Master of Social Work (MSW) student Annie’s proposed final project was unexpectedly inspired when a guest speaker, a Stanislaus State alumna who works with traumatized children, visited her Advanced Integrative Social Work Practice class, which was taught by Assistant Professor of Social Work Sara Cadalig.
“She was telling us what she does, and she had this activity we were all doing,” Annie said. “We were laughing and having so much fun.”
Annie, who chooses to go by her first name only, sat beside her professor and remembers saying, “We should have more stuff like this. We should have more guest speakers.”
It was a lightbulb moment.
She had considered a few ideas for her graduate project, but after being inspired by the guest speaker, she decided this was the direction she wanted to take. She arranged for guest speakers to present on the Warrior Steps in the Student Center every Wednesday in March, in honor of Social Work Month.
Connecting current students with Stan State alumni working in the field just made sense to Annie, who called her speaker series “Social Workers Speak!”
She found a willing partner in her first speaker, Loren Mannard, a member of Stan State’s first MSW cohort. Mannard recently started Stan State’s Master of Social Work Alumni Chapter, hoping alumni could support new graduates as they launch their careers.
“Loren and I had talked about the need for alumni to be more engaged with the students,” Annie said. “I would have valued having a mentor.”
With assistance from faculty, Annie met Mannard, who began her career after graduating in 1997 by helping children and families. She has counseled patients in private practice and for Stanislaus County Behavioral Health. She now runs Kaiser’s Employee and Physician Assistance Program for Central Valley health care employees and their family members.
Other speakers included Stan State graduates Barbara Prunty, Tonya Jacobs and Mitch Anhar, an MSW lecturer. Each shared their stories and answered students’ questions.
“Mitch Anhar tells the story about how he was taking classes at Stan State, and he happened upon an event where a social worker was speaking,” Annie said. “He thought, ‘This is what I should be doing.’ He changed his whole career direction right then, because of that speaking event.”
Annie doesn’t know if any students listening to the programs in the Student Center made that kind of life-altering decision, but Anhar’s story resonated with her.
She knew she wanted to be a social worker when she graduated from Cal State East Bay in 2012 with a degree in human development. She applied for Stan State’s MSW program and had a paper on music as non-invasive therapy published as an undergraduate, but she still couldn’t get into the impacted program.
Instead, she worked for 10 years in human resources.
When a toxic marriage came to an end — and led her to drop her last name — her desire to be a social worker still burned. Annie saw applying to Stan State’s MSW program as her “exit plan.”
She was accepted and is set to complete the two-year program this month. At 47, she admits it was “weird being the oldest person in the class,” but any angst has given way to delight for all the program has given her.
Being with her cohort is something she cherishes and reinforces her belief that social work — not human resources — is the field for her.
“My jam is helping people,” Annie said. “My jam is hearing their stories. My jam is the connections. I definitely know that about myself. This program is a career change for me, and I’m going to go get my license.”
She originally wanted to work with children, but her first-year internship was with the San Joaquin County Pride Center. At the Stockton facility, she came to know the LGBTQ+ community and found many happy, joyful people who lifted her spirits.
This year, her internship is with Victor Community Counseling in Manteca, where she works with foster youth aged 3 to 18. The experience led her to welcome a 17-year-old boy into her home, where she is also raising her 18-year-old biological son.
As she applies for jobs — with Kaiser, San Joaquin County Behavioral Health and the San Joaquin County Jail — Annie is also finishing her classes and writing a paper on her speaker series. She hopes her project inspires other students to continue it.
“I’d love for students to pick it up in different capacities, to build on the program they’re a part of,” Annie said. “Everybody has a duty to leave the program better than they found it, to leave a mark, to make some kind of impact.”
Mannard also would love to see alumni continue to speak with students. She formed the MSW Alumni Chapter to make graduates more accessible to current students.
Annie hopes to be part of the MSW Alumni Chapter, but she is giving herself time before volunteering as a speaker.
“The first year of your career, you still don’t know anything,” Annie said. “I imagine in five years, you’re still on a journey. At the 10- and 15-year mark, you would be truly reflective and would have truly gained a breadth of knowledge.”
