Social Work Month Is in Full Swing, with Many Events for Alumni

From 1964 to the present, March has been known as Social Work Month in the United States—providing an opportunity for social workers to celebrate their profession and reaffirm the work they do in every community across the land.

CUSSW’s Alumni office plays a part in the nation-wide celebration by offering a menu of programs for graduates who have gone on to practice in the field. (Although you need to live in the metropolitan New York area to attend events in person, you can also tune in to several of the talks via Livestream, courtesy of the Columbia Alumni Association.)

Here is the program:

BOOK TALK: Healing Starts with Us

Thursday March 14, 2013
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Room C03; also available via Livestream.
Two alums, Terrie Williams (MS’77) and Teresa Ann Willis (MS’05), talk about their new books, both of which address the legacies of slavery and poverty.

Missed it? Watch it here:

WORKSHOP: The Therapeutic Use of Narrative

Thursday, March 21, 2013
6:00-8:00pm
Dr. Carol H. Meyer Room (311/312); also available via Livestream.
Lauren Taylor (M.A., M.S.’94, L.C.S.W.) is a psychiatric social worker, oral historian and adjunct lecturer at CUSSW. Her workshop will examine the meaning and value of personal narrative in the lives of our clients.

Watch it here:

Broadway Night: Orphans

Thursday, March 28, 2013
8:00-10:00 p.m.
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th Street (b/w Broadway and 8th Avenue)
Orphans depicts the lives of two orphaned brothers (played by Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge) who  live in their decrepit North Philadelphia row house. They survive by petty thievery and a steady diet of tuna fish and daytime television until the violent older brother decides to kidnap Harold (played by Alec Baldwin), a notorious Chicago gangster. Harold soon becomes the force that will forever change their lives. NOTE: There may be an opportunity to participate in a talkbalk with the cast and creative team after the performance.

Purchase theatre tickets via Columbia Alumni Arts League.

WEBINAR:Schmooze or Lose: Advanced Networking Strategies

Tuesday, March 26, 2013
1:00-2:00pm
An extreme career changer who trained in classical piano at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart®, specializes in working with people who want to make a change—from individual contributor to leader; from one career to a new one; from employee to entrepreneur.

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And tomorrow (March 20) being the first official day of spring, we would also like to announce that the CUSSW Alumni event of the year—ALUMNI DAY—is coming soon: on Friday April 12, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A chance to reconnect with colleagues and the School. Mark your calendars!

This year’s event features a keynote address by Dean Takamura, various faculty and alumni presentations, a Hall of Fame panel, and a lunchtime talk by Natalie Rogers (MS’77) providing public speaking tips.

–Compiled by ML Awanohara