anywhere international before, so I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
Currently Fallos is fulfilling her junior practicum at the Martin Luther King Community Center.
“I really enjoy working with people, and this [senior practicum] will give me the opportunity to do that,” she said.
She will spend May 24 to June 20 in Ghana. She will return to UIndy in the fall to take additional classes.
“She will learn and experience over there and do reflective work when she comes back,” Peabody said.
The program Fallos chose for her practicum was Cross Cultural Solutions, a program that for the past 12 years has been dedicated to international volunteer work and internships for students and adults. Cross Cultrural Solutions encompasses work in 12 other countries, including Costa Rica, China and many others.
Fallos said that while working with Cross Cultural Solutions, her days will be balanced among cultural learning activities, local cooking and free time.
“I’m really excited about the [Cross Cultural Solutions] program that I’m going to be working with,” she said. “I chose to go to Africa because the culture is so different, and I want to step out and learn and apply what I have already learned as much as I can.”
While in Africa, Fallos will work with HIV and AIDS education and prevention. Her duties will be more specifically defined when she arrives, but she will be helping children and adults receive education.
Fallos will be living with other interns under supervision. The total cost of the trip is $5,000.
According to the Phylis Lan Lin Program in Social Work Field Manual, the activities will be coordinated by and through the designated faculty supervisor who serves as the liaison for the university, agency and students.
The supervisor monitors the progress of the practicum experience via journal writings, interim reports and telephone contacts with the student and field supervisor.
Peabody spent her junior year of college in Rome, Italy, and loved the experience, so she wants students to take risks and travel oversees.
“It [doing the field practicum overseas] is a lot more work but so much more life changing,” Peabody said. “Ashley is taking a risk. I think this is a risky thing…she is brave for doing this.”
Fallos also plays for the UIndy women’s volleyball team and is a Lugar Scholar.
According to Peabody, Ashley is energetic, smart and caring.
“She is a star. She is an exceptional student by any university standards, and I truly mean that,” Peabody said.
Fallos wants to contribute in every way that she can by working directly with the local population.
“I have chosen to work in the country of Ghana because I am looking for international experience and an increase in exposure to diversity,” Fallos said.
Students who want to participate and are interested in traveling overseas to contribute their time to others should sign up for the social work program, Peabody said.
“The students will have the opportunity to do their junior or senior practicum, and the social work department works and collaborates with the student,” Peabody said. “Anything the student wants to do—if they’re interested we can help make arrangements for the country of their choice.”
Peabody believes this program will continue to grow at UIndy.
“Our university wants to do more and more international things. A bigger school could not do it, because it takes a lot of work and time,” Peabody said. “I think others [students] will want to do travel abroad in the future.”
