What is your current job?
I work for a mental health startup called Cartwheel Care which partners directly with schools to provide rapid access to mental health services for students and families via telehealth. We connect with schools where students are referred to us by their school counselors and they can access telehealth services for therapy, medication management, parental guidance, and other counseling services. Cartwheel’s mission is to provide timely mental health care, so students don’t have to wait on months-long waitlists to get the mental health services that they deserve.
How did the GSSWSR prepare you for success in your current career?
I felt truly supported at the GSSWSR. I was a student in the graduate program during the peak of COVID-19, and 6 months into my first year, we had to rapidly transition to learning online, using Zoom and continuing our field placements remotely. Throughout the many changes, my professors and fellow classmates were thoughtful and empathetic to the evolving circumstances each of us were individually adjusting to. Being in an environment where individuals were thoughtful and supportive of one another, on a personal level, felt unique to an academic setting, and it is an essence I have continued to seek out professionally. My second-year placement was in a school, and I was conducting mostly virtual therapy because that’s what was available at the time. That placement experience greatly prepared me for the kind of work I do now.
How has the GSSWSR supported your professional and personal growth?
To me, social work at its core is about connection and relationship building. I feel so privileged and grateful to have built rich relationships with my professors, fellow classmates and administrative staff at the college. Professor Carolina Hausmann-Stabile has been a mentor to me far beyond the classroom and has offered me a trusted space in her company to reflect, fail and learn. Sarah Slates was instrumental in helping me apply and ultimately receive the opportunity to participate in a fellowship after I graduated. She taught me about crafting a compelling cover letter and resume, and how to articulate my story in an interview. Dean Shapiro and Professor Tamarah Moss have generously allowed me to participate in their quantitative research on trauma-informed care and I acquired a new set of professional skills I would not have obtained without their generosity. Having the opportunity to build relationships with women in this field who have an abundance of knowledge and a desire to disseminate it has helped me develop not only as a clinician, but as a human-being. I hope to be that same source of support and guidance for students and alumni in the future.
What is your favorite part of the GSSWSR curriculum and community?
My favorite part of the GSSWSR community is how relational it is. My professors and classmates often led with curiosity towards one another and individuals’ lived experiences that they brought to the classroom. That felt different from other academic settings I had been in. My favorite part of the curriculum is its emphasis on trauma-informed care. I feel grateful that our curriculum supports that kind of evidence-based work.
Based on your own experience and the people you’ve met, is there a particular kind of student that you think would do well in the M.S.S. program?
I believe that anybody who has a desire to learn and work as a social worker belongs here. ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½is supportive of all different kinds of learning and accommodating people’s different circumstances. Anyone can come to Bryn Mawr: people who want to do the program part-time or full-time, who have a lot of experience already or little experience, who are career changers like I was. I think anyone who wants to go into the field of social work is welcomed with open arms at the GSSWSR.
You mentioned that you are a career changer. What was your former career and how did you find your way to social work?
Prior to social work, I was a Breaking News Reporter at the New York Post. I was often meeting people immediately after or during a tragedy. I enjoyed building rapport and witnessing resilience, but it felt like the way I was hired to engage did not fit my temperament. I experienced a great deal of moral distress as a reporter, and that’s what brought me to social work. I wanted to work with people