The e-COLUMN
School of Social Work | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

May 2014

Strengthening Vulnerable Families

Assistant Professor Gives Presentation on Impact of Volunteering

School of Social Work Assistant Professor, Benjamin Lough, recently presented at the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) 10th Anniversary and Volunteer of the Year Event on May 13, 2014. VEGA hosts an annual awards ceremony to recognize outstanding volunteers. This year's event also featured presentations of the award winners and an in-depth conversation about the impact of international volunteering. Professor Lough provided an overview of the impact of volunteerism on development projects along with a discussion between the audience and honorees about volunteerism. Dr. Lough's research interests focus on international volunteering and service, community development, non-profit management, and social work education.

Learn more about the event

Social Work Celebrates Diversity

2014 Annual Diversity Celebration

The School of Social Work hosted the Annual Diversity Celebration on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. First started in 2005, the annual celebration features a day of food, performances, and visual displays that represent the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, campus, and community.

This year's presentations included:

Latino family's songs passed down 3 generations
Performance of a West African dance
Traditional music instruments from Australia
Art and research displays
Artifacts from African-American, South Korean, and Japanese cultures
History and facts of Taiwan
Food representing various cultures including Korean, African-American, Italian-American, Latino, among others

2014 Spring CEU Event Reminder

Friday, May 30, 2014

9 am - 4 pm

School of Social Work

1010 W. Nevada Street, Urbana, IL

6 CEUs Available

$30 per session or $50 for both sessions, $10 for lunch

This CEU event will consist of two CEU seminars, a morning and afternoon session each offering 3 CEUs, and a lunch, at an additional fee. Registration is online and the deadline to register is Tuesday, May 20, 2014.
Please note there is an option to sign up for individual sessions.

Morning Session (9 am - 12 pm):
Impact of Deployments and Combat Related Trauma on Military Families
Speaker: Brad Singer, MSW 1999, LCSW, Deputy Chief, Marne Behavioral Health Clinic, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Ft. Stewart, GA

A civilian provider, Singer supervises treatment teams who serve active-duty soldiers who often present with multiple deployment-related issues, such as combat-related PTSD, severe anxiety, and depression.

Boxed lunches will be available from 12 pm -1 pm for an additional $10.

Afternoon Session (1 pm - 4 pm):

Concealed Carry and Revealed Obligations: The Mental Health Professional's Legal and Ethical Obligations to Report Clear and Present Danger

Speaker: Sandra Kopels, JD, MSW 1983, Professor, University of Illinois, School of Social Work

Prior to joining the U of I faculty, Professor Kopels was Director of the Legal Advocacy Service of the State of Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. Her research and teaching focuses on legal and ethical issues as they affect social work clients and practitioners. She has lectured extensively on subjects related to the confidentiality and disclosure of client information.

CYFS Students Present Capstone Poster Projects

On May 6, 2014, students in the Children, Youth, and Family Services (CYFS) concentration exhibited "Capstone Project" poster presentations, displaying the result of their work in Social Work Course 516. The projects included a 5-minute presentation, written assignment and poster presentation demonstrating how each student applied knowledge gained in their research, policy, and practice classes. During the poster presentations, students shared the integration of research, policy, and practice; the specific evidence based practices that they have studied and how they are planning to bring these interventions to their internships and future practice.

Clinical Assistant Professor Christine Escobar-Sawicki notes that, "as social service agencies shift more toward research-based practice, I believe our students have a better understanding of research-based knowledge - how to understand it, how to implement in practice, how to identify deficits in the research - all as a result of the research based classes we offer. Working with students in Field Education, it is exciting to see our students enter into their internships with the research based foundation to practice effectively, evaluate their interventions and, in many instances, share their knowledge with other agency staff."

Student Wins "Program of the Year" Award

School of Social Work BSW student, Amanda Hwu, won the "Program of the Year Award" at the 2014 University of Illinois Women's Resources Center Annual Women's Awards Ceremony on May 1, 2014.

Amanda Hwu (center) with her student colleagues

Amanda founded the Prison Justice Project in the Spring of 2013. Her vision was to create a student organization that brings awareness to social justice issues pertaining to incarceration. The project grew to have an executive board of 6 members and was accepted to become a student organization member in the University YMCA. Over 12 events were hosted, bringing speakers from Louisiana to Uganda to the University of Illinois campus.

Outside of the Prison Justice Project, Amanda is a crisis caller for a local hotline, a hotline advocate for the Champaign County Health Care Consumers, a teaching assistant, and a research assistant for the School of Social Work. She plans to pursue an MSW degree and ultimately hopes to become a community organizer for a grassroots non-profit organization that addresses issues surrounding juvenile justice reform.

To learn more about the Prison Justice Project, click here.

School of Social Work Presents Annual Awards

On April 27th, the annual awards ceremony took place at the I-Hotel and Conference Center. Thank you to the alumni and friends who make these awards and scholarships possible.

The 2014 award recipients are:

BSW Awards

Make a Difference Award - Xavier Ramirez

Mark P. Hale Award - Ga-Young Jin

School of Social Work Alumni Association BSW Award - Edson Castrejon

Susan T. Haney Illinois Club Scholarship - Sarah Anderson

BSW Field Awards

Frank Itzin Award for Excellence in Field - Ga-Young Jin

Fund for Field Award - Kaitlin Costello, Jennifer Felt, Kayla Johnson, Ashley Kelch, Christina Kuo, Jessie Ruiz, Heather Sears, Michael Smith, Shevin Smith-Ward, Morgan Tarter

BSW James Scholars

Shana Axelrod

Noelle Bruce

Beatrice Chen

Elizabeth Cushing

Ilana Dress

Sara Haines

Amanda Hwu

Ga-Young Jin

Kayla Johnson

Hayley Johnston

Julie Lanham

Yea Daniel Lee

Cathy Lesmeister

Jessica Levin

Heather Sears

Joy Sugihara

Student Diversity Committee Leadership Award

Ga-Young Jin, BSW

Joy Sugihara, BSW

Astrid Tello-Rodriguez, MSW

MSW Awards

Adah Hopkins Award - Sarah Kim

Becca Nimmer Marcus Award - Jacob Goffnet

Downing Field Education Award - Richard Stejskal

Dr. Marietta Stevenson Memorial Scholarship - Ashley Grabb

Gabe W. Miller Memorial Foundation Nominee - Ashley Grabb

Mark P. Hale Award - Erin Hageman

Patchner-Ramanathan Award - Kushal Parikh

Ronald H. Moorman Award in Child Welfare - Courtney Gordon

Roxie A. Watson Memorial Scholarship - Candace Godbolt

Samuel and Ruth Blinick Memorial Award - Ashley Moon

Shirley Wattenberg Award - Teresa Allen

Social Work Educational Opportunity Award - Mabinty Tarawallie

Suze Orman Award May 2013 - Samatha Pittman

Suze Orman Award December 2013 - Maria Swan

MSW Field Awards

Frank Itzin Award for Excellence in Field - Jenna Kempen

Fund for Field Award - Stephenie Austin, Nija Barkley, Jonathan Brown, Karen Cynkar, Meghan Gentry, Courtney Gordon, Miranda Kindred, Elizabeth Knutsen, Eryn Kuhlman, Lindsey Olson

PhD Awards

Cynthia J. Bell PhD Memorial Scholarship - Pamela Pei-Ling Chiang

Daniel S. Sanders Fellowship in International Social Development - Shinwoo Choi

Gullerud Dissertation Award - Yu-Ling Chiu

International Studies Dissertation Award - Ming Sheng Wang

Alumni Awards

Outstanding BSW Field Instructor Award - Heidi Gulbrandson, MSW 2001

Outstanding MSW Field Instructor Award - Karie Wolfson, MSW 1982

Outstanding New Social Worker Award - Lisa Sink, MSW 2010

Teaching and Research Awards

Anthony Halter Award for Excellence in Teaching - Sherrie Faulkner

Monkman Research Award - Judy Havlicek