Outstanding Public Service Award that Should be Shared by All RUPP Partnership Volunteers
Partnership Director Tracy Harachi was awarded the Outstanding Public Service Award at the 41st Annual Awards of Excellence event.
The RUPP Partnership has been a collective project with the Cambodian faculty, students, and many volunteers and supporters in the U.S. and while the award was given to one individual its spirit is embodied in the shared vision and commitment by many. Congratulations to the RUPP faculty and supporters for making a difference in Cambodia!
UW BASW Program Director Visits
Mary Lou Balassone, BASW Program Director and Associate Professor from the UW, provided on-site technical assistance to the SW instructors. The team is working on creating the final year courses and revising the existing courses based on student evaluations and their own assessments. Small group consultations focused on strategies to increase critical thinking within the classroom and improving linkages between course objectives and assignments.
"My experience working with the faculty at the SWD was an exciting collaboration. I enjoyed bringing some of my teaching experiences and examples to new instructors as I remember how grateful I have been to veteran teachers who shared their insights with me. Our discussions of how to apply a variety of teaching strategies and social work content to their Cambodian context and students were thought-provoking and helped me think in new ways about my own teaching." -- Mary Lou Balassone
Students' Khmer New Year Celebration
Students organized a party to celebrate the new year which included traditional and new games, food and music.
2nd Annual International Social Worker Day Event
Recipient of the 2011 Sil Sineng Award. Practicum supervisor Mr. Theara Roeun from the ICC-Sky Project was awarded the Sil Sineng award in recognition of his positive and supportive mentoring of the SW students.
Posters shared about students' Community Service Learning experiences
Nee Meas, PhD, shared his personal experience of development and how a community development approach enhances people's dignity, empowerment, and social justice.
Nancy Hooyman shares her thoughts on the connections of social workers around the globe
"International SW day is a time for us to pause and consider how social workers worldwide are united by common values and goals. You are joining others in a proud profession in which you will make a difference. And you are interconnected with social workers in Seattle working with the homeless, or in S. Africa with children in the poorest townships, or in India with young street workers, or in S. America with elders.
You are connected globally with other social workers through the profession's mission to enhance human well-being and meet the basic needs of all people, particularly those who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is its attention to individual well-being within a larger social context – neighborhood, community, society. And even more importantly, social work differs from other helping professions by our seeking to change environmental forces that create problems in living faced by all citizens of the world.
And so with social workers all around the world, you are participating in a shared vision and an agenda of hope. You have chosen to walk a life path in pursuit of caring for people and seeking wholeness in broken places, circumstances and lives. And when you treat all people with dignity and respect, then all your actions, overtime, will help to create a more just and whole world."--Excerpt from Comments Shared by Nancy Hooyman, UW Professor and Dean Emeritu
SW Team Hosts Visit from Laos Professors
The National University of Laos through spnsorship from Save the Children Norway has been transitioning their Department of Social Work and Development into a separate Social Work Department. Members of their faculty visited with the RUPP department to share about the development of social work education in both countries, particularly structures and processes for field learning which is a critical component of social work education. It was an exciting meeting to learn from both parties and each is hopeful that there will be future opportunities for exchange.
Dalin Meng and Dr. Phout Simmalavong, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, National University of Laos
Workshop Held With Y3 Field Partners
The SW Department kicked off the Y3 field placements with a workshop for supervisors from the field partner organizations. Over twenty participants came in September and again in December to learn about social work education and strategies they can take to support the education of the SWD students. Participants reported it was very useful to share and exchange information.
3 Classes of Students Now Enrolled at RUPP
Twenty-two students enrolled as the third freshman class at the RUPP Social Work Department. Student Orientation was held on November 6th to welcome the new cohort, which included presentations by students who are now sophomores and juniors.
"The new Y1 students are really an enthusiastic cohort. They like discussing and sharing ideas. They respectfully challenge concepts and ideas. Even though they just graduated from high school and not schooled in a student focused manner, they are excited about our adult learner methodology of participation, group discussion, debate, and presentation. They are brave and ready to speak up and if I were to describe them I would say, “They are ready to fight.” Most of them have a clear goal for themselves in the future, including being ready to pursue Master’s Degree in Social Work." ---RUPP SW Faculty