Future Social Work Majors Learn, Work During UA Summer Camp

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fourteen high-school juniors and seniors will spend the next five weeks learning about social work careers at The University of Alabama and working with social work agencies in the Tuscaloosa area.

For the second consecutive year, UA is a host site for the National Social Work Enrichment Program’s summer camp, a program designed to introduce high-school students to social work as a potential college major and career choice.

The NSEP camp began June 4 when students moved into campus dormitories and began a “Careers in Social Work” course. Over the duration of the camp, which concludes July 13, students will earn stipends by working with local United Way agencies, said Dr. Sebrena Jackson, NSEP founder.

“One of the key components is partnering with local agencies so the students can see the professional side of social work,” said Jackson. “We’re also trying to do a community service project. In the past, we’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity and gone to nursing homes to do bingo.”

The students participating at UA – Alabama State also will host an NSEP camp – are foster children who are currently enrolled in the Independent Living Program, a Department of Human Resources program aimed to guide youth toward success as adults. Additionally, DHS provides the majority of NSEP’s funding.

Drs. Debra Nelson-Gardell and Javonda Williams, UA social work professors, attended the end-of-camp awards luncheon at Alabama A&M in 2010. They were impressed with the program and approached Jackson about hosting a camp at UA.

“Over the course of the year, we worked out all of the details, and we were able to host the camp last year for the first time,” Williams said, “which was amazing because the students were able to help with tornado-recovery projects.”

Williams, chair of the undergraduate social work program at UA, said the program is vital to future college students looking to major in social work, as most students aren’t aware of the many professions for licensed social workers.

“I think this is the primary goal of the program,” Williams said. “This valuable information is usually not compiled and clearly presented to students until they take an introduction to social work course at a university.”

Students will work with selected agencies from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Wednesday each week of the program. They’ll return home each weekend.