Preparing interns for meaningful careers that address human needs, improve and transform lives through prevention and remediation is the work of every member of Guttman’s Human Services (HSVC) program. Its distinctive, multilayered system of support for pre-professional students from the classroom to their myriad field placement sites across the city was cited by the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) for the faculty and staff’s experience, scholarship, and ethos. Guttman is only one of two nationally accredited human services programs in the state of New York. With a career strategist, an academic practicum manager, practicum associates, a large advisory board and outstanding faculty that include “faculty-in-the-field” agency supervisors, Guttman Human Services students have a team uniquely dedicated to their practicum success.
Practicum Associates: Key to Guttman’s Practicum Model
“I see my role [as the] connection between the students and their professors, the course and the work they have to do, [as well as] the field supervisors for the practicum. I’m the person who links the student with all of these,” explains Seham Tajeddin, Guttman practicum associate and York College student.
Guttman selects MSW and BSW social work students from area colleges and universities to support Human Services interns and their fieldwork supervisors. The current cohort of practicum associates was selected from Columbia, NYU, Adelphi, John Jay and York.
Practicum associates like John Jay senior Anaya Rosley are trained to provide coaching to ensure that interns successfully complete their required 250 hours in the field. “Having to go through my own trials and tribulations and adjusting into college, I felt like I was equipped enough to mentor someone. I have resources. I know different things, and I can put that here and also learn at the same time. It’s kind of a win-win situation for everyone,” says Rosley.
With a goal of “replicating this program for Business and IT and for Liberal Arts in the future,” Department Chair Marcia Edwards, originator of the practicum associate model, sees it as providing an additional layer of support for interns through individual and small group peer mentoring when students need assistance with written and verbal communication, stress management or problem-solving in their placements.
Practicum associates also extend Practicum Manager Dominique Dessables’ reach, helping her with agency site visits, providing technical assistance for students and agency supervisors and actively participating in faculty and staff team meetings. Each semester, six to 10 practicum associates assist HSVC with projects like the design and delivery of surveys and professional development workshops.
What’s the Purpose of Practicum? Insights from Rev. Dessables
“Naturally, most students choose their major without having a true comprehension of the field. Some come with misconceptions about what Human Services entails. For instance, they may be confused about the differences between a psychologist, a social worker and a licensed mental health practitioner. Field placements, or practica, offer students a real-world view of the realities of the field. They get to experience what it’s like to work with clients, colleagues and systems. While they learn about theory and best practices in the classroom, field placement offers students an opportunity to apply theory in a real agency or human services setting.
These opportunities offer profound insight to students. The majority of Guttman Human Services students leave their field placement experience feeling more certain that Human Services is the right career choice for them. The direct contact they have with supervisors and clients reinforces their interests and many decide to apply to baccalaureate social work, early childhood education, criminal justice, psychology or similar majors in other colleges. Some learn that they don’t want to necessarily work with the same population as their practicum placement. Some come to realize that a career in human services is not what they want to pursue. After seeing the realities of the field and interacting with social service professionals, they decide to take their careers in a different direction. Thus, the value of an internship, or practicum, is not only to offer students a chance to practice theory but also to confirm or reconsider their career choices.”
Full-Time HSVC Team
- Marcia Edwards, EdD, LMSW For the past 11 years, Guttman students have gained Dr. Edward’s knowledge and insights from her experience with people across the lifespan, particularly those living with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and vicarious trauma. As HSVC program coordinator, Dr. Edwards developed the practicum associate role and now teaches the internship seminar while serving as chair of Guttman’s department of Business Administration, Human Services and Information Technology.
- Anya Y. Spector, PhD, LMSW Dr. Spector’s students benefit from her work in public health research and program evaluation at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, her knowledge of policy and her clinical practice in outpatient substance use treatment.
- Nicole Kras, PhD, HS-BCP Dr. Kras’s research focuses on human services program design and the influence of nature on human development and learning , specifically in higher education. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Council for Standards in Human Services and the National Organization for Human Services as well as on the editorial board for the Journal of Human Services.
- Dominique Dessables, LMSW, ISC Rev. Dessables draws from her background in geriatrics, early childhood and substance abuse treatment to offer students workforce development, training and career coaching. An ordained interfaith minister and spiritual counselor in private practice, she supports HSVC students in internship field placement, management and supervision.
- Bibi Rosario, MPA With CUNY degrees in Human Services from City College and Human Resource Management from John Jay College, Guttman Career Strategist Rosario has advised HSVC students from their first class in the program through fieldwork to graduation and assisted with baccalaureate transfer or job placement.
Learn More About the Program
Drs. Spector and Kras’s article about the model was published in the “Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice,” and Dr. Kras and Rev. Dessables profiled the practicum associates in Human Services Today magazine.
