Panel explores social work programs
The University of Indianapolis social work program sponsored an event entitled Social Work Matters in which five social workers gave advice and talked about their professional experience. The event was held March 29 in room 010 of the Schwitzer Student Center.
(L-R) Panelists Helen Caldwell, Amy Flint and Katie Schlafer discuss different facets of social work at the Social Work Matters event on March 29 in Schwitzer. Photo by Victoria Jenkins
“There are so many different aspects of social work that people don’t know about,” said Director of the Social Work Program Jeffrey Bryant. “So what we [Social Work Committee] try to do is bring in different aspects of social work.”
The Social Work Committee decided on five general areas that they wanted the panel to discuss.
Once the committee had decided on the broad topic they looked for people to represent these causes first in UIndy alumni, then in a broader network.
The panel consisted of Amy Flint, Helen Caldwell, Wanda Watts, Katie Schlafer and UIndy alumna Kelly Thompson.
“The hardest part of putting together the panel was trying to decide on certain people to come speak,” said social work major and a member of the Social Work Committee Jaletha Callicott. “Also it took a couple of weeks to find out which areas we were going to focus on, such as the areas that really weren’t looked at through the social worker’s point of view.”
The panelists discussed their career paths and experiences. The audience heard about a number of different areas of social work, everything from working with violent high school students to working with brain injury victims at hospitals and in prison settings to child beneficiary programs.
Bryant believes that all of the social work advocates had a different take on social work, which gave students an insight to what social work majors can achieve.
“There are all kinds of ways to help people,” Bryant said. “One thing about social work is that social workers are hands-on. And there are just so many aspects of social work that if you don’t like one aspect then you can move on to another.”
Many of the panelists had worked numerous jobs holding different positions with a variety of age groups and abilities. Thompson had worked with the homeless, domestic violence victims, an infectious disease center, the veteran administration and addiction counseling.
Schlafer was a member of the Peace Corps and talked about all the possibilities a social worker who did not have their social work license can have. Flint told the audience about the practical side of social work in hospitals.
Watts is a social worker and minister who attended law school. She displayed a variety of skills she acquired over the years. Caldwell operated for the welfare office, a home based family agency and Riley Hospital for Children, dealing with abuse and neglect victims who faced dangerous situations.
“Displaying that social work has a large variety of possibilities was one of the main goals and ideas that we wanted to get out of the program,” Callicott said. “The overall event is just to spread awareness about the social work profession and what they [professionals in the field] do and that it [social work] is not just linked to one field; it can be almost any field because it is so broad.”
