Social Work Field Experience Report

Being able to attend Boston Universities CSWE Accredited Online Masters of Social Work Program opens possibilities that I would have never thought imaginable. Boston University is recognized for academic excellence across the country, what I feel is their most important quality is that students are given wide range of learning opportunities to allow for studying in a way that is convenient and comfortable to them. During my undergraduate career, I quickly learned that large classes that went on for long periods of time did little to benefit me educationally. Online classes allowed for a true understanding of the work presented and gave me the opportunity to put forth my best effort in each piece of work submitted. In addition to taking multiple …show more content…
This experience allowed for me to find my passion, recognize the areas where I easily succeed, but also the areas where I need to continue to practice. During the field placement interview at a residential program for adolescent boys a man named Ernest (Ernie) Champagnone looked at me and said “How many animals did Moses take on the arch”, I looked at him, and proudly answer “Two of each” with a big smile on my face. To this day I still remember the his look when he said “Well I guess we have a lot to learn”. Ernie was the smartest man I have had the pleasure of meeting, he allowed for me to think outside the box and did not make me feel as if I was the robot that was sitting in a laboratory three years earlier. I was thrown into the world of academic reading, and taught to write as if I were in the field rather than writing a paper for class. In addition, I learned from someone with real world experience and not strictly from reading a textbook. Early into the field placement Ernie began to point out my strengths as well as my weaknesses. Mainly, he did so by handing back a paper with more red ink than black. In doing so he taught me very important lessons that have helped me grown in my profession. I was taught that it is okay to care too much about a client, but to always seek supervision when I didn’t have the answer. That gaining a rapport was easy, it was keeping boundaries that can often be crossed by clients. I was taught to be blunt and get to the point, but to make sure I always had facts to back myself up. Most importantly, I learned to listen when a client speaks, and not just listen for what I wanted to hear, but to truly hear what a client is saying. This was when I truly understood the how many animals comment, because Moses did not take animals on the arch. The last and most important thing Ernie taught me was to find my passion and to never give up