Many students are attracted to the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at the Brown School because of its versatile curriculum and its promotion of and connection to international field placements.
The latest issue of NEXUS, the practicum newsletter for the Brown School, introduces two outstanding students who have completed their required field placements outside of the United States. From refugee camps in Kenya to a health clinic in Haiti, these students have engaged in and learned from movements of social change in the global arena.
Grace A. Snell (MSW ’08) spent her first year at the Brown School as a research assistant. Little did she know, the in-depth interviews that she conducted in St. Louis would prepare her for future interviews with impoverished women and children in Cap Haitien, Haiti. That same year Snell became involved with the St. Louis-based non-profit, Meds and Foods for Kids (MFK).
MFK is committed to fighting malnutrition among Haitian children through its creation and distribution of a fortified peanut butter paste called Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). Through conversations with the staff, Snell learned that MFK knew very little about what happened to the recipients of the paste once they had left the clinic.
Identifying a needed and innovative research opportunity, Snell proposed a two month Haiti-based research mission that purposed to identify factors affecting recipient RUTF consumption.
She was able to lead an exploratory research project and use the data collected to inform service delivery and outcomes around childhood malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.
Professionally, Snell’s time in Haiti allowed her to independently engage in applied research and to more fully understand the linkages between micro- and macro-social work practice. But most importantly, she was able to play a significant role in a social entrepreneurial venture, an undertaking which has garnered local, national and international acclaim for its efforts to provide transformative aid to some of the world’s poorest children.
As Jing Li (MSW ’08) considered her options for her summer field placement, she was committed to match her field site with her summer course work. This past summer, Li was invited to participate in the second annual Brown School China Institute – an academic-intensive experience, focused around issues of social inclusion and poverty.
Her field placement search led to the discovery of the Sheng Kung Hui (SKH) Lady MacLehose Centre in Hong Kong. This agency aims to provide social service care to low-income communities in Hong Kong. In 2001, the agency expanded its outreach efforts to ethnic minorities in three of Hong Kong’s urban districts.
After connecting with the agency, Li decided that she would engage in the Centre’s advocacy and direct service projects, which provide services to minority groups.
At the advocacy level, Li was able to participate in the Centre’s political activity of supporting a newly proposed bill, which addresses various issues of racial discrimination; at the clinical level, Li was responsible for facilitating therapeutic groups for unemployed minority youth. Her work at the Centre connected Li to non-governmental and governmental entities, thereby providing her with a deep understanding of the social structures that are attempting to address the needs of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities.
As a Chinese citizen receiving an American university education, Li looked to her field placement in Hong Kong as a much-needed opportunity to practice the skills and knowledge she has learned in St. Louis within the Asian context and culture. As student who intends to return to her home country after graduation, Li stands out as an extraordinary example of an international student who is excited to use her graduate-level education as a vehicle for individual and community change among internationally diverse populations.