The Internship Experience with SWAA
MSW student and BSW student joint statement
Finding a macro-level student internship placement in Rochester, NY is no easy feat.
Although Rochester has many strengths when it comes to progressive practices
and community activism, not many agencies exist that would be an appropriate
setting for a student who is interested in exploring this opportunity. Thankfully, the local Rochester SWAA Chapter
supports college student’s internship, and offered us a productive experience
at a macro-level placement.
Being students with interest in learning more about macro-level practice, we were
very happy to hear about our placement at SWAA.
When we were offered the internship with SWAA, our overall knowledge of
their work in the community was limited to their affiliation with the Reality
Tour. We were very eager to learn more
about the organization and begin working in the community at a grass roots
level.
Throughout our internship with SWAA, we have worked on a number of tasks that have
enriched our learning experience and added to our knowledge base about
community activism. These responsibilities have included; organizing and
planning community dialogues concerning human rights within the human service
field, coordinating and arranging the Reality Tour, attending and participating
in monthly SWAA meetings, as well as working at a local homeless shelter to
assist with client case management and fundraisers. All of these tasks were multi-layered and
required a lot of attention, time, and the ability to work independently. Through our assignments, we have been able to
expand our groundwork of what radical practice means and how to practice
radically as new Social Workers entering into the field. We have also had the experience of connecting
with other like-minded folks in the community through our assignments, which is
a valuable resource for new Social Workers.
Being that SWAA is a non-traditional placement, it was up to us students to ensure we
were fulfilling our responsibilities which included seeking out help from our
supervisors when needed. Aside from the
weekly supervisions that were held, both of our supervisors were readily
available to answer questions and concerns which allowed us to feel extremely
supported, without having daily face-to-face interaction!
Overall, our experience as SWAA interns has been very expansive. We both feel that we have gained and refined unique skill sets that our colleagues may not have had the opportunity of enhancing while placed in a more clinical setting. We look forward to growing as Social Workers, and believe that interning with SWAA has added significantly to our expertise and readiness to advocate in our community!