As the school year comes to an end and graduation is quickly approaching, we want to highlight our growing partnership with the University of North Texas’ Social Work Program. Social Work Practice I is a class where undergraduate social work students learn valuable one-on-one micro counseling skills for direct practice with individuals. According to their professor, Irine Abraham, they are taught the foundations of ethical practice through the application of a social work generalist practice model.
When schools and universities transitioned to virtual learning in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Abraham started searching for safe, purposeful, and virtual options for her students to complete the service hours required for the class. During this same time, CISNT transitioned to virtual volunteering, a practice that continued into the start of the 2020-2021 school year while school campuses were still closed to in-person visitors.
CISNT began matching Professor Abraham’s students with CIS students, as mentors, and they met virtually with their mentees for 6 visits each lasting 45 minutes to an hour each. There was natural apprehension about developing a mentoring relationship virtually, but it proved to be successful, with some UNT students staying on as mentors after they met their course requirements and others becoming CISNT interns this school year.
When schools re-opened to visitors, we were so happy to welcome all our volunteers back on campus again, and the social work students were delighted to get to visit their students in person. The social work volunteers act as mentors and role models, helping with groups that focus on building social and emotional skills, academics and more.
Pictured above: Itzel, 5th grader at Alexander ES, and her mentor Kaelyn
Professor Abraham believes that the partnership between UNT and CISNT is extremely valuable to her students in their journey to become professional social workers. She says “serving as CISNT mentors has provided our students the exceptional opportunity to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-life case scenarios in a professional setting. These experiences have further developed greater empathy, engagement, assessment, and problem-solving skills. All in all, serving as CISNT mentors is a fun and meaningful experience which helps shape our students as future social workers!”
She adds that “as the semester progresses, many of our Social Work students can genuinely share their personal interactions and fond memories of how they and their mentees have grown as individuals. It is always a great joy to witness our students brainstorming together in class and creating new ways to engage with their mentees.”
CISNT Site Coordinators too have found our partnership invaluable and have loved having the extra support for our CISNT students. Samantha Nava, the Site Coordinator at Bell Elementary says, “When I first met Edwin (one of her social work volunteers), I knew right away that he was going to be a great asset to my program. He is genuine and you can tell that he is passionate about making a difference with youth. Edwin meets with a group of 4th grade boys. So far they have only met 4 times, but just in this short time he has made such a positive impact. Every week the boys ask me when Edwin will be back. They enjoy playing games and talking about their future.”
Johanna Taylor, the Site Coordinator for the CISNT ACE program at Alexander Elementary nominated her UNT Social Work volunteer for the Volunteer of the Year. She says, “Kaelyn provided individual mentoring to two students that were having trouble getting along throughout the school day and ACE. She first worked with them individually, and as they made progress she was able to get them in sessions together. They learned valuable tools to help them establish healthy boundaries with each other, while also working on how to regulate emotions.
“Kaelyn was only required to do a few visits, but instead she dedicated every week to coming up here. Those students looked forward to seeing her every Friday, and she always came with a positive attitude ready to help. I believe that Kaelyn deserves the award because of her dedication. She went above and beyond in service hours, and the way she faithfully worked with each student.”
During the last two school years, over 150 University of Social Work students have provided 608 hours of mentoring services to our CISNT students. We are so thankful for this partnership that will benefit both sets of students for years to come.
