From the United Nations to Albany....to Sleepy Hollow
The Graduate School of Social Work Promotes Social Work Month
Touro College Graduate School of Social Work students and faculty were active during Social Work Month – convening at the United Nations to learn about international social work, mingling in Albany with elected officials, recruiting students around town to become social workers, and supporting one of their own in a 13.1 mile half-marathon.
On Monday, March 23rd students from the Touro Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) attended the 32nd Annual Social Work Day at the United Nations. The theme of this year’s event was Advocating for the Dignity and Worth of all People - one of the four pillars of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, the guiding international document for the profession.
The event was sponsored by the International Federation of Social Workers in collaboration with the Council on Social Work Education Katherine Kendall Institute; the National Association of Social Workers, USA and its NYC and NJ chapters; and the International Council on Social Welfare. Over 500 social work students, faculty and practitioners from around the country attended. It was the 5th year in a row Touro participated and the first year the GSSW joined the list of event supporters.
On March 10, over 20 Touro students, faculty and alumni participated in Legislative Action Day in Albany to advocate for passage of the “Dream Act” and increased funding for the Social Work Loan Forgiveness Program. The following day, Touro hosted a lunch for the VA Vital Program and the John Jay College Veterans Center where Touro met with John Jay College undergrads who had served in the US Armed Forces, to discuss careers in social work. Touro was also a breakfast sponsor this month at the NASW NYS Annual Conference “2015 Annual Power of Social Work Conference.”
Also during March, Touro rallied to support Seth Abrams, a first year MSW student who completed his first half marathon (13.1 miles) in the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon in New York, three years after suffering a debilitating illness. Abrams is a rare survivor of an aortic aneurism, who just before discharge suffered a major stroke, leaving him with physical impairments. His doctor told his family he would not be able to eat on his own let alone go back to school or complete a marathon. But on March 21, the 34-year-old Abrams, who lives in Fort Lee, NJ, woke up to snow, cold and wetness that would continue throughout the day and persevered with a great team of friends and Touro staff supporting him to complete the race in under five hours.
“It is wonderful to see our student excel not only academically but through the difficult physical challenges,” said Tina Atherall, director of MSW Recruitment, Outreach and Enrollment Management. “A social worker helped change Seth’s life during his darkest days and now social work is helping him become a social worker so he will pass on that gift to others.”
