AmeriCorps Presentation

Friday, March 16^th, at 1pm in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium, Sara Garska, an Ashland Alumna, will be sharing her experiences in the social services arena as an AmeriCorps State member.

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. AmeriCorps members address critical issues in communities all across America, including illiteracy, lack of accessible health care and affordable housing, natural disasters and more.

Sara currently serves as a Corps State member and works as an Ohio Benefit Bank Counselor for the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks - Ohio's largest charitable response to hunger. Join Sara to learn more about what you can do to make a difference!

When: March 16th, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium
Cost: FREE

Alumni Profile: Barb

I am an alumni from the class of 1988.  After I received my degree in Social Work from Ashland, I went to OSU for my MSW.  I received that in 1990.  I currently live in Pickerington, Ohio and work as a psychiatric social worker at Grant Medical Center in Columbus.  I have been there for 18 years.  I love my job.

I do psychiatric assessments and provide disposition recommendations.  I also do medical social work.  I am a member of the Trauma Team and serve as a liaison between the doctors, pt and family members.  I work nights 7p-7a.  In addition to my full time job, I'm a mother of 2 beautiful children ages 8 and 11.  I have been with my partner Monda for 18 years.  Two years ago, I moved my father in with us.  He is 82 years old and has Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia.  He receives wonderful services through "Passport Program".  He attends adult daycare at Wesley Ridge in Reynoldsburg.

So, I am both a social worker and consumer of social services.  Getting to experience both sides of desk has been enlightening and makes me even more proud to be in my field. It does require a Masters Degree but as one of my adjunct professors at Ashland told me "It's a piece of paper that will open many doors!"  Most of my education has been "on the job" and practice, practice practice! 

Alumni Profile: Irina

I graduate from AU in 2007. I went on for masters in social work at Ohio State. I received my MSW in 2008. I became LISW in 2010. While I was going through grad school I also was working at VA- in their men's residential treatment facility. This was my first exposure to substance abuse field. VA provided a very good training about alcohol and drug abuse and I obtained a chemical dependency license- LCDC-III.

My grad school internship was at the private infant adoption agency in Columbus, which taught me about the whole process of adoption and through my internship training I became certified adoption assessor. I am licensed to do home studies for families that have a desire to adopt a child. After my graduation, I job searched for about 6 moths and in November 2008 I took a position at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare- state psych hospital.

I joined the substance abuse department- my official title is substance abuse and mental illness clinician also, known as IDDT provider. This is still my current employer; I've been there for 2 1/2 years. Currently I am a coordinator of the department. I really like my job because it’s interesting and constantly changing. It has provided me with a great experience about every mental health diagnosis; it’s a fast pace- crisis environment. My position is a good balance between clinical and administrative social work. I am a clinician who treats substance abuse, but I'm also a supervisor, I do many education trainings, and I supervise social work students.

Alumni Profile: Paula

The following is the first of what will hopefully be many alumni profiles.  If you're a graduate of AU social work and have a story we can share, please send it to AUSocialWork at gmail.com

I am a graduate from the Ashland University Social Work Class of 1993.  

I was hired at Richland County Children Services Board following the completion of my practicum with them during my senior year at A.U.  I enjoyed working there as an intake worker, investigating situations where child abuse or neglect was suspected and felt it was a great way to start my career. 

I worked there for 2 years until I was offered a job at a local nursing home which for me meant the end of a long daily commute but a great opportunity to explore the social work field some more. This was a completely different age group to work with and my first exposure to social work in the medical field. 

I worked there for 2 years as well until I had my second child and decided to be a "stay at home mom" until they were both off to school fulltime.  I was then offered a position at our local hospital, where I have been employed for the past 10 years.  This has been a wonderful experience for me and I feel as though I have found the area in social work where my talents are best put to use.  

Similar to my position with child protective services, working in the hospital allows me to work with patients in the short term, quickly assessing each situation and then helping to develop plans to address each one.  I enjoy the assessment process, exploring the patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living, their family/social support systems and also their living situations.  In any work day, my clients may range from an elderly patient seeking assistance in their home, to a pregnant teenager contemplating adoption, and then to a heroin addict seeking drug detox and rehabilitation.

 I find that discovering and understanding the dynamics involved each situation keep the job fresh and interesting.  Like the position I held at the nursing home, the hospital setting is within the medical field where I also find myself very interested.   My education from Ashland University did a wonderful job in preparing me for my career in social work.