Social Work Interview

Jennifer Kortge is a School Social Worker for a special education consortium of three different school districts in Lapeer County, in Michigan. The three school districts she services include Imlay City, Dryden, and Almont community schools. As a School Social Worker for a special education consortium Jennifer is required to provide special education social work services for students that are experiencing social, emotional, or behavioral issues. During the interview Jennifer mentioned that she works with students receiving support in various programs, including the consortium emotional impairment program, cognitive impairment program, early childhood program, and resource programs. The students Jennifer works with is a wide age range of …show more content…
After Jennifer completed her introductory psychology classes she did not like the fact that there was no discussion on how to support clients coming into a therapy office. Jennifer went to her mother, who was a teacher at the time and her mother suggested that Jennifer speaks with the School Social Worker at the school her mother was employed at and consider social work. Jennifer did just that, and attended her first social work class. On her first day, of her first social work class, the initial topic was 'when a client comes into your office...". From that day Jennifer continued her studies in Social Work and worked herself to the career she is in today. Jennifer felt without her mother 's advice she would not have became a Social …show more content…
She said, “Absolutely, I would, I can 't imagine working anywhere else.” Jennifer left me with these words of advice, “Make sure if you love your job it doesn 't feel like work, so find a position in an area, population and agency that you love. Also, it is important to keep balance in your life - in social work we deal with people experiencing significant, intensive, and often horrific difficulties. It can easily become overwhelming. It is exciting when positive change occurs for people, but know change takes time, and comes in small pieces and small victories.”
Wrapping this interview up I am beyond excited to start my career in social work. School Social Work has always grabbed my attention due to being able to work with children and adolescents and after speaking to Jennifer my excited grew even more. I have always wanted to work with children and adolescents, and Jennifer was able to help me gain more information and insight on this career