Cal Poly Humboldt Celebrates Graduation of Its Original IV-E Pathway Cohort

 

Cal Poly Humboldt Celebrates Graduation of Its Original IV-E Pathway Cohort
(from www.calswec.berkeley.edu)

Cal Poly Humboldt has a special reason to celebrate its Title IV-E Pathway Program graduates.

“Last May we had the first of the original Pathway students graduate with her MSW, and this May we had three more of the original Pathway participants graduate,” reports Pathway Project Coordinator Michelle Rainer. “This is a great accomplishment after eight years!”

She notes, “We have other grads who have been in the program for shorter lengths of time. [But the] original group that started with Pathway eight years ago truly followed the pathway from community college to BASW and on to finish the MSW.”

Humboldt’s graduates are Cindy Farren, who earned her MSW last May, and Sheila Davis, Crystal Nielsen, and Deidra Ward, who earned their degrees last month.

Ms. Farren has worked a total of 12 years with the Del Norte Department of Health and Human Services, Child Welfare Services (DHHS, CWS), 10 of them as a social worker. She says she decided to enroll in the Pathway Program “to be able to further my education and be able to promote. Plus, I knew I needed to improve how I looked at things as a social worker and wanted to know more about how I should be a successful social worker.”

For her, the results were tangible and almost immediate. “I graduated in May of 2016, became a Social Worker IV in July of 2016, and have been able to better work with my clients based on things I learned in attending school through the Pathway Program,” affirms Ms. Farren. “Without the program, I would still be a Social Worker III with not as much understanding of my clients and seeing things through their eyes.”

Another veteran, Ms. Davis has been a social worker with Del Norte DHHS, CWS for almost 10 years. Of the Pathway Program, she says, “It was the only educational opportunity where I could work and attend school. It was very important in the advancement in my position and so I could make more money.” 

Ms. Ward, Social Work Supervisor, also at Del Norte DHHS, CWS, has been a social worker for 10 years. "I was already doing the work and had always wanted a degree, she says, so for her, Pathway "was a great opportunity." She credits the Pathway Program for both broadening and deepening her knowledge. "I am better informed on how to work with children and families involved in child welfare," she says. "I also believe I have a good understanding of the Indian Child Welfare Act and how to practice with cultural humility. I know the emphasis on Indigenous and Rural Communities at Humboldt has allowed me insight into working alongside people rather than leading them down the path a person with power and privilege directs them."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE