Social Work  News

As a non-traditional, first-generation undergraduate student at Syracuse University, Chandice Haste-Jackson excelled academically but always felt there was something missing in her pursuit of knowledge.

That missing piece? Connecting with others.

“Ultimately, I discovered that in connecting with others, I could expand my knowledge and understanding beyond anything I learned from textbooks,” Haste-Jackson says. “That set me on a career journey oriented toward human connection, holistic development, and service, whether that be in fields of teaching, counseling, leadership, or administration.”

This past summer, Haste-Jackson’s lifelong journey of connecting with others continued with her appointment as Associate Dean of the Office of Student Services in Falk College. An associate teaching professor in Falk’s Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), Haste-Jackson previously held several prominent HDFS positions and was chair of the Dean’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. In 2021-22, Haste-Jackson served as Syracuse University’s interim director of the First-Year Seminar course.

Before joining Syracuse University, Haste-Jackson was drawn to work that supported vulnerable populations. It was her job, she says, to help those populations expand their understanding, move from deficit toward sufficiency, and identify what wholeness, health, and stability meant to them and/or their families.

“Was this difficult work at times? Yes!” Haste-Jackson says. “But what I gained from these experiences is that our humanity connects us all, even those who are not like ourselves. We all want similar things–health, happiness, longevity, stability–and that makes us more interconnected than we think we are.”

To introduce Haste-Jackson to Falk students, we asked her to discuss her previous experience with students, the services offered by the Office of Student services, and questions that students might ask. Here’s that conversation:

What attracted you to your new job and why is it important that you’re helping Falk College students succeed?

After 20 years of working in nonprofit organizations and schools, rising through the ranks of direct service to executive leadership and administration, I spent a good deal of time teaching and training frontline employees and college student interns. In working with college student interns, I developed a desire to teach, mentor, and prepare the next generation of human service workers, a field that is very broad but one that involves human connection, holistic development, and service–tenets I live my life by!

Given the climate in which we live in today, college students are dealing with issues that may impact their ability to successfully engage in academic pursuits. The COVID-19 pandemic, mass racial violence, wars, and significant personal losses have impacted academic performance and emotional well-being. Helping students to navigate these challenges during their time with us in Falk College is what I endeavor to do, and I am committed to leading and supporting the professional staff in our office who have made that same commitment to student success.

I’m a first-year or transfer student who isn’t familiar with the Office of Student Services. What are the services you provide?

In your first year at Syracuse University, our office will provide academic counseling and advising around other areas in your life that you identify as being important to your growth as a student in Falk College. Additionally, our office supports career exploration and professional skill development, and offers opportunities for learning through career immersion experiences.

Every first-year and transfer student has an assigned academic counselor, and the Office of Student Services will be one of the first places that you connect with to learn more about your major and all the resources available at Syracuse University.

I’m a student struggling with my classes and I’m not sure if I’ve chosen the right major. How can you help?

This is common for students who are adjusting to the intensity of college-level work. We can help you identify the source/cause of the struggle with your classes and then locate campus resources that you might consider accessing for help.

Sometimes, making a change in how you study, how much time you give to studying, or even where you study is all that may be needed to alleviate the struggle. Sometimes, motivation is at the root of the struggle and subsequently causes you to consider if the major is right or not. We’ll help you to explore and develop a pathway to successful academic performance.

I’m a student having a hard time being away from home and I’ve got personal issues that are getting in the way of my sleep, classwork, and social life. Do I go to you or somewhere else?

You most certainly can meet with your academic counselor to discuss these personal issues. Our academic counselors will listen and help you find the resources that are right for you and meet your needs. You do not have to be alone in trying to address emotional, social, or academic well-being.

We also recommend that students contact the Barnes Center at The Arch and/or Hendricks Chapel for support with any personal issues that arise. We are well-connected to these two resources and support student engagement with their services.

Why is it important for students to see you if they have issues rather than trying to work them out on their own? Isn’t that what college is for, learning how to handle stress?

Absolutely! Learning how to handle stress is an expectation of a college student, yet many students are not prepared for the inherent stress that comes with transitioning to college. During the first year of study or even subsequent years, there are a series of social, emotional, and academic adjustments that must occur for you to be successful as a college student. There will be some new stressors, and some of your past ways of handling stress may not be as effective for you now.

Being proactive in seeking help before something becomes an issue is also something that college students are expected to learn early in their college career. We can help you to learn these skills and support you along the way as you employ them.

Help is Here

The Falk College Office of Student Services is in Suite 330 Barclay Hall. You can visit at any time or schedule an appointment by calling 315.443.3144 or emailing falkss@syr.edu. Visit the Office of Student Services webpage for more information and a complete list of services, important announcements, and staff directory.

Social workers, teachers, staff and administrators from schools and school districts across Central New York filled the halls of Falk College this past spring for the inaugural Resilience and Equity Conference created by Finger Lakes Community Schools and sponsored by Falk College and Peaceful Schools. Together, conference participants addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing young people, the communities in which they live, and the schools in which they learn.

“This conference is an opportunity for us to think deeply about our role as individuals and as leaders in how to disrupt the structures of oppression, racism and hate that continue to impose themselves on our children and threaten our children’s children,” says Dr. Lura Lunkenheimer, president of Peaceful Schools.

“We do not need to look far to see the injustice, inequality and pain some of our young people are facing,” adds Ryan Heath, assistant professor of social work in Falk College. “We see youth violence and gun violence. We see trauma—from COVID-19, from mass violence, from historical oppression. There are skyrocketing behavioral incidents and mental health needs in schools, which reflects the broader youth mental health crisis.

“Schools are reckoning with racial injustice and working to address implicit bias of school staff and school systems,” Heath adds. “Now, we have the new challenge of social-emotional learning loss following COIVD-19 closures.”

Despite these challenges, there are opportunities to transform school structures and better support young people. According to Finger Lakes Community Schools, “a community school partners with service providers, welcoming them and weaving them into the fabric of the student’s, family’s, and community’s daily lives.” Community schools bring together services such as health care and mental health care to meet the holistic needs of young people and their families—needs that schools alone are unable to address.

“Community Schools, I believe, can be one tool to build resilience in our young people, resilience in our families, resilience in our communities,” Heath says. “But not just resilience. Resilience alone can burden those who are disadvantaged or oppressed. The community school model can also build equity in our schools, our systems, our world. That is why we in Falk College were thrilled to host this conference and to promote the work of community schools. These are the folks doing this work.”

Participants at the Resilience and Equity Conference received training in preventing implicit bias and racism in schools, improving trauma informed practices and trauma sensitive schools, multi-tiered systems of support (how limited resources and interventions are coordinated and delivered in schools), and social-emotional learning.

“This conference was designed to provide participants with time and access to experts, so they can take the strategies back to their schools and make their learning count for the young people around them,” says Jay Roscup, Community Schools Director at Wayne County Consortium. “The planning team hopes participants gain knowledge and tools from this conference to move forward together and help grow a community that can lift all the children and young adults of New York State.”

“The Community Schools Conference was wonderful. All the presenters were engaging and offered incredible expertise in creating and supporting equitable community schools,” says Kristin Moses, a school social worker who works as Coordinator of Student Support Services and Family Engagement in Skaneateles Central School District. She is a Syracuse University alumna of the Falk College School of Social Work and a current Ph.D. student in the University’s School of Education.

“Although we all came from different roles and perspectives, all of the conference participants were offered an opportunity to share our viewpoints and be heard,” Moses adds. “We all had one thing in common, no matter who we were or where we were from, we were there to help do what is best for students and make schools more inclusive, inviting and part of the fabric of our communities.”

The conference included four plenary speakers. In addition to plenary lectures, participants were organized into breakout sessions, giving them time for individualized coaching with each speaker on topics presented. Plenary speakers included:

Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks Sr. is Founder and Chief Equity Officer of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity and professor of psychology at Morehouse College. He served on former President Barack Obama’s Board of Advisors with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and as senior advisor with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Joel M. Ristuccia, a certified school psychologist, works with schools and school districts to employ whole school, classroom and individual strategies that support students at risk for failure due to social/emotional disabilities. He served as a consultant on the impact of trauma on student learning to the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) and is currently the Director of Training at TLPI.

Ali Hearn is a speaker, trainer and coach who works with educators across the country on improving social/emotional skills, installing Restorative Practices within school systems, and reinforcing Multi-Tiered System of Supports frameworks to better support student, staff, and family needs. Ali previously worked with Midwest Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Network.

Abe Fernandez is Director of the National Center for Community Schools and guides the place-based collective impact initiatives at Children’s Aid in New York City. He was previously a senior advisor to South Bronx Rising Together, a cradle-to-career collective impact initiative, of which he was a founding co-director, and led the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative statewide effort for the Bronx.

Mariama Boney ’96, G’98 wants to bring out the best in everyone. As the president and CEO of Achieve More LLC, a Virginia-based consultancy firm, Boney—a social work alumna of Syracuse University’s Falk College—helps companies and organizations solve leadership challenges, develop goals and focus on building positive cultures and work environments that embrace well-being, diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA). “At Achieve More LLC, we are about helping people be better, achieving more and then ultimately maximizing results—getting the best out of a person, a system, a group of people to then impact the community and the world in a better way,” she says. “I am an advocate and straightforward, so I highlight where there’s an opportunity to shift and grow. I try to do that in as supportive a way as possible, yet also challenge people to think in new and different ways and be willing to do new and different things.”

For Boney, understanding the root cause of issues and creating solutions to address them is an inherent part of her work. Whether engaged in executive coaching, facilitating a DEIA workshop or guiding a company through strategic planning, she draws on her social work background and her leadership skills to advance positive change through tumultuous times. Boney also brings to her work more than two decades of experience as an administrator in higher education and in leading associations and nonprofit organizations. She sees social work—which seeks to create social and economic justice for those who are vulnerable—as essential to improving the human condition and credits her Syracuse University and School of Social Work experiences for shaping her professional philosophy and approach. “I’m constantly looking at systems—whether it’s organizations or the larger societal system—and how they are impacting the individual person, the team, the volunteer group and how that then resonates throughout the organization,” says Boney, a licensed social worker and author of VENT (Volunteer your Emotions and Needs through Talking), a series of three solution-focused guides.

Honoring Her Parents and Syracuse

Boney grew up in Syracuse and likes to say she was raised at the University and has an affinity for all things Orange. Her mom, Maxine ’73, G’76, was a longtime teacher in the Syracuse city schools. Her dad, Robert Boney, who passed away in 1996, served as associate vice president for undergraduate studies for 25 years, pioneering educational opportunity programs for underrepresented students and students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Among them was the Syracuse Challenge—considered to be a first-of-its-kind private university initiative that ensured admission and need-based financial aid for program participants. Robert Boney’s work continues today at the University through the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program and TRIO Student Support Services. “I’ve talked to so many people who have said, ‘I would not have been at Syracuse University if it wasn’t for your dad,’” she says. “I think a lot about my dad and my mom and what they were able to do within the Syracuse community as well as the University. My dad represents the essence of change leadership, of being a pioneer—and that’s important to me.”

It’s evident that her parents’ commitment to the community and improving lives was influential for Boney, both personally and professionally. She found her calling when her father encouraged her to consider social work as a major after she transferred to Syracuse from Xavier University of Louisiana. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and was active on campus, participating in the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program and NANBPWC Inc., volunteering as a peer mentor and working as an office assistant and a reader and exam proctor for students with learning disabilities. “Those experiences at Syracuse helped me to continue to want to serve and work with those who are underrepresented,” she says, noting how it reflected on her father’s legacy. “It ended up being a passion as well.”

In honor of her father, she established the Robert L. Boney Endowed Undergraduate Social Work Scholarship at Falk College through the Our Time Has Come scholarship program. Her support for social work students also extends to creating a scholarship in her name as well as contributing to the dean’s fund for field placements. In addition, she’s an advocate and donor for 119 Euclid, a gathering place that celebrates the culture, history and contributions of the Black community at the University and features the Sankofa Staff Office. “I’m so grateful that we have the Our Time Has Come scholarship program because if we are truly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, then we also have to ensure that not only are we growing the education elements for everyone on campus—faculty, staff and students—but we also have to ensure that we are continuing to grow the student body and the faculty body in terms of representation,” says Boney, a member of the Office of Multicultural Advancement Advisory Council and the Hill Society. “You want individuals of different backgrounds, cultures and heritages to be able to come together.”

An Influential Journey to South Africa

As a graduate student, Boney was a Whitney Young Fellow and delayed her graduation so she could join a study tour of South Africa led by the late social work professor Wynetta Devore. During the six-week visit, group members participated in internships, studied the country’s social development and learned firsthand about its culture and history, including the truth and reconciliation process following the end of its apartheid system. “It was an amazing experience,” says Boney, who interned at an orphanage, working with children with disabilities. “It really cemented for me that I wanted to do more work in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion, seeing what South Africa had gone through as a country, especially with the deep-rooted issues related to race and their racial caste system.”

Boney carried her focus on DEIA issues with her—first as an academic services coordinator at the University’s College of Nursing, and then through a series of higher education administrative positions, including serving as director of university information and relations at George Mason University. She also worked as a certified association executive at several organizations, including the American College Personnel Association, NFSA: Association of International Educators, Year Up, and Advocates for Children and Youth. For Boney, each step in her career provided experiences to launch first-time programs, from working with parenting teens and runaway and homeless youth to initiatives for underrepresented students to creating strategic action plans or training.

Faith-Driven Entrepreneur

In 2015, Boney launched Achieve More LLC while working full time. She was familiar with the rigors of entrepreneurship since she had worked for her mom’s business, Creative Reflections, which offered a comprehensive experience related to Black dolls and the African diaspora. She envisioned Achieve More LLC—with a focus on leadership coaching and solution-focused therapy—as part of her retirement plan. But as more requests for advice and guidance arrived, she made a full-time commitment to the business. “To me, it was all about helping people be better because I’m also very faith and spiritual driven,” she says.

Boney sees history as cyclical, and with the racial and ethnic reckoning that’s occurred in the past two years, she says a renewed focus has emerged on DEIA issues. She believes the U.S. can learn and mend from the lessons of South Africa’s truth and reconciliation, emphasizing the importance of facilitating dialogue so that people share their truths and experiences, gain an understanding of one another, and align their goals in working and moving forward together.

While it’s challenging to get some people to understand the value of DEIA in the workplace, Boney says a company’s culture reflects its core values and leadership, including decision making and the hiring and treatment of employees. “It’s all connected, and helping people to see that it’s all connected and that we’re all better as a society and as an organization is important,” she says. “We have to be willing to learn and then grow so that we can have a positive impact. We’re at such a critical time—and if we want to continue to grow in a different way as a country, an organization, a team or as a person, then we have to be willing to do the good work as well as the tough work to get to that different place.”

~ An SU Story by Jay Cox originally published on August 2, 2022.

One night when he was off his medication and behaving erratically, “John” was arrested by police. He was placed in the county jail, where he died by suicide.

John was 18.

Levison-Johnson, who was 17 at the time, learned about John’s death that morning and discussed it with her mother.

“My feeling was that he was someone with significant mental health issues who had been in psychiatric hospitals before; it wasn’t like it was unknown,” Levison-Johnson says. “That he ended up in jail and was able to complete suicide was all wrong from my perspective. So that was the moment that I felt like I wanted to do something to help people like John.”

Levison-Johnson made a vow that day to “change the system,” and she has spent the past 36 years honoring that commitment by leading reform efforts that have helped thousands of individuals in need.

Levison-Johnson, a licensed clinical social worker, received a master’s degree in social work (M.S.W.) from Syracuse University’s Falk College in 1998 and joined the Falk College Advisory Board in 2021. She currently serves as president and CEO of Social Current, a consolidation of two organizations (the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and the Council on Accreditation) that merged to bring together a broad-based network of social sector organizations and partners committed to advancing quality and advocating for the human service ecosystem.

“One of the things that attracted me (to the merger) was this idea that if you leveraged standards established for best practice, you could really impact the quality and coordination that was absent from the system when I was in high school,” Levison-Johnson says. “If I’m in a position where I can influence how to achieve quality and work collaboratively so that services are effective, that allows me to move the system in the right direction.”

To learn more about Levison-Johnson’s impactful career, we chatted with her about the value of her Falk College education, her work in human services, her goals for Social Current, and more. Here’s that conversation:

Q: You received your bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rochester in 1991 and started your M.S.W. at Syracuse University in 1995. What led you to Syracuse?

A: After working in different human service settings, I was working as a mobile crisis clinician and my partner on the mobile crisis team was working on his M.S.W. at Syracuse and he said, “You should get this degree; this is how you’re going to be able to do what you want to do.”

On my first day (at Syracuse), my professor (Susan Taylor-Brown) basically asked us, what do you want to do when you grow up? Every single person in the class said they wanted to be a therapist, and I said, “I want to change the system.” I remember after I got my first system job that Professor Taylor-Brown followed up with me and said, “Well, you got what you wanted!”

Q: Talk about your time at Syracuse University and Falk College.

A: It truly was a labor of love. I was living in Rochester, working full-time, and I spent the last two years of the program commuting to Syracuse. Plus, I had my field requirement of 16 hours a week, so it was a big chunk of time. But I loved every minute of my graduate program. It was the most formative experience of my life.

When I came to Syracuse, I found my people and I found my home. The faculty was amazing and what’s funny now is that Diane (current Dean Diane Lyden Murphy) was my mental health policy professor. Policy was my love, so her class was one of my favorite classes. It was over the summer, four nights a week, so I drove to Syracuse and went to class from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday for at least three weeks.

Q: What was your biggest takeaway from the M.S.W. program?

A: I felt the faculty and the program were speaking my language and equipping me with what I wanted to do, which was to understand clinical pieces and family systems and understand that we can have an impact on the bigger context that people lived in. So that mental health policy class that Diane taught was really important to me. Syracuse taught me how to think critically, how to be able to synthesize information, and then how to concisely speak about it. And those skills have served me in every job I’ve ever had.

There’s this Falk secret sauce. You’ve got this passionate group of people who are committed to the things that are important to you. The students as well as the faculty were really engaged in learning together. I felt like I got taught a lot, but I also felt like the faculty that I worked with, we were sharing our experiences and they were learning from us, too. You felt this cohesion with people who were committed to things that were important to me. With Falk and my Syracuse experience, I felt like all the faculty knew who I was and cared about who I was.

Q: Following your graduation from Syracuse in 1998, you worked for a variety of direct-service organizations or organizations that focused on policy and planning. Was there a moment when it all came together and you realized you could indeed change the system?

A: In 2005, I was working at an organization called Coordinated Care Services, which is based in Rochester. One of my jobs was to be the lead for child and family services for the Monroe County Office of Mental Health in partnership with the staff at the county office. The three of us–the director of mental health for the county, the planner for the county and myself–with help from many others, wrote this big federal grant for $9 million over five years to transform the child-serving systems in Monroe County.

We got the grant–I remember the date, Sept. 21, 2005! I was doing work in Tioga County and getting a coffee in this little coffee shop before we started our day and I got the phone call and burst into tears. From having that desire to change systems, to having the clinical knowledge about what systems were working and not working, to being in the position where I had power and leverage by working with the county director and planner to write this grant, it all came together to actually effect the change that I had envisioned without really knowing what it would look like back in high school.

Q: Tell us about Social Current and the thinking behind merging the two organizations, the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and the Council on Accreditation.

A: One of the reasons the (Council on Accreditation) board hired me was to increase the value and impact of accreditation. We had this relationship with 1,600 organizations across the U.S. and Canada accredited by us, but we only interacted when their accreditation was due. I thought we should have more ongoing relationships with them, touch points to support them with improving the quality of what they were doing.

That’s one of the reasons why the merger ended up happening. One of the people that I talked with was the then-CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities and she said, “I wonder if we can do this together?” I went back to the board, and I remember the chair-elect of the board who was on the search committee for my position said, “I picked you as my choice for the CEO because I knew you were willing to take reasonable risk. But never in my life did I think you were going to suggest a merger three months into your tenure.”

It took them a long time and we didn’t vote to proceed with the merger until December 2020, so it was about a year and a half of board conversations and meetings. But what I really saw was this idea that you could bring together the rigor and the knowledge of accreditation with what the Alliance had, which was additional subject matter expertise, knowledge, and infrastructure to deliver training, technical assistance, and consultation. It was leveraging the best of both organizations and blending them to create something that was really going to be able to move the needle on some important outcomes.

Q: This Social Current model–working on the policy side to create the environment where they can succeed and then accrediting them to ensure the standard of quality is being met–do you see it growing?

A: As a combined organization, we have a network of 1,800 organizations now and we have changed the business model. The idea is, people can pay to play; they can pay for what they need. They can choose to work with us on this learning collaborative, but they don’t have to be involved in accreditation or other offerings. They can get consultation in equity, diversity, and inclusion, or be a part of a peer group on a specific topic. So, we’ve made services available in several ways that are more customized. The hope is to grow because there are so many social sector organizations that I think would benefit from what we have to offer. The growth will also allow us to keep price points reasonable.

I think back to my days in other organizations and you don’t have tons of cash to pay for things, and you also don’t have tons of time to sift through all the research to figure out what you should be doing. So, we’re trying to find that sweet spot of how can we bring something that’s of high value to organizations but a price point that fits in their budgets.

Q: As we close our conversation, what would you say to Social Work students from Falk who might be where you were at in 1987?

A: When I think about it for students, they come in with these big ideas and they need to be patient. They also need the combination of education and experience. They need to be willing to take the hits, because there will be some. But with persistence and tenacity, coupled with passion, students should have hope that they can have meaningful impact in this word. I really believe that.

But this year, the students had trouble picking between the two School of Social work interns from Syracuse University’s Falk College: Ethan Smith or Alexander Nelson?

“The teens couldn’t decide on one of them, and they didn’t want to leave one out,” says Amy Crowley, the CanTeen’s Youth Services Director.

So, with the encouragement and approval of Crowley and Assistant Youth Services Director Wes Sweetman, the teens selected Smith and Nelson–the first co-winners in the award’s 21-year history and the first time a college student intern had received the award that goes to a safe adult role model.

“Ethan and Alex came in with open minds and open hearts and the willingness to learn from (the teens),” says Melanie Beacham G ‘16, The CanTeen’s social work field site instructor and a member of the Friends of the CanTeen fundraising board. “Ethan and Alex were there for the teens when they were needed in an unconditional way that the teens could feel, and it was palpable how much (Smith and Nelson) cared about them.”

For Smith and Nelson, the awards culminated a year of learning and growth and realizing the impact they can have on young lives.

“My reaction was pretty emotional,” Nelson says about receiving the award. “I felt as though it was a final piece of affirmation at the end of an already affirming process of development. I felt like I belonged in that space and that social work really is my path.”

Smith says he’ll never forget his last day at The CanTeen as the teens pleaded with him to stay and asked that he come back and visit them in the fall.

“Those statements showed they’re going to legitimately miss having me around,” Smith says. “They prove to me that I made an impact on their lives and they will remember me for how I have helped them and that means a lot.”

‘Opened the Doors’

The CanTeen is an after-school, drop-in teen center that offers free supports, services and opportunities to eighth- through 12^th-grade students from the North Syracuse Central School District. Located next to Cicero-North Syracuse High School, The CanTeen provides food and snacks; activities such as pool, ping pong and video games; and field trips and camping experiences.

Crowley says The Canteen previously had interns from Syracuse University and other local colleges, but this was the first time it hosted interns from the School of Social Work. Heather Mauro, the School of Social Work’s internship coordinator, worked with The CanTeen to place Smith, a second-year master’s of social work student who graduated May 15, and Nelson, a first-year master’s of social work student who will graduate in 2023. Specifically, it was a concentration-level internship for Smith and a foundation-level internship for Nelson.

Smith and Nelson were both required to spend 500 hours at the center. Beacham says they “hit the ground running” and soon developed activities for the teens that led to more meaningful discussions with them.

“Those structured activities that both Ethan and Alex were able to plan and run opened the doors to building those initial relationships, which is the basis for building a supportive relationship as a social worker,” says Beacham, a supervising therapist who works for Liberty Resources in Syracuse. “The activities allowed for that initial rapport with the teens and helped them feel more comfortable around Ethan and Alex.”

Smith started group sessions called “Eating with Ethan,” where up to 15 teens would gather to snack on food they normally wouldn’t have at the CanTeen (ice cream, baked goods) and talk about serious topics such as anxiety, healthy relationships and grief.

“It was an opportunity for the kids to be themselves without the stress and worries of the world and where they could create a trusted relationship with an adult who wasn’t their parent, which is really important,” Smith says. “It’s just talking to kids and seeing what’s up with them and helping them work through any issues they might have.”

The tournaments and other activities helped Nelson become more comfortable with the teens and in turn helped them feel more comfortable confiding in Nelson.

“The most rewarding aspect of the internship was seeing that it’s possible to make a positive impact in their lives,” Nelson says. “Whenever they told me that I was important to them and helping them I found it incredibly affirming of my life path and journey into social work.”

‘An Incredible Experience’

Of course, the hours Smith and Nelson spent at The CanTeen were not all fun and games. Oftentimes the conversations ran deep, and the teens leaned on Smith and Nelson for support and advice during difficult times.

“This experience gave them a lot of time to understand what it’s like to work with young people and the issues they’re facing, especially coming out of the pandemic,” Crowley says.

Crowley says one of the turning points for Smith’s relationships with the teens came during an overnight “lock-in,” where they felt comfortable sharing personal information about serious topics. In one case, Smith’s initial conversations with a struggling teen helped the teen open up about a situation that required intervention and services.

“Building these relationships is a process, it’s not instantaneous,” Smith says. “But once it’s built, it’s the most incredible experience because these kids want to be around you, learn from you, and learn with you. I loved doing it.”

Nelson says he started to realize his influence on the teens during a monthly teen council meeting, where teen leaders would meet with the staff, Nelson and Smith to discuss programming at the CanTeen.

“One of the kids started talking about a sensitive subject that was very likely something they wouldn’t speak about in the presence of someone they didn’t trust,” Nelson says. “It also represented them opening up in a way that I hadn’t seen up until that point. It dawned on me in the moment that I had made it into a more inner circle of trust for them and that felt very good for me.”

Nelson, a Syracuse native who received his undergraduate degree in social work from Syracuse University, says he’ll want to complete his foundation-level internship next year before deciding his career path. Smith, who’s from Frederick, Maryland, is moving to New York City, where he has accepted a job working with children of all ages through the Central Synagogue.

As Smith and Nelson establish their careers, The CanTeen staff is confident they will remain STARs to the people they counsel.

“Placements like ours (at The CanTeen) and in general allow interns to build those skills and become ready to go into the field,” Beacham says. “As a social worker myself, I’m more than excited to have Ethan and Alex join the field and be able to call themselves social workers.”

Interested in a career in social work? Visit the School of Social Work website to learn more about its academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities. Visit The Canteen website to learn more its programs and how to support its mission.

“Being in discussions in class and with friends, I was helping others without intentionally planning to help them,” says Montalvo, who attended Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy One High School in New York City. “That had me thinking, where is somewhere I can go to do that?”

A family friend who is a social worker said Montalvo should consider social work as a career because it would offer several career paths for her to help people. And while Syracuse University wasn’t on her original list of choices, she enrolled in the Student Support Services summer bridge program at Syracuse last summer and decided to attend the School of Social Work at Falk College starting in the fall of 2021.

As a social work major, Montalvo became the first recipient of the Sunflower Scholarship, which was established by Falk College Advisory Board member and School of Social Work alumna Stacy Helfstein ’98 to support social work students by defraying tuition costs. This spring, Montalvo had an opportunity to meet Helfstein and chat about her career goals over lunch.

“I was shocked but happy when I learned about the scholarship because I didn’t know it existed when I enrolled,” Montalvo says. “I want to give a big thank you to Stacy for providing this opportunity and taking the time to meet with me as an alumna from Falk College.”

Like Montalvo, Helfstein knew in high school that she wanted to be in a helping profession but didn’t “find herself” until she got to Syracuse and started her social work classes.

“When I was a student at Syracuse, I found such a strong a community of mentors and friends who shared my passion for social work,” Helfstein says. “The support I received deepened my commitment to this profession and prepared me to use my career to make a difference.

“We are in the midst of a mental health crisis in this country, and it’s important that we support the next generation of social workers because we need them now more than ever,” Helfstein adds.

“She mentioned that there’s a wide spectrum of social work and you won’t always have to stay at one place,” Montalvo says. “You can dip your toes in several areas of social work–children, families, mental hospitals, the elderly, and other places.”

They also discussed an appropriate work-life balance, or in Montalvo’s current situation, school-life balance. To that end, Montalvo is actively involved in the creation of the first Black Student Union (BSU) at Syracuse University. Montalvo is helping write the constitution that will provide the foundation for the new student organization.

The BSU, Montalvo says, will provide a safe space and a common community for students of all Black diasporas. In that way, the BSU for Montalvo will be similar to her high school experience and what she hopes to accomplish with her social work education.

“People don’t feel comfortable talking to other people who may not understand them or will judge them,” Montalvo says. “Therefore, (in a social work position) I will consider myself a mediator who’s upfront and honest with you about any issues you may be facing, but only to a point where it’s acceptable for you.”

Interested in a career in social work? Visit the School of Social Work website to learn more about its academic programs, experiential learning, and career opportunities. Read this story to learn more about the Sunflower Scholarship and why that name holds a special significance.