Getting an MSW as a clinical advocacy degree, peacefully, after a gap year or two.
By Molly Mann UA’23 and Jim Stellar
In a recent conversation, MM explained to me that at her job she is helping people go back to school and get graduate degrees and that is occurring in areas of need for the State of New York. In this process she is learning more and more about the MSW degree itself, which appeals to her for its advocacy in clinical situations. She is looking now at a number of programs, but what also impressed me is how peacefully she is approaching this graduate school issue now that she is out in the “real world” working. The time pressure seems less. Thoughtfulness seems higher. Work-life balance seems in place. Maybe this is what happens when one graduates and gets through the college graduation transition.
I am learning that there isn’t one specific “correct” way to approach a master’s degree. My senior year of college I was getting worn out and couldn’t think of going back to school to get my Master’s. I also wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so with that being said, I went into the workforce. Through my job, which involves helping assist students who are going back to school, I was able to see students in their 20s, 30s, even 50s and 60s going back to get their degree. Along with my two friends graduating with their master’s degree this semester and attending their graduation I was able to see the range of people attending.
Since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I was a bit down on myself for taking a gap year because I felt that I was “behind.” But is there really a behind? Going into the workforce and getting work experience and making a name for yourself is also extremely valuable and a great use of time. Whether a student goes right from undergrad to graduate school or a mother who after having kids, went back to get her degree, both are extremely commendable and perhaps done on the correct timeline for that specific person. Individuals go through life always comparing themselves to others and thinking about what needs to be done and adding stress. But what people forget to do is to be present and be proud of themselves for where they currently are and how they got to this spot.
This is so true. It is useful, as you say, to compare yourself to others but to learn. It can be a form of experience, just like learning from the job. But you are also right in that when you compare yourself to someone else, as if you are in a race and they are ahead, it can be a downer. We humans should not do that to ourselves. So how do you keep positive and productive and focused on growth?
I think this has to do with a book The Village Effect : Why Face-to-Face contact matters. In this book, Susan Pinker dives into the impact that an individual receives from in-person social connections. These can be measured through things such as happiness, health, and longevity. Through her research, she discusses how face to face interactions can not only help someone’s cognitive development but, it can also help with their overall emotional well-being and even as far as their physical health.
Coming from the high school graduating class of 2020 I was faced with the effects from COVID-19. With this being said, the end of my senior year and beginning years of college were unlike normal. Having online classes and being socially distant during the so called “best years of my life” was a definite hard hurdle.
As with everything else, I along with millions of others adapted to the new world we lived in. Now (five years later) getting to work at an in person job where I have been able to make so many connections with coworkers along with students is truly amazing. Without having the isolated experience from COVID-19, I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to truly understand and experience this for myself. Being a people person, I truly love being able to help these students take advantage of this state grant and go back to school to continue their education.
Susan Pinker explains how digital communication, even though it’s convenient, is not to the same extent as real world interaction. She calls this face-to-face interaction and the effect on the person “the village effect”. When we first started working with the students it was virtual, through zoom calls, emails, etc. Our work team on my job has been great with taking advantage of the time that they can go to specific schools to help answer any questions directly with students and may have the time to build that personal connection. For example, a group of our first graduates just completed their schooling at the end of June. With this being said, some of our team was able to travel over to be there for their physical graduation, and congratulate them face-to-face. Having this interaction between our team and with our students makes all the difference for us individually along with the program as a whole.
We will be back for another blog where we look again at how Molly is progressing in her graduate school ambitions and how that relates to her experience and the village effect about which she just wrote. Oh, and by the way, she was just promoted to a new position of more responsibility at her place of work.
