News Archive
Alumni
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For years, every time Dezetta Burnett drove by USC’s University Park Campus, her young daughter would pipe up from the backseat: “Mommy, you should go to school one more time.”
Burnett had earned her master’s in social work at USC while pregnant with Amaiya, now age 8. But as a single mom working full time, she was wary about the commitment of enrolling in college again.
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Minutes before she walked the stage at USC Commencement this past May, Marium Qureshi’s phone rang with an unfamiliar number. Luckily, she picked up. Twitter was on the line, offering this new Master of Social Work (MSW) graduate a job as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) specialist at the company’s San Francisco headquarters.
“I was thrilled,” she said. “It was like everything I had worked for coming to fruition.”
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Meet two USC MSWs who are finding unique ways to serve the military community.
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Nicholas Barr, USC PhD ‘18, is using mindfulness-based interventions to treat trauma within military and homeless youth populations.
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Meet some of the outstanding military track MSWs from the class of 2019.
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A career in social work requires compassion and dedication to serving vulnerable populations. Earning a Master of Social Work degree can help to provide the knowledge and skill set necessary to embark on a fulfilling career in the field.
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Marine Corps veteran Glen Peña, MSW ‘18, reflects on how studying social change and innovation at USC helped him secure his dream job as a university veteran coordinator.
Glen Peña has dedicated his life to helping others. After serving 9 1/2 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Peña continued pursuing his passion for service by enrolling in the military track of the MSW program at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
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Marion Sanders knows what it’s like to face adversity. Her dedication to supporting the homeless is a product of her own childhood trauma, which included being separated from her mother, who has experienced homelessness herself.
Unfortunately, Sanders’ mother is not alone.
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As a young girl, Brunilda Chavez, MSW ’80, never thought she would have the chance to pursue a graduate degree. She was from a traditional Mexican-American family, and girls were expected to work and turn over their paychecks to the family. There was no money for college.
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Recently elected member of the California Democratic Party executive board, JC Cruz, MSW ‘16, is applying his social work training to improve communities throughout California’s Assembly District 51.
Passionate about applying a macro-level focus to social policy and politics, Juan Carlos “JC” Cruz, MSW ‘16, is dedicated to working for the betterment of local communities and underrepresented populations.