News Archive
Students
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USC is committed to connecting students with programs that will help them succeed and reach their full potential—regardless of their immigration status.
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Celebrating our first cohort of graduates from the new online doctorate of social work (DSW) program.
Melita “Chepa” Rank, DSW ’18, knew that things would not get better for the Native American population she works with in South Dakota unless something changed. So she decided to make the change herself.
On May 11, 2018, Rank and the 15 other students in the first class of the online DSW program will graduate with brand-new degrees that affirm their skills as social work scholar-practitioners.
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MSW student Jose Richard Aviles’ recent TEDxUSC talk offers powerful message about finding strength from vulnerability, trauma and using dance as a tool for social change.
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On May 11, 2018, Jacqueline Ruddy will be awarded her Master of Social Work (MSW). She said every minute of her journey to this point has been worth it: All the barriers, all the sacrifices, all the hardships have made her a better person. Now she is ready and equipped with a graduate degree to give back to her community and be a voice for the people who need her.
Ruddy’s path toward becoming a social worker started when she was a girl. “I was a latchkey kid,” she said. A child of divorce, she was raised by her mother, who worked in a factory. Her father was not in the picture.
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At this year’s Tri-County Collaborative Community Safety Conference, organizers hope to encourage continued dialogue and trust between community members.
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Mentorship is an essential and invaluable part of the student-teacher relationship — just ask this dynamic duo.
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Homeless youth face an immediate need for food, clothing and shelter — but what about yoga? One recent PhD graduate, who teaches yoga classes in drop-in centers, explains the benefits of this practice.
At any given time, nearly 6,000 young people experience homelessness in Los Angeles. While they may certainly face difficulty fulfilling basic human needs for food and shelter, the stresses of street life can also take a significant mental toll. Often, violence and drug use among homeless youth make the path to a better life seem unachievable.
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Katie Jay, MSW ‘16, experienced homelessness as a child. She now helps the homeless find permanent housing and access to mental health services.
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Homeless youth have unique needs when it comes to housing programs. A doctoral candidate explains how host homes can help.
Of the 47,000 people who make up Los Angeles’s homeless population, an alarming 75 percent are without shelter — among them, a large group of homeless youth. Though each person’s path to homelessness is different, many of these youth share the same dream: to find stable housing. This age group faces a number of obstacles in seeking permanent housing, and often find that the options available to them don’t provide the safety or autonomy they need.
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A longtime reality-TV-fan-turned contestant, this MSW student plays “Survivor’s” social game like a pro.
Here at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, we know Roark Luskin as a student working toward her MSW degree — but to most of the world, she has become best-known as a contestant on Season 35 of CBS’s “Survivor.”
As a member of the “Healers” tribe, Luskin used her training as a social worker to build meaningful relationships with her teammates — and has in turn gained invaluable skills during the competition that she can apply to her studies.