My Columbia School of Social Work Keynote Orientation Speech
Becoming… a social worker
First, I want to congratulate you on getting into the best school of social work in the country…. Who cares what those folks at USNew say or what those folks at Michigan might believe, you and I both know we really are the best school, right!
I’m excited to be a part of your journey, your unique and individual path in becoming… a social worker.
I’m feeling really nostalgic today. I started my process of becoming a social worker 15 years ago ..at the University of Michigan ( sigh). I remember sitting in a big audience like this and feeling nervous as hell.
All I knew is that I needed to figure out how to get out of taking statistics and I hoped no one asked me to talk about my feelings because I wasn’t quite ready for that type of deep dive.
I remember the moment when the dean told us to look to our left and to our right and that those individuals and everyone else in the room would be our new network of social work leaders and scholars and I remembered feeling like I’m not in this alone.
My time at Michigan was one of the best educational experiences in my life. And I learned a few important lessons that I still carry with me…
- I learned about the importance of being your true and authentic self and to call on my bravery in those moments when I want to hide under rock… and so I came out as a gay man during my first few weeks in my…
