News Archive
2014
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If you asked USC alumnus Daniel Rodriguez how he has accomplished so much after a past that has included drug addiction, homelessness, poverty and a host of other challenges, his answer would be simple.
“Everything that I do, I do because of my grandmother,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I am validating what she thought of me, the faith that she had in me. I want to inspire others who have suffered similar experiences as I have.”
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Cynthia Lemus knows what it’s like to care for an ill, elderly family member. The emotional, physical and financial toll can be nearly unbearable.
“My grandma was really ill, and I didn’t like to see her like that,” said Lemus, an 18-year-old high school senior. “While taking care of her with my mom, I realized that other families [in my community] also go through this, or worse, and I wanted to be someone in their lives to help them out and let them know they’re not alone.”
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The USC School of Social Work has established its first endowed Dean’s Leadership Scholarship, supported by the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of California. Awarded annually to an outstanding Master of Social Work candidate who is disabled, the Helen Phillips Levin Dean’s Leadership Scholarship will help such students follow the remarkable example of Helen Phillips Levin, MSW ’81.
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When Romeo Dallaire was young, his family lived in hell.
Back then, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was not common knowledge. What Dallaire’s family did know, however, was that his father—an officer with the Canadian Army—had become an alcoholic, and “it was never predictable what we would find when we got home.”
Peace would only come on the nights his father could chat with his Army buddies.
“That night he would be serene—because he had had his therapy,” said Dallaire, a Canadian senator and retired Lieutenant-General with the Canadian Army.
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In life, Lillian Hawthorne transformed the USC School of Social Work’s field education program by pioneering integrative seminars, professionalizing the role of liaisons, and enriching the curriculum and instructional practice, prompting other schools to follow suit.
Now, thanks to a gift from the estate of the late professor emerita, assistant dean for student affairs and alumna, Hawthorne’s legacy will continue.
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Assistant Professor Jeremy Goldbach has been elected a member-at-large to the Board of Directors of the Society for Social Work and Research, a professional society devoted to the involvement of social workers, social work faculty and social work students in research, and to the promotion of human welfare through research and research applications.
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With their first semester under their belts, the eight new USC School of Social Work doctoral students are surely feeling a tremendous feeling of pride … and relief.
For some of these students, entering the doctoral program was a successive continuation of their educational careers. However, for most, the decision to enter a classroom after a long respite was based on years of professional experience.
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Since 1972, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has honored many eminent scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the epidemiology and control of mental disorders with its Rema Lapouse Award. This year’s recipient is William Vega, provost professor and executive director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the USC School of Social Work.
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For Annalisa Enrile, the devastation that Category 5 Typhoon Haiyan wreaked on the Philippines was personal.
As a clinical associate professor at the USC School of Social Work, Enrile had visited Tacloban City in 2007 while leading a global immersion program for the school. She stayed as a houseguest in a humble dwelling with a poor but very hospitable family. She ate with them and played with their children, grateful for their generosity.
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As the profession of social work becomes increasingly specialized and focused on clinical practices that help individuals and groups, two faculty members at the USC School of Social Work are hoping to bring renewed attention and energy to a wider perspective of the field.
A new book authored by Clinical Professor Murali Nair and Assistant Professor Erick Guerrero seeks to increase understanding of the higher-level forces that affect social work practice and impart proven strategies that help professionals work closely with communities, agencies and other complex entities.