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People Helping People: A Career with Purpose · NCSC College Connections

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to College Connection.
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  Speaker 2: I'm Maggie Treanor, Marketing, Communication, and Media Manager at North
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  Speaker 2: Central State College. And today we're shining a spotlight on
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  Speaker 2: the people and programs that help make a difference in
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  Speaker 2: the lives of individuals, families, and our community. I'm pleased
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  Speaker 2: to welcome two guests, Steve Haynes, Dean of Liberal Arts,
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  Speaker 2: and Teresa Ault, an Instructor in the Human and Social
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  Speaker 2: Work Services Program here at North Central State College. Today
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  Speaker 2: we're going to explore what inspires people to pursue careers
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  Speaker 2: in human services and social work the many career opportunities
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  Speaker 2: available in this rewarding field, and how the program at
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  Speaker 2: North Central State prepares students to turn their passion from
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  Speaker 2: helping others into meaningful careers. We'll also hear more about
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  Speaker 2: the value of the program, the importance of preparing compassionate
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  Speaker 2: and skilled professionals, and how North Central State College helps
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  Speaker 2: students build a path towards making a lasting impact in
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  Speaker 2: their communities. Hello and thanks for joining me. Steve, I'll
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  Speaker 2: start with you. Can you tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 2: about your role as Dean of Liberal Arts at North Central?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's my pleasure to really serve the community as
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  Speaker 3: Dean of Liberal Arts to oversee a lot of different programs.
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  Speaker 3: I oversee education. I see the genets like history, math. English,
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  Speaker 3: but also human services. And one of the things I
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  Speaker 3: really love is to oversee programs that really are meant
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  Speaker 3: to help the community and help people achieve their dreams
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  Speaker 3: and to obtain more education that's only going to help them.
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  Speaker 3: And the Human Services Social Work Program is definitely one
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  Speaker 3: of those and also bring so much help to the
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  Speaker 3: community that needs it so much.
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  Speaker 2: Teresa, please introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about
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  Speaker 2: your role as the Instructor of Human Services and Social Work.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you. My name is Teresa Ault, and I'm
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  Speaker 1: a social worker. I have my master's degree and my
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  Speaker 1: bachelor's degree and an independent social work license. I currently
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  Speaker 1: have a couple different roles. One is Program Coordinator for
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  Speaker 1: the Human Services Program. and also instructor. So I work
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  Speaker 1: with our advisors and our team at the college to
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  Speaker 1: help promote the program and to find adjuncts to teach
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  Speaker 1: our classes. and to make sure that our schedules are
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  Speaker 1: flexible so that we can reach out to both adult
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  Speaker 1: learners and traditional college students.
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  Speaker 2: Perfect. Thank you both for joining me. First of all,
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  Speaker 2: when we talk about higher education, we often focus on
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  Speaker 2: earning a degree and finding a job. But the Human
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  Speaker 2: and Social Work Services program offers much more. It's an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to turn a desire to help people into a
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  Speaker 2: career that really makes a difference in our community. And
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  Speaker 2: human services is an excellent way for people to start out. So, Teresa,
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  Speaker 2: what would you say to someone who always had a
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  Speaker 2: passion for helping some people and wants to turn that
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  Speaker 2: passion into a career?
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  Speaker 1: I would tell them that their natural empathy is a
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  Speaker 1: superpower and that passion alone can sometimes lead to burnout
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  Speaker 1: if you don't have the right tools and support. But
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  Speaker 1: turning your desire to help into a career doesn't mean
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  Speaker 1: losing your heart. It means gaining the frameworks, the boundaries,
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  Speaker 1: the strategies to make a lasting and sustainable impact. Human
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  Speaker 1: services takes that raw desire to do good and sharpens
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  Speaker 1: it into a professional skill set, allowing you to get
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  Speaker 1: paid for making the world a better place. So instead
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  Speaker 1: of just trying to do things all on your own,
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  Speaker 1: you develop a whole system and support that provides you
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  Speaker 1: the ability to do more good and to do that
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  Speaker 1: good for a longer period of time so that you
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  Speaker 1: don't burn out.
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  Speaker 2: And that's very important. And the impact goes beyond one
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  Speaker 2: person helping another. So when students graduate and begin working
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  Speaker 2: in the field, what do you hope that they carry
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  Speaker 2: with them beyond the knowledge that they've gained in the classroom?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I hope they carry with them a deep sense
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  Speaker 1: of cultural humility, unwavering resilience, and a firm belief in
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  Speaker 1: human dignity. The classroom gives them the what and the
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  Speaker 1: how and the theories. But I really want them to
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  Speaker 1: carry that code of ethics and human services and social work.
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  Speaker 1: The code of ethics really drives everything that we do.
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  Speaker 1: And I hope that code of ethics carries them through
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  Speaker 1: in those difficult situations where they can make the correct call,
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  Speaker 1: empower and advocate for those who are most vulnerable. And
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  Speaker 1: I hope they also leave with self-care habits that they
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  Speaker 1: need to sustain their energy and their empathy and that's
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  Speaker 1: required to meet clients' needs exactly where they are without
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  Speaker 1: any judgment.
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  Speaker 2: Can we talk a little bit about some of the
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  Speaker 2: possibilities that are within the human services program? So one
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  Speaker 2: of the things that stands out is there's a variety
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  Speaker 2: of different career.
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  Speaker 1: Paths, correct?
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  Speaker 2: So students can explore different populations, different challenges, and sometimes
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  Speaker 2: their work environment.
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  Speaker 1: Can be a little bit different.
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  Speaker 2: So how broad is that field for human services and
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  Speaker 2: what might students be surprised to learn about the opportunities
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  Speaker 2: available for them?
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  Speaker 1: Yes, the field is very diverse and very vast. So essentially,
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  Speaker 1: when you think about a safety net of our society,
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  Speaker 1: you have a human service professional there providing that support.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not just one-on-one case management. It's not just
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  Speaker 1: mental health services. It could, and it's not just one-on-one.
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  Speaker 1: It could be at the macro level, meaning advocacy and
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  Speaker 1: could even go into politics, right? So you could become
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  Speaker 1: somebody on Capitol Hill advocating for those who are most vulnerable.
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  Speaker 1: It can be one-to-one services. It could be in substance
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  Speaker 1: abuse or with the aging population or crisis intervention. It
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  Speaker 1: also could be community-based. So you could be in your
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  Speaker 1: community trying to organize and support people your local community
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  Speaker 1: and build on their strengths. You can work in the
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  Speaker 1: court system, you can work in hospitals, nonprofits, government agencies. Basically,
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  Speaker 1: wherever there's a vulnerable population, there's typically a human service
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  Speaker 1: professional there supporting them.
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  Speaker 2: Perfect. So what kind of opportunities should these students be
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  Speaker 2: considering while they're looking for a job after graduation from
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  Speaker 2: human services?
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  Speaker 1: With an associate's degree, many of them can gain jobs
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  Speaker 1: right away, entry-level positions. So it might be more of
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  Speaker 1: the direct care professionals, maybe with individuals with intellectual disabilities
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  Speaker 1: or working as a peer supporter in a substance abuse
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  Speaker 1: area or a case manager in a mental health area.
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  Speaker 1: But once you have that degree and you're able to
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  Speaker 1: get into the field, you take continuing education hours every
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  Speaker 1: year and you can build on those skills you're also
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  Speaker 1: able to go back to school. And we have articulation
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  Speaker 1: agreements with many of our four-year partners so that they
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  Speaker 1: could gain a bachelor's degree pretty quickly and then a license,
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  Speaker 1: which will enable them to build Medicaid and insurance companies.
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  Speaker 1: So there are a lot of populations, a lot of opportunities.
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  Speaker 1: And if, you know, one population or one area, say there's,
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  Speaker 1: you know, insurance changes and you don't want to deal
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  Speaker 1: with insurance anymore, You can certainly change professions. You can
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  Speaker 1: go into a whole other area and not necessarily have
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  Speaker 1: to go back to get a new degree. You may
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  Speaker 1: need to get some upskilling or some training, continuing education hours,
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  Speaker 1: but you can certainly move around within the profession and
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  Speaker 1: have a long and lasting and fulfilling career.
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  Speaker 2: I've actually had an opportunity to talk to a lot
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  Speaker 2: of your students throughout the years and they really enjoy
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  Speaker 2: the classroom. So let's talk a little bit about the
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  Speaker 2: student experience here at North Central. For someone considering the
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  Speaker 2: human service degree, the college experience can sometimes feel a
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  Speaker 2: little intimidating. They can be balancing things from work, raising
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  Speaker 2: family and returning to school after like several years being away.
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  Speaker 2: What would you say, either Teresa or Steve can answer
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  Speaker 2: this one, what makes the human service program at North
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  Speaker 2: Central a welcoming and supportive place for students to begin
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  Speaker 2: and continue their education?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think it starts with our wonderful advisors. I
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  Speaker 1: think we have two of the best advisors at the college.
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  Speaker 1: I don't mean to brag, but we do. And they
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  Speaker 1: do a really good job of trying to find the
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  Speaker 1: best fit for them, keeping them informed, providing them support.
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  Speaker 1: We have a lot of support with our TRIO program,
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  Speaker 1: with our advising program. We have small class sizes. We
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  Speaker 1: offer online classes. We offer Zoom hybrid lab classes. So
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  Speaker 1: we do a lot of work in the labs in
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  Speaker 1: terms of practicing and role playing and looking at case studies.
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  Speaker 1: But you can do that on Zoom from your home.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have to drive to campus. So we have
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  Speaker 1: students in different counties who are able to participate online.
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  Speaker 1: We also, when we're looking at the field practicum, which
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  Speaker 1: is usually the last part of the last semester of
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  Speaker 1: their degree, they're in the field for 250 hours learning
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  Speaker 1: from a human service professional. And then we have a
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  Speaker 1: one-hour practicum session where we talk to each other about
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  Speaker 1: what did you learn and what's your experience like. So
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  Speaker 1: they learn about their own placement, but they also learn
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  Speaker 1: what different agencies are like from their peers. And so
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  Speaker 1: that experience many times ends up with a nice job
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  Speaker 1: offer for them as they graduate, but it also is
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity for them to figure out, oh, maybe I
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  Speaker 1: don't like that particular area of social work. Maybe it's
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  Speaker 1: too fast-paced or maybe it's too stressful. I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: try this because my classmate had a great experience there.
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  Speaker 1: It gives a great opportunity for networking because many times
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  Speaker 1: they're in the community and they're meeting other professionals and
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  Speaker 1: other agencies so they can really build their network and, uh,
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  Speaker 1: use that to get their next job. One of the
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  Speaker 1: advantages we do have here at the college is the
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  Speaker 1: smaller class sizes. So, you know, you're often able to
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  Speaker 1: build relationships with the students as an instructor. So how
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  Speaker 1: did these smaller class sizes and faculty mentorship help students
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  Speaker 1: build confidence, develop skills, prepare for professional work? Yes. So
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  Speaker 1: we have a couple adjunct professors who are still actively
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  Speaker 1: working in the field, so they can use their everyday
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  Speaker 1: life experience in the classroom to help them. So it's
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  Speaker 1: not like they're trying to remember what it was like
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  Speaker 1: 20 years ago when they were in the field. They're
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  Speaker 1: currently in the field. They provide that support. We have
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  Speaker 1: office hours. Again, we have small class sizes. So we're,
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  Speaker 1: and we are with them for the whole two years.
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  Speaker 1: So we develop strong relationships with, uh, with the faculty
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  Speaker 1: and the students and the students with each other. They
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  Speaker 1: do a great job of supporting each other. They really
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  Speaker 1: become like a family. Uh, So when things get difficult
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  Speaker 1: and someone is discouraged, we always have someone else who
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  Speaker 1: has a resource or support or just some kind, funny
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  Speaker 1: words to keep their spirits up. So it's really nice
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  Speaker 1: to see them from the very first class where they
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  Speaker 1: might be a little timid and weary to the end
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  Speaker 1: where they have gained some experience and some knowledge. They
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  Speaker 1: have more confidence and they have a good, strong, solid
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  Speaker 1: relationship with each other and with the faculty. to help
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  Speaker 1: launch their career.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that definitely has an impact on them, I'm sure.
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  Speaker 2: Can we now turn a little bit to affordability here
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  Speaker 2: at the college? Basically, the cost of college is a
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  Speaker 2: major consideration for so many students here at North Central.
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  Speaker 2: It works to make education more accessible through our tuition,
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  Speaker 2: financial aid opportunities, the use of our open ed resources,
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  Speaker 2: which can reduce or eliminate the cost of how many
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  Speaker 2: materials they have to buy. So, Steve, this one I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to turn to you and just ask you, how
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  Speaker 2: does making college more affordable help open the door for
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  Speaker 2: students who might otherwise think earning a degree is out
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  Speaker 2: of their reach?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, this is a huge problem within colleges and universities
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  Speaker 3: around this country right now. And we hear it all
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  Speaker 3: the time, the cost of going to college, the cost
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  Speaker 3: of getting a degree. And North Central State, we take
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  Speaker 3: this very seriously, and we do everything that we can
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  Speaker 3: do to lessen the burden on an individual or families
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  Speaker 3: who are going to seek education and and to help
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  Speaker 3: our communities like in social work program. We have scholarships available.
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  Speaker 3: We have different grants. We have tuition freedom for those
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  Speaker 3: who qualify. We have a financial aid office that's going
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  Speaker 3: to do whatever we can in order to help you
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  Speaker 3: cover the cost of college to get you into the
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  Speaker 3: career that you are really seeking. And that's going to
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  Speaker 3: help the community and yourself. So this is a huge
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  Speaker 3: focus of the college.
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  Speaker 2: And that impacts our students all around, not just liberal arts.
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  Speaker 2: That's in all of our different programs here. I'm going
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  Speaker 2: to turn a little bit. Teresa, you did talk a
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  Speaker 2: little bit about the practicum experience that students have. And
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  Speaker 2: it is another important part of preparing them for the
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  Speaker 2: human services degree in general and taking them beyond the classroom.
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  Speaker 2: So how does that field practicum experience help students prepare
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  Speaker 2: for that transition from college into the workforce? And how
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  Speaker 2: important is that for us to have that community relationship?
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  Speaker 1: Yes, it's very important. So the practicum is where the
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  Speaker 1: magic happens. It's the bridge between the theory and reality.
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  Speaker 1: By placing students directly into local agencies, they get to
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  Speaker 1: apply what they've learned to real human situations under the
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  Speaker 1: guidance of an experienced site supervisor. It demystifies the workforce,
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  Speaker 1: it builds their professional network, and often serves as a
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  Speaker 1: direct pipeline to a job offer before they even cross
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  Speaker 1: the graduation stage. And because we have students in a
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  Speaker 1: couple different counties, we are able to offer that practicum
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  Speaker 1: in their local communities. So we can enter into an
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  Speaker 1: agreement with an agency in Galleon or Ashland. I think
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  Speaker 1: last semester we had five different counties represented. So it
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  Speaker 1: really is nice where they're able to save gas and
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  Speaker 1: time by having a local agency also helps them to
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  Speaker 1: make those networks and connections so they can get their
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  Speaker 1: job in their local community.
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  Speaker 2: As we start to wrap this up, for somebody who
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  Speaker 2: is interested in the program to talk to somebody here
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  Speaker 2: at North Central, like how are they able to get
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  Speaker 2: a hold of us in order to make that happen
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  Speaker 2: and get them in that classroom?
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  Speaker 1: So they just need to reach out either on our
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  Speaker 1: website or give us a call. We'd be happy to
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  Speaker 1: set up a time to meet with them. We could
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  Speaker 1: do it over Zoom or meet them at the college.
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  Speaker 1: And because we have different sites, we can meet them
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  Speaker 1: at whatever campus is closest to them. And we do
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  Speaker 1: have all the information on our website, the courses that
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  Speaker 1: they would need to take and the different associate's degrees
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  Speaker 1: that they might be interested in. There is a great
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  Speaker 1: need for human service professionals, you know, There's always job openings.
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  Speaker 1: There's always opportunities to grow. The job outlook, you know,
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  Speaker 1: our outlook for the next 10 years is to increase
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  Speaker 1: by 10 percent across the state of Ohio. And once
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  Speaker 1: you receive that degree and you get your license, you
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  Speaker 1: can get your next independent license. And that just offers
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  Speaker 1: opens up more doors for our students.
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  Speaker 3: I'd like to add if. this is something that really
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  Speaker 3: pulls on your heart that you really want to help people.
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  Speaker 3: There's no better way to start to effectively help your
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  Speaker 3: neighbor and to help your community. And in the process,
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  Speaker 3: really bring that sense of purpose to your life. If
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  Speaker 3: this is what you feel like is you're being called
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  Speaker 3: to do.
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  Speaker 2: We're here and we're ready for you. Thank you guys
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  Speaker 2: both for taking a time out of your day to
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  Speaker 2: share with us. Thank you both for sharing your perspective
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  Speaker 2: and helping us understand not only what human service professionals do,
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  Speaker 2: but also how North Central can help students prepare for
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  Speaker 2: this meaningful work out in our community. Thank you for
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  Speaker 2: joining us for this episode of College Connection. We look
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  Speaker 2: forward to bringing you more conversations about the people, programs,
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  Speaker 2: and opportunities making a difference across our college and throughout
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  Speaker 2: our community.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.