Elizabethtown College Social Work students and faculty members recently attended and presented at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Conference from Oct. 23 to 25. The meeting was held at the Kalahari Resorts in the Pocono Mountains.
“This is an important event that gives students and faculty the chance to attend various educational seminars on contemporary issues facing social workers and their clients,” Elizabethtown College Social Work Program Director, James Corbin said.
During the three-day conference, students attended seminars and visited with representatives from various graduate programs. They also met with employers to discuss jobs and internship opportunities in the social work field.
Seminars included discussions on addiction, mental health, medical-based social work, and creative therapies such as equine therapy. Other topics included unsheltered homelessness, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and substance use.
“The ability to interact with such a diverse group of social workers opened my eyes to the many different career possibilities out there and social issues that need to be addressed,” Emma Sager ‘25 said. “With greater knowledge and experience, we are given the tools to best serve our global community.”
Etown Visiting Lecturer and Field Education Director, Kristin Kurjiaka ’18 and retired Etown Social Work Professor, Peggy McFarland explained the roles that social workers play in the process of organ donation, through their personal experiences detailing their kidney donation in 2021 during the presentation, “Organ Donation: Through the Lens of a Social Work Donor and Recipient.”
