News Archive
Alumni
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In the beginning of her career, Diane Yaris, MSW ’14, thought that she would take the more traditional, clinical route as a social worker. But then, she started envisioning how she could make the most impact and got excited about the organizational side of things. She wanted to help change behaviors in order to help change a culture.
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Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has announced the establishment of the office’s first Crime Victims Advisory Board, and introduced the six founding members at a news conference on December 16 which include Susan He
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Earlier this year, LeighAnn Schmidt, MSN ’19, felt compelled to write to her former professor about what she experienced in a particular class. “I was so afraid of research and did not think I would ever have a change of heart,” Schmidt wrote. “Your course really changed all of that!”
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The 18th Annual California Social Work Hall of Distinction Induction Ceremony will be held virtually on Sunday, October 18, 2020, live from Bovard Auditorium at USC. The event is a tribute to the positive impact of social work practice, policy and research addressing health and welfare problems in California's most vulnerable communities.
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Jankee Pandya, MSW ’17, lives her life according to a simple creed she learned from the leader of her Hindu temple: “In the joy of others lies our own.”
Those eight words from His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj form a call to action for Pandya that is more important than ever in her work in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The University of Southern California annually recognizes 240 graduating students whose contributions have significantly enriched the quality of life at USC. These students surpass expectations through their leadership, volunteer work and community engagement. They all share a commitment to bettering their campus, the city of Los Angeles and the world.
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Making health care more inclusive and accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning patients means that seasoned providers and new clinical staff have opportunities to work together and bring barriers and solutions to the forefront.
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At the beginning of February 2020, Jesiah Ahlemeier, MSW ’16, began working in the ICU at M Health Fairview St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota as a case manager and discharge planner. Within a month, she was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In ordinary times, hospice social worker Andrea Nava is what people would call a “hugger.” The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work alumna maintains a warm closeness with her clients and their families, and those familial displays of affection are part of the regular day.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hospice care agencies and nursing care facilities enforcing strict social distancing policies to minimize the risk of infection, Nava has had to adapt.
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MSW alumna of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Megan Ford (name has been changed to protect anonymity), works the graveyard shift at a Los Angeles County hospital, five days a week. She has been a medical social worker for 17 years, and under more stress in the last six weeks than over her entire career.