Class Year: May 2025
Degree Program: MSW On-Campus
Concentration: Mental Health with Children and Adolescents
Field Education Organization: Hispanic Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (HUMADAOP) in Cleveland, Ohio
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
Give a brief overview of your field education experience.
I work on the prevention team at my agency, which is a small nonprofit substance-use treatment and prevention agency serving the Hispanic/Latine community of Cleveland, Ohio, and its surrounding areas. I teach life skills and substance abuse prevention classes to children from first through twelfth grade in the two Cleveland Metro Schools. My students have a wide range of nationalities, including many Spanish speakers but also students from Africa, the Middle East, Ukraine and other countries. I have also had the opportunity to shadow intakes and learn more about the treatment side of the agency's services.
What are you doing in field that you’re planning to bring with you into your career?
I hope to work as a clinician and psychotherapist for children and adolescents in the future, especially focusing on trauma work. My field practicum has exposed me to the field of prevention and I have gained experience teaching important social-emotional topics to youth across many developmental stages. I have also had to constantly consider issues of language and culture working with my students, which will undoubtedly inform future work. I have continued solidifying my Spanish language skills. Overall, I've confirmed that I love working with teenagers and love treating them with the respect they deserve as they develop autonomy and their identities!
What is something you've learned during your practicum that you have found to be most helpful in your social work journey?
Before working at HUMADAOP, I worked as a case manager in a large, well-resourced university hospital system. Working at a small, family-like agency with more limited resources has been an eye-opener from an organizational structure perspective. I have also seen the benefits and value of working in a smaller agency and understand the pros and cons of different types of field settings.
Who is someone you've met during your field practicum that will change the way you practice?
My supervisor, Siobhán Malavé! She is extremely skilled at helping me relate my classroom learning to what I do in the field, and has provided many useful and rich resources to learn more about the diversity of Hispanic/Latine communities. She has shown me the importance of life- and career-long learning and that there are many ways to educate oneself about the people you serve.