Starting with Purpose: The Bachelor of Social Work Experience
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Description
In this episode of the Connecting with Care podcast, we hear from Giavanna Russo, a senior at Baylor University's Garland School of Social Work. She shares her unexpected journey to Baylor, the supportive community within her small cohort, and her hands-on experience in the mother and baby unit at Baylor Scott and White Hillcrest. Giavanna emphasizes the importance of embracing challenges in social work and encourages prospective students to trust their instincts in pursuing their passions. Join us for an inspiring conversation about the transformative power of social work education.
Transcript
SPEAKERS:
Lillie Walker, Giovanna Russo
Lillie Walker
Hello. Welcome to the Connecting with Care podcast. My name is Lillie Walker. What does it look like to begin your social work journey with purpose, curiosity, and a heart for service? In this episode, we hear how one bachelor's student is finding her voice, building community, and discovering her call at Baylor's Garland School of Social Work. Join us as I sit down with Giavanna Russo to explore the BSW experience. Hello, my name is Lily. I'm with Miss G here, and we're going to talk about the Baylor bachelor's social work experience and just kind of get an idea of kind of what that experience has been like for you. We'll get right into it. So, if you wouldn't mind just introducing yourself.
Giavanna Russo
Awesome. My name is Giavanna Russo, but most people call me G. I'm a senior in the Bachelor of Social Work program. I'm from San Diego, California. That's about it. Awesome.
Lillie Walker
Cali girl. I love that. So now I just want to get into some more questions, getting to know you. If you had to describe one word about where you're living right now, what would that word be?
Giavanna Russo
I'd call it pretty homey. I've lived with the same girls for four years now. Two of them, we have one new roommate. We're really close. We've kind of made it our own. We just made a sign for our house, but, yeah, like, my roommates are like my sisters. So very - it's like home away from home.
Lillie Walker
Okay. And I'm just curious, have you lived on campus?
Giavanna Russo
We did our freshman year, and then we moved off campus. We lived in an apartment for two years, and this is the first time we had a house.
Lillie Walker
Okay.
Giavanna Russo
So that's fun and exciting.
Lillie Walker
Awesome.
Giavanna Russo
And very adult.
Lillie Walker
Next question is, what is your go to drink order at your favorite local coffee shop or tea place?
Giavanna Russo
My basic is usually like a vanilla latte, but I try every seasonal flavor ever, so I will probably get, like, whatever that coffee shop specializes in. I rediscovered BeKind recently, and they have a buttercup latte, I think is what it's called. It's like chocolate and peanut butter, and it's so good. It's not too sweet. It's very good.
Lillie Walker
That sounds awesome.
Giavanna Russo
Highly recommend it.
Lillie Walker
And then finally, what would you say is your favorite Baylor University tradition?
Giavanna Russo
It's definitely Sing and Pigskin. I'm a member of Baylor Student Productions Committee. This is a student organization on campus, and we produce those two shows as well as two other Baylor traditions called, After Dark, which is the family weekend variety show, and Stomp Fest. I'm, this week actually, because it's Homecoming, I am along with the rest of StuPro, like every night. working away, getting everyone ready, managing the organizations. But it's a lot of fun. Yeah.
Lillie Walker
Could you explain that just a little more? I got my undergrad somewhere else, so I actually have really not a good idea.
Giavanna Russo
Yes. So, Sing, like, the way. Gosh, I'm also a Baylor tour guide. The way that I explain it on tours and the way that StuPro would explain it is there are two different things, but on tours I say, it's the largest, off Broadway collegiate production in the nation. Which is true. But the way StuPro would describe it is, like a student organization musical competition. I guess. So, we usually have about 20 acts in the Spring, which is insane. Each act is an organization and they're all Greek organizations except for one Sing alliance, which is a non-affiliated student organization. They put on seven-minute musical skits, I guess what you call it. There's no dialogue, it's all music and choreography. And there's a theme. And the theme is kept secret all, year up until the opening night, which sometimes that leaks, but not because of us. And each act gets us designated student producer. So, me or any of my peers in Student Productions, we get multiple acts usually to produce, and we kind of help them bring their act to life. So, the organizations, they, they write it, they choreograph it, they create the theme, they build the set, the backdrop, all of it. And we just help them bring it to Waco Hall.
Lillie Walker
Yeah. And I just want to say for the listeners, this is like a super big event.
Giavanna Russo
It sells out immediately.
Lillie Walker
I had some undergrad friends that were like super stressing about getting tickets in a way that I've never seen for like an on-campus sort of event.
Giavanna Russo
The perk of putting it on is I get a ticket. Like I think we have a block of tickets just for us; I don't have to join the queu.
Lillie Walker
All right, well, thanks and love to get to know you. So now we're going to kind of get into your personal journey that brought you to social work, brought you to Baylor. So, what would you say that is? What's your reasoning for ending up at Baylor and then also, majoring in Social Work?
Giavanna Russo
Well, Baylor, I really didn't plan on at all. I went to a high school that, like, really wanted us to apply to a lot of four-year universities. They're really pushing the four-year universities.
00:05:00
Giavanna Russo
Whether or not you think that's good or bad, teach their own. I ended up applying to, like, 12 schools, which is, like, a lot. It was a lot for me.
Lillie Walker
That is a lot. It really is, applications are so cumbersome.
Giavanna Russo
Yes. And Baylor was a free app, and I had a friend who was committed to play soccer here. And so, we just got at it. And I didn't really do any research on it. I did not know it was religious. I did not, really know where in Texas it was. I originally was thinking about studying psychology, which you can kind of do anywhere. So, it just got added to my list. And then, long story short, I did not get into the school that I thought was my dream school. So, I just started touring and I fell in love with Baylor's campus while I was here. I met one of my roommates, who I still live with on tour – which is crazy.
Lillie Walker
Oh Wow.
Giavanna Russo
We ended up living together.
Lillie Walker
Friends from Day One, that’s crazy.
Giavanna Russo
Yep, and she really is like my sister. I, like, it's crazy to think about. And she wants to get her master’s at Baylor. And long story short, so do I. And so, we're going to get to live together a fifth year. Anyways, it was really, again, what I say on tour that, the Lord shut, like, the other doors, that I would open this window. And I've loved it. Baylor has felt like home since my tour, so I'm really glad that I'm here.
Lillie Walker
Oh, that's great. And then what would you say about social work specifically?
Giavanna Russo:
I ended up, in social work also, kind of randomly. I had a teacher in high school, a history teacher, shout out to Ms. Devereaux. That is her name. She asked me if I'd ever considered it, because my reasons for going into psych were like, I've always known I wanted to work with kids. I come from a big Italian family. I've been babysitting since I could walk and talk. I started nannying as soon as I could drive. So, I knew I wanted to work with kids and I wanted to do something in that – some sort of helping profession. And so, I was thinking, like, oh, like, counselor in schools and hospitals, like, some sort of something in that capacity. She was like, well, have you ever thought about social work? And I was like, honestly, I don't even know beyond, like, CPS, like in movies, like, what most people think of social work is. So, I ended up taking, Professor Kerrie Fisher's Intro to Social Work class and it was awesome. Like, she was bringing in panels of grad students and, and like, practitioners, and they were explaining what they were doing. And I was like, wow, I can do so much with this that I didn't even realize. And so, I switched either my second semester freshman year or first semester sophomore year - it didn't take me long. and like, as soon as I was in social work classes, I was like, oh, this is what people mean when they say vocation. I was just loving it. So, it's been like a really cool journey of discovery, I guess, of what the field actually is.
Lillie Walker
Oh, that's awesome. Okay. And then kind of building off that, like you said, it's kind of been the self-discovery and like, you're learning so many things. I personally learned so many things about just, like, environment and society and stuff that I, like, hadn't even realized. How would you say you've grown professionally and also personally during your time here?
Giavanna Russo
I think that the biggest way that I've grown is, like, getting comfortable with struggling. This is the first time, especially as a senior, like, being in my practicum internship, this is the first time that I've enjoyed what I'm doing and still found it really difficult because I feel like most of the time, like, most people, like, you're like, oh, I'm not good at this. I don't like it. but like, I still really found classes about, you know, federal policy interesting and, like, my practicum really interesting, but also really challenging. And so, I think I've gotten a lot more comfortable struggling for a bit and, like, sitting in a space where I'm bad at something.
Lillie Walker
Yeah, and that's such a delicate balance. But it's also like, I feel like that's a testament to, like, you're where you're supposed to be. Like, you're being pushed and it's challenging, but you're also loving it and able to grow in that. So that's really sweet. Such a sweet balance. Next question is, how has your time here shaped the way you see yourself and your career as a future social worker?
Giavanna Russo
Okay. So, I've always kind of thought, like, I said, I want to work with kids. And so, then once I got into more social work classes and I was like, what kind of things, you know, do you want to Clinical or do I want to do Community? I kind of decided early on, like, okay, clinical practice, medical realm is like, what I find most interesting. And the further I get into my classes, the more that idea is challenged. Because I've just always been a planner. Like, okay, I know what I'm going to be doing five years from now, and this program has definitely taught me to let go of that. And I also, I think I had this idea just from, like, growing up that, like, your career is what you do forever. Like, everyone works a job for like, 20, 30, 40 years and then they retire. Yeah. And the more people I meet in the field of social work, the more I realize that that's not the case and that I can go do something for five years and decide to do something else and work in different areas of social work in general. And so, I think it's
00:10:00
Giavanna Russo:
It's just, like, opened up my, perspective on what my career can look like.
Lillie Walker
Yeah, I think that's a really good point. And it's something I've kind of realized from our professors, too, is, like, you see a lot of them that have actual practitioner experience, then they'll talk about their role in higher education, as a social worker. Then they'll talk about their role and, I don't know, you name it, whatever field it could be. And just seeing how social work kind of dips in so many different categories and that by getting this degree, you're not really, like, confining yourself to one area. So, yeah, I think that's a really good point. So, next question is, how would you describe Baylor's social work community? Like, your classmates, your professors, administrators?
Giavanna Russo
I would call it tight knit. My cohort is actually, we're pretty unusually small. There's 14 of us.
Lillie Walker
Oh, that is.
Giavanna Russo
Yes, the senior undergraduates, right now, there's 14 of us. We have all our social work classes together. And we have since the beginning of our junior year. So, we, like, have a group chat. We, like, talk about everything. And I think that that has been something invaluable to me. We're all so close. They are a group of people that I can bring good and bad news, too, which I think is awesome and hard to find. It's really easy to find people that want to complain. It's really easy to find people that just want to celebrate and can't stick with you through the hard times. So, the fact that, like, we've got both is awesome. And also, like, the professors in the school are just, like, beyond kind. I haven't met a single professor that wasn't willing to be, like, flexible with a student who needed it, or change something that wasn't working. And I've just found that even though the 14 of us have had all our classes together, we are all extremely different and we all need different things and like different levels of encouragement and instruction, you know, you name it - and every single professor has been able to meet each of us where we're at. So, it's such like a strength of being such a small program is that like, I feel like I'm getting bang for my buck here at Baylor. Like I'm getting the most out of this undergraduate program. It's insane.
Lillie Walker
Yeah, totally. And I can speak to the master's program. All the class sizes are pretty small. I think in my cohort there's about 35 right now, but most of the time the classes are split. So even that like the class sizes are so small and you get so much access to the professors and they have so much wisdom to share. So. Yeah, that's really great. All right, so now we're going to kind of get into more like practical - what does being an undergrad at Baylor and majoring in social work look like? So how would you describe a typical week for you in this program?
Giavanna Russo
Busy. Which is like partly because the program and partly because I personally am just a busy body.
Lillie Walker
Sure.
Giavanna Russo
I have like an on-campus job and classes and I'm an internship and then I like am involved in clubs. So just the program, like aside from the other stuff I do, right now we've got classes Monday, Wednesday in the afternoon only. And then most of us are in our internship, Tuesday, Thursday. So, it's, it's pretty busy. I - honestly this is the year that I've had the least homework, which is kind of nice because we are working for class. Like we're in our internship, you know, 15 plus hours a week, working in like some area of social work. So, it's nice to have a little bit less work at the end of the day. But it's not nonexistent. I don't know, I keep pretty busy, I guess.
Lillie Walker
Totally. Yeah. And can you just say a little bit about your practicum site, currently?
Giavanna Russo
Yes, I'm currently placed at Baylor, Scott and White Hillcrest, in the Mother and Baby Unit, which is really cool. It's a mainly shadow role just because working in the hospital, there's a lot of things legally like you have to do a specific way. So, I work under a case manager in mother and baby we see patients across the NICU, pediatric ward, and then labor and delivery and postpartum. So, anyone who's coming through, giving birth, any kids that are there we see, mostly doing psychosocial assessments and providing resources.
Lillie Walker
Yeah. That's awesome. I'm also at Baylor, Scott and White Hillcrest, but I'm in the Emergency Department in the night shift. And so, kind of some of what we do, like, overlaps a little bit.
00:15:00
Lillie Walker
Looks a little bit different. But, yeah, I just think that's good for the Pod to know kind of what you do. and so how many. How many hours per week is that, for undergrad?
Giavanna Russo
We're supposed to get 15. I end up getting somewhere between 16 and 18, depending on whether or not I get to take a lunch. Because usually we have huddles over lunch and so I eat during the meeting. But, yeah, I work there Tuesday, Thursday from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Lillie Walker
Okay, and then is it your senior year is when you start a practicum, or is it throughout your undergrad?
Giavanna Russo
It's just senior year.
Lillie Walker
Just your senior year.
Giavanna Russo
Uh-huh.
Lillie Walker
So, you've been getting coursework, your freshman, some, like, more Gen Ed freshman year, sophomore, a little bit more, and then junior year all social work classes in that year?
Giavanna Russo
Yes. Yeah. So, my freshman year, I was pretty much in mostly Gen Ed classes. I took my Intro Social Work, and that was the only social work class I took that year. And then, sophomore year, I think I took a couple lower level, like, Human Diversity, and Identity class, and maybe like an Intro to Gerontology, like an elective. And then junior year, you kind of jump in. That's when you transition from main campus over here to the Garland School in downtown Waco and you're, like, fully in Social Work classes almost, almost solely.
Lillie Walker
Solely, yeah. And then senior year, you're in only social work courses and also add in that practicum piece.
Giavanna Russo
Yes, exactly.
Lillie Walker
Great. okay. And so how would you say you balance your coursework and your life outside of school?
Giavanna Russo
I live off of my Google Calendar, as many college students probably do. I try outside of, like, weird exceptions, like this week with it being Homecoming, and, like, me being part of the production team for Pigskin, I tried to limit any commitments after 5pm during the week and at all during the weekend. The only consistent thing I do on the weekend is go to church. Other than that, I keep it pretty free so, like, if fun things come up, I can do that. I can relax. I can nap. And then 5pm whether or not I'm at internship or I'm in class or I'm at my job, I’m never at any of those places later than 5pm. That's just my cutoff so I can, like, go home. And I like to cook, so I, like, get to make dinner. I don't have to meal prep lunch and dinner, and hang out with my roommates and my friends and like so, yeah, I have pretty strict boundaries for when I will and will not commit myself to things.
Lillie Walker
Setting boundaries on your time is so important. I think that's so great that you say that of, like, yeah, it's important that I get my work done. It's important I get my schoolwork done. But also setting aside that time to relax and do the things that are going to make me be able to show up in the NICU and be present is also super, super important.
Giavanna Russo
Yeah.
Lillie Walker
So I know we talked a little bit how you kind of just have always known you wanted to be in the helping profession but I was wondering if there were any other, like, deciding factors that helped you decide to go into social work?
Giavanna Russo
Yeah, I, I guess I, like, really realized that it could be a career when I started watching kids that were not my family members. Like, when I switched from babysitting, like, my cousins and cousins’ kids to nannying full time for a family, I started realizing how rewarding it was to, like, become essentially become like, a safe space for somebody else. Like, I worked for one family in Waco, they had twin boys. I was just, like, in love with them - they were the cutest things ever, these twin toddlers. But they were really attached to their parents. So, I worked with them for about a year and a half, and for the first probably three to four months, every time I picked them up, they would cry because they didn't want to leave their mom. And I was like, I'm really trying not to take this too personally, but, like, when is this gonna stop? And, like, we would drive away from their house, and I would usually take them, like, to the Mayborn or to Cameron Park or whatever, we always had fun as soon as they left their mom.
Lillie Walker
Right.
Giavanna Russo
It was just that, like, initial transition that was so hard until, like, one day I picked them up and they were happy to see me. I was like “Yes! I've made it.” And it was just, like, so awesome. And, like, getting, to watch them learn to walk, learn to talk, like, hit milestones was so cool. And I was like, okay, how do I, like, get this feeling somewhere else? Since I was also in that Intro to Social Work course, like, I guess the semester before, I was working for this family. And so, I was just kind of, like, thinking about what I was hearing from practitioners and how they were feeling, like, building rapport with clients and all the different spaces they were able to work in. And I was like, okay, that's going to be it.
Lillie Walker
Yeah and building rapport with clients is such an important piece, and it's something that can be, like, overlooked like, yeah, obviously you need to build a relationship with them, but that is, like, so
00:20:00
Lillie Walker
Important, and it takes time. It's not something that you just walk in and you're just able to build rapport so that you can get actual work, like social work, specific work done with a client.
Giavanna Russo
Yeah.
Lillie Walker
So, yeah, I think that's really awesome. So to close up here, I was just wondering if you had any super awesome advice that you would give to a potential Baylor Bear that is looking into the social work program.
Giavanna Russo
What I say to students considering Baylor, is to trust your gut and go where feels like home, which is extremely cheesy. But everyone that I talk to and myself included, like, that's how it's worked. Because all, all the reasons that, like, Baylor and social work have felt right to me, kind of boil down to, like, it just feels like home. It feels like this is where I belong, this is what I should be doing. And so being able to kind of block out our, like, our thoughts that challenge our instincts like, ‘but none of my friends from home are going here,’ and ‘but I might not make the most money in social work,’ like, all of those things that are more outside, external pressures that, like, really aren't going to matter in the future, like, when you're looking for something that's going to fulfill you in life, like, when you're looking for a career that you're passionate about, and a university that's going to support you in finding that, those outside things just really don't matter. And so it's hard to let them go, but you should, and all those reasons that Baylor has felt like home and like, the community I've built here have made my successes so much more special and so much more rewarding. So, anyone who's considering Baylor, considering social work. Like, I always say, trust your gut because, like, your instincts really do, they really do mean something. And sometimes that, you know, is you, and sometimes it's the Lord pushing you and, like, we just really don't know. So, yeah, that's what I would say is trust yourself.
Lillie Walker
Yeah. And it sounds like you've made great friends to share it with, like, people that you've lived with for the past four years. Those are relationships that you'll always have. So, our last question is, what has surprised you the most throughout your journey here?
Giavanna Russo
Something that surprised me the most, in this program is that I have, I haven't gotten to a single point where I felt like, oh, my learning has plateaued. I've got nothing left to do here. I feel like every day, especially now that we're in our practicum internship, I walk into something new and I leave with something where I'm like, ‘well, I've never seen that before,’ and that's something that's really cool. I feel like in the past, like, that was probably how I knew that, like, social work was really for me, because I found it so interesting. Like, I get to points in other classes where I'm like, well, I'm kind of bored. Like, this is not. I've got nothing left that I'm curious about here. And I, I've yet to have, that in social work, and I'm only a couple years in, but, like, I hope that continues and that, like, I keep finding new things to be, like, fascinated by and, like, passionate about and to work towards. Yeah.
Lillie Walker
Yeah, that's great. Well, thanks so much for chatting. I hope this, well, I hope your story is helpful to future, Baylor Social Work majors. and thanks.
Giavanna Russo
Thanks for having me. This has been really cool.
Lillie Walker
Ready to imagine your own path into social work? Giavanna’s story reminds us that growth happens when community and calling meet. Join us next time as we continue sharing the stories shaping the future of social work.
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