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Name: Kelly Reiff
Class: Advance standing master of social work candidate in summer sessions one and two
Undergraduate degree and major: Bachelor’s degree in social work and associate degree in criminal justice, both from Anderson University, Anderson, Ind.
Hometown: Bluffton, Ind.
What does it mean to be an advance standing student in social work? You have to have an undergraduate degree in social work, letters of recommendation, and write a personal profile. I started the MSW program this summer and will be considered a second-year student in the fall. I plan to graduate in May 2006 and hope to find work in juvenile corrections.
What have you been doing in summer school? Taking courses fulltime in social work. In the fall the advance standing students will merge with the MSW students who have already been here for a year. Basically, the college is giving the advance standing students a year’s worth of coursework over the summer, but most of it is a review because we already have our undergraduate degrees in social work, whereas other MSW students have their bachelor’s degrees in other fields like psychology or sociology.
Would you recommend the advance standing summer option of the College of Social Work to other students? Yes. I like especially how they structure the advance program because I briefly started my MSW at another college and realized it wasn’t the best for me. The professors do a good job of preparing us and getting us up to speed, and they’re fair. It’s nice to be able to get some classes out of the way in the summer.
The start of the fall semester is just around the corner. How do you feel about the start-up of another academic year? I’m looking forward to the fall because I’ve been here fulltime all summer and it has been intense. In the fall I’ll be in classes two days a week and I’ll also be in a field placement job with the Department of Juvenile Justice for a couple of days a week. That will help break up the routine. I’m excited about it.
Are there any things in particular that you look forward to doing in the fall that you can’t do during other times of the school year? I’m looking forward to seeing more things happening on campus. There will be more activities, and of course, football and later basketball games and things like that. I’m looking forward to seeing how the campus will change. The fall semester is always just more fun. I’m always excited to get back to school then. I’m relieved in May when summer arrives, but then I am always ready to go back to school in the fall. There’s just more energy and more things going on that are always fun to be a part of.
How do you like USC so far? I love it. It’s beautiful and I love the Horseshoe area. Anderson University is a smaller school and I was excited to come to a bigger university. I think USC really is well organized in a lot of things that you don’t often see at big schools. Small schools tend to hold your hand and walk you through a lot of things and it’s easier, but I think USC, being as large as it is, really does a good job of that from my experience.
7/05
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