Student Resources
- News from NASW-NC
- Advanced Standing Information
- Careers
- Community Involvement
- Live Client Resources
- Students Organizations
- Social Work Resources
- Social Work Advisory Board
- Writing Resources
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Social Work Student Handbook
- Field Education Manual
Community Projects and Involvement
Throughout the curriculum, social work students are involved with communities and organizations as part of their service learning activities. In Introduction to Social Work (SWK 100), students volunteer their time within the community helping individuals, families, groups or organizations. The Social Work Club is also a wonderful way to participate in projects that reach the community
Live client simulations are utilized by Suzanne Rabon in the Generalist Practice course. With this teaching method, simulators are trained to be characters from fictional social work case scenarios. This experience gives students practice with clients before beginning an internship or work experience.
Throughout the semester, simulators visit a Generalist Practice course to give students experience in dealing with senior citizens, teenagers and victims of domestic violence. Social work students practice with the simulators as though they are an actual client.
Before the simulator arrives, students receive a referral note with information about a social work case. Students take turns acting as a social worker, listening to the simulator's story, assessing the situation, conveying empathy, making eye contact, displaying positive non-verbal communication and making the simulator feel safe.
Social Work Club
Meredith College's social work club, SSWA, promotes interest in social work and participates in social work related activities. The Social Work Club is a service organization that strives to help the local community and bring knowledge of the goals of social workers to campus.
The Social Work Club continues to be involved with a variety of service projects. In the past, the Social Work Club has held fundraisers for breast cancer research. The club has also sponsored the Say So Suitcase project, through which the college community donated over 100 suitcases for foster children who previously had to carry their few belongings in trash bags. A Box-A-Thon was held to raise money for Scottie's Place, an organization that helps homeless children. In addition to the many fundraisers, the Social Work Club volunteered to paint the children's room at Interact, a non-profit agency that provides support to the victims of domestic and sexual assault.
Omega Lambda Phi Alpha
Omega Lambda Phi Alpha, the national social work honor society, provides a closer bond among the students of social work and promotes humanitarian goals and ideas. Omega Lambda Phi Alpha fosters high standards of education for social workers and invites students who have attained excellence in scholarship and achievement in social work into membership.
The requirements for membership are the completion of at least six semester hours of social work and an overall GPA of 3.0.
Facilities
The department houses a research lab, which offers several computers for academic work, a small library of social work books and journals and a meeting place for students to casually gather for study or dialogue between classes.
