Social Work

Aimee Richards

Class of 2008

Hometown: Salinas, CA

Activities:

  Sharee Aimee Richards

Faith and social work

I feel that God called me to be a social worker. I want to help, encourage and advocate for those that need help. I want to make a difference in the lives around me. I was originally majoring education at another university, but decided that I want to be involved in children's lives in a different way. I want to assist and encourage individuals on a more personal level so I and transferred to ACU and became a social work major.

I love my social work professors!

Learning from them has been such a great experience. They each offer a completely different viewpoint and have all participated in many different careers and activities. Their passions vary greatly, which makes for a wonderful learning experience. They are dedicated to teaching students how to be the best that we can be. They are extremely encouraging and it is very obvious that they truly care about the students. I have learned so much from them and feel very prepared as a future social worker because of them.

I love the way that Dr. Brice incorporates critical thinking and class discussions during class. She also has many great group projects that are very informational. I love the way that Ms. Isom encourages and provides real life experience to go along with what the class is learning. She always makes a great effort to know what is going on in the lives of her students and it makes me feel that much more at home and like I belong. Being so far from home in California, it is a wonderful blessing to have professors that care so much about me and are so willing to be a part of my life.

My social work classes

What I like best about my social work classes is that, although they are each different classes with different overall topics and objectives to be learned, they all build on each other. Each class relates to the others. I like the way that different topics can be incorporated all in one field. Even though I really like learning about social justice, I can go on to my next class and learn about ways to research that social injustice, and then go to the final class of the day and learn how to advocate for the person that is being abused.

Most memorable field experience

My most memorable experience in field was at Coronado Nursing Center. I became extremely close to an elderly man on hospice care. I regularly fed, sang and talked with him during the final stages of life. I felt that we were close and, although he passed away, it was a very important way for me to learn about the grieving process during a field experience.

Senior field experience

My senior field placement was at the Betty Hardwick Center. It is a community MHMR resource facility that serves the surrounding five counties. I observed the child and adolescent mental health unit and learned how to teach coping skills and lead sessions. Most of the children served by the BHC have conduct disorder, ADHD, ODD, depression, or anger issues. I learned a lot about how to relate to children and ways to get my points across and reach them regarding their issues.