Class Year: May 2025
Program: Master of Social Work
Joseph Paul Knable is a master of multiple realms: He’s pursuing his fourth graduate degree (this one at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences) and is an adept videographer and a medically retired U.S. Air Force officer.
“I always knew I would serve in the military, and I decided early on I wanted to be an officer,” he said. “But due to medical issues, my military career was cut short, and I had to find a new dream.”
After studying to be a language arts teacher in undergrad, Knable discovered a new dream as a screenwriter and filmmaker. So he moved to Los Angeles to pursue two Masters of Fine Arts degrees and studied under great cinematographers. But the pandemic challenged his priorities, and he decided to move back home to Ohio.
“I was heartbroken to learn of the increase in teen suicides during the pandemic,” he recalled. “So I decided to become a therapist to help as many young people as possible improve their mental health, and to try to prevent teen suicides.”
For his field education practicum this year, Knable is a therapist through Cleveland Clinic, workng with students at Lakewood High School. He works with adolescents in individual and group therapy, co-leads a depression and anxiety group for high school students, and participates in Cleveland Clinic's pediatric mental health team.
Ultimately, he wants to make socially conscious documentary films as both a filmmaker and a social worker.
“I want to tell stories that reveal key issues in the community and give voices to the voiceless,” Knable said, “informed by my training as a social worker.”
You can read more about Joseph Paul Knable in The Daily Spartan Showcase.