By Raylee Foster | Staff Writer
Baylor’s School of Social Work has been involved throughout the month of March — National Social Work Month — by raising awareness and showing support to current students. The national theme is “breaking barriers,” and this month has been one of recognition for all the ways the field of social work supports its employees.
Jon Singletary, dean of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, said Baylor’s department of social work has existed for over 50 years. In 1969, the department developed its undergraduate program, and in 1999 the masters program began.
Singletary said the school has raised awareness for social workers inside and out of the department. He said this has mainly been conducted through social work trivia, distributing snacks and welcoming alumni to talk about their work after graduation.
“We’ve had gatherings for our own students to celebrate them, we had an event on campus last week that was really targeted campus wide … and [Tuesday] we held a panel of some of our alumni talking about their work and sharing their inspiring stories,” Singletary said.
During this year’s National Social Work Month, Singletary said the “breaking barriers” theme is a goal that focuses on the poor and marginalized. Many people face obstacles every day, and social workers are present to help them overcome and break these barriers.
“Social workers break barriers for people who often feel like they just can’t get out of a bad situation,” Singletary said. “One of the things I love about social work is that innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. Our students come in and they are aware of a need that maybe the profession hasn’t thought of yet or maybe it’s a different way of working with that population, and they do it.”
Singletary also said social work is a more versatile field than many people recognize, and the field offers more jobs than there are days in the month of March. He said the alumni exemplify what it means to be a social worker because of their commitment to a career of service.
“Social work is a diverse field focused on serving others and our alumni paint a good picture of just what that means,” Singletary said. “Students come in with a lot of passion — a desire to help others.”
When students leave to work in the real world, Singletary said they usually move on to work in mental health fields, healthcare, schools and help the elderly, veteran populations and the homeless.
“Think of a population at risk, a population that’s vulnerable, a population that’s been marginalized — social workers are there,” Singletary said.
Argyle freshman Amaris McCasland said she is currently studying pre-social work with the intention to enter the social work program in her junior year.
“I think the profession has no hindrance to help people, that’s their only goal,” McCasland said. “Especially for people whose other professions neglect or see as unworthy of help, so without it there would be a lot of people left high and dry.”
She said the things social workers are taught can be applied to all people; empathy, compassion, love and service. McCasland said she first decided to pursue a degree in social work because of her passion to help people.
“Anyone can learn from the things that we study and the things that social work is about,” McCasland said. “It can be a little bit scary, but everyone there is so nice and helpful, there’s been a lot of value toward gaining compassion and empathy for people that anyone, social work major or not, can learn from.”
