What happens next after a freshman summer experience? A change of major.
By Netanya Weiss UA’26 and Jim Stellar
Netanya was accepted into the School of Social Welfare in her sophomore year transfer this fall from being a Psychology major. Obviously, these fields have a high degree of overlap but it is also an interesting choice from our blog perspective of cognitive-emotional integration. Also in our previous blog, We talked about her work in the summer of her freshman year at CityMission. So the question here is what prompted this change of major?
Experience gives a different kind of feedback from academic classes. So I integrated my experience last summer at CityMission with what I was studying in psychology and realized that while I loved the ideas underlying the way people behaved, what really grabbed me was the application of that thinking to the social, legal, governmental, and other structures that set up those interactions. I was struck by the practical applications like I experienced at CityMission last summer.
Within the social welfare program this fall, I will be taking courses that describe and demonstrate social work practice, leading up to levels that eventually reach field work, learning hands on. Social workers work very closely and directly with individuals seeking and needing help and guidance. They also work with teachers, guardians, family members, and health professionals. Social workers provide mental health help, while also helping with physical health, making sure individuals are maintaining their physical health needs.
Everyone has an important role in the fields regarding individuals (or clients) thriving, going hand-in-hand, and working alongside colleagues. I am captivated by the social work hand-in-hand helping. Within my psychology courses, I found myself always applying the theoretical material to how it would be useful to a social worker. In my sociology courses, I understood policy and how much the legal system holds control over these resources that are available. The social welfare program, I believe, will provide me with a great knowledge of the field, along with more aspects of psychology and sociology but in the aspects of a social worker, and have opportunities more closely to the social work career, which is why I decided to join the school of social welfare.
Netanya, as usual you are very well thought-out. But let’s go deeper here into the thinking behind the appeal of social work as a practical application of psychology and sociology. For example, what do you mean by “hand-in-hand” above?
What I mean is that there is a connection happening. The mental and physical health specialists play a big role in connecting with the clients, providing information needed for the social worker, so that the social worker can best equipt what is needed for the client. The social worker does the same thing, connecting the client to resources that are needed and can better help their life. The client, social worker, connection provides important communication, opening room for vulnerability, expression, and confidence. This hand-in-hand connection is what can be considered the beauty of humanity, and I think is a great thing that takes place in the field of social work.
I think what you are saying here is that the “beauty of humanity,” as you said above, is powerful. In some ways it may make the difference for the client in acting on the information they already have (e.g. about services) or in seeking that information from the system. The valid personal connection between the social worker and her/his client is that connection and that kind of connection occurs in many other areas of life. It may be the core of what makes a family. It may be why mentoring relationships in college between students and their professors or a student and their internship supervisor can be sometimes described as familial. Why do you think that is?
I love the topics of families, It is within the realm of connection, love, reliance, and comfort. I took a course here at UAlbany, the psychology of families, which focused on families throughout history and trends within society. But a big portion and concentrated concept was what is a family. Within this course I was able to have many conversations with other students, and what I found was that everyone had a different idea of what a family is to them.
Social work is very captivating to me, this beauty of humanity, the connection filled with genuine helpfulness, caring, and kindness can make an individual seeking help feel very heard and valued. Some individuals feel alone and don’t have the guidance they need to be aware of services right there for them. Within social work, a social worker can be that helpful hand they did not receive, advocating for equity and justice.
