For USC School of Social Work student Hector Cendejas, taking a trip to Washington, D.C., was – quite literally – like going home.

Having spent his undergraduate years inside the Beltway at Georgetown University, Cendejas was used to the idea of being politically involved and had even participated in lobbying activities while in college.

But for the majority of the 26 Master of Social Work students who took part in this past spring’s immersion – the first national immersion program for the School of Social Work – this trip was their first real exposure to learning how the federal government affects social work practice across the country.

“Living 3,000 miles away from the seat of the federal government, West Coast students often are not as aware of how the laws, policies and regulations that come out of Washington, D.C., actually affect our lives out here,” said Penelope Trickett, the David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Professor of Mental Health at the School of Social Work, who served as lead faculty for the immersion.

To illustrate this point, the program – which included meetings before and after the week spent in Washington, D.C., – focused on child development and social policy. With visits to governmental agencies such as the Children’s Bureau and Center for Mental Health Services, as well as the non-profit Center for the Study of Social Policy and Society for Social Research in Child Development, students gained a better understanding of how federal policies affect what social workers do and the resources their clients get.

“Many of our MSW students are interested in helping children and will be working with them in their careers,” Trickett said. “This trip was a way for our students to understand the bigger picture.”

For example, at the Society for Social Research in Child Development, students learned how a brief is researched and disseminated, a useful exercise as this kind of work also served as one of the students’ assignments. During their visit to the Center for Mental Health Services, students received first-hand knowledge of how social service programs are funded.

“In Los Angeles, these places are just acronyms,” said Stephen Hydon, clinical professor of field education, who also served as faculty for the immersion program. “By being in Washington, D.C., we could talk to the actual people and see who worked on these grants. The visit brought it all down to Earth.”

The visits to governmental and national nonprofit organizations also showed students that there is more to social work than clinical practice.

“What was apparent on this trip was that students realized that the MSW could open so many doors, that the degree wasn’t just wedded to micro practice,” Hydon said. “They realized that they could actually work in Washington, D.C., and effect change at so many different levels.”

One of those students was Lener Jimenez, who participated in the immersion before graduating in May. His favorite part of the trip was visiting the office of U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, who has advocated on behalf of foster youth and older adults, among other populations and causes.

“This trip enabled me to learn that not only can a social worker play a vital role in the lives of individuals, but a social worker is also a key member in advocating and developing policies that will ultimately assist marginalized communities,” said Jimenez, who focused his studies in Community Organization, Planning and Administration. “I was motivated to continue my journey in the political arena simply by observing the positive impact that Congresswoman Bass has made on the seniors and foster youth communities.”

As for Jimenez’s colleague Cendejas, working in Washington, D.C., has always been his goal. He unequivocally wants to work on Capitol Hill and plans to use his social work skills to inform his future career in politics. And he’s getting a head start on honing his leadership skills this year as president of the school’s Student Organization.

“Social workers can make change at the federal level,” he said. “And at USC, you can learn skills that will take you really far.”