When community concentration student Molly Calhoun (MSW '05) enrolled in the Social Work with Latinos/as Certificate program, she envisioned a career in international social work. Then a completely different job opportunity beckoned closer to home.
Today, Calhoun is Executive Director of GSSW's Bridge Project. Previously, she served as the Project's Program Director, supervising eight employees including the directors at the four Denver Public Housing neighborhood sites Bridge serves, and as Scholarship Program Coordinator, facilitating and tracking the progress of the 31 formerly "at-risk" Bridge kids now attending college or trade school.
"I use every piece of my MSW degree," Calhoun says. "My community practice courses taught me leadership, administration and program development. My foundation year clinical courses gave me the skills I use in working with families. And the Social Work with Latinos/as Certificate has helped me understand and address the needs of our large Latino population."
From intern to employee
Calhoun's connection with the Bridge Project began when she completed her foundation year field internship at one of the Bridge sites. By the middle of her concentration year, the program had hired her part-time, and that grew to full-time employment when she graduated. Now she has come full circle, supervising the current GSSW students who choose Bridge as one of their internship sites.
"I really wanted to be challenged when I came to GSSW," says Calhoun, who supplemented her regular course work with an independent study of reproductive rights in Mexico. She also took a leadership role in the Multicultural Social Justice Student Organization, one of GSSW's most active student groups.
Despite the trauma and heartbreak she often encounters in working with families facing multiple challenges, Calhoun finds inspiration in their children's resilience. Among the many former Bridge participants who have already graduated from college, she notes that there are several teachers, pharmacy and dentistry students, and one young woman who has completed her medical school residency.
But is that international social work career still in Calhoun's future? "Possibly," she smiles. "An MSW prepares you to do so many different things. You just never know what the future might hold!"
