# data[].attributes.body
My name is Christian but feel free to call me by that name or Chris whichever you like best. I use He/Him/His pronouns and am of Mexican/Guatemalan heritage. I would like to be more confident in leading groups since I work in a High School as a type of socio-emotional counselor. So, I really want to better my practice so I can better serve my students and the larger community.

# data[].attributes.body
Greetings to all,

My name is Avery Brandon, everyone calls me "Ave" or Avery. My pronoun is He/Him. My goal that i would like to get out of this class is learn how to formulate structure, clarity and realistic goals for clients both individually and collectively. In addition, learning how to navigate in providing services and resources, also organization to help deal with challenges and crisis management.

Although I have years of experience in working with both youth and adults in disadvantaged communities, my new found passion is working with individuals in the hospital settings.

# data[].attributes.body
She/Her/Hers

Social work seemed to be a natural instinct that I did not realized until entering the BSW program at SSSW. My passionate stems from my story of being a teen parent and how it led to that point. I can be considered as an analytic and reflective person as I try to find the meanings to my own behaviors.

I hope to learn he many elements of social work practice that may relate to my current work as a sociotherapist. My experience primarily is within human services as I have worked with a variety of populations on a daily basis. I feel it is important to expand your toolbox in ways that it automatically connects… like Flight 828 lol

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Olatunji McEwen, I do not mind to be addressed by my first or last name and my pronouns are He/Him. My aim is to enhance my knowledge in group work, its dynamics and how I can relate this knowledge to practice. Even though I am presently working with the forensic population, my decade of experience working with the homeless population continue to drive my passion towards homelessness.

# data[].attributes.body
I hope everyone enjoyed their summer. My name is Tiffany, most people call me by my nickname "Tiny" (because I'm only 4'11 lol) I use the pronouns she/her. Something I look forward to getting out of this class is learning how to lead groups effectively and with more confidence.

I have worked in child welfare at a non-profit organization agency with adolescent youth and their families for the past 5 years. I actually am starting a new job this week working with solely adults in a psychiatric clinic which will be a complete change for me but up until now, children and adolescent have been my passion.

I look forward to meeting everyone in person.

# data[].attributes.body
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the last few weeks of the summer. It is such a pleasure to be with all of you in class this semester. My name is Irma Cruz, my pronouns are she/her/hers.

Something I look forward to for this class is being able to lead different types of groups. Whether it is working with my students, families, and or when working with staff at workshops.

One of the reasons I became interested in social work was after witnessing how undocumented and minority students continue to be  neglected by different institutions and professionals that fail to address their needs. I want to continue working with this population as I am very passionate about it.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello guys! We are finally having in-person classes, hooray. My name is Lin. My pronouns are she/her. My internship this year is to conduct home visits for adolescents as a therapist. Due to the nature of home visit, I perhaps will have opportunities encounter the whole family. Excited to apply knowledge in practice.

# data[].attributes.headline
My name is Ben Sadoff. I use he/him. I want to gain more confidence leading groups, knowing how to show up for other people and how to find my authentic voice in challenging folks to dig deeper.  I am passionate about young men and enjoy facilitating conversations about sex and gender.

# data[].attributes.subject
My name is Ben Sadoff. I use he/him. I want to gain more confidence leading groups, knowing how to show up for other people and how to find my authentic voice in challenging folks to dig deeper.  I am passionate about young men and enjoy facilitating conversations about sex and gender.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi everyone! My name is James and my pronouns are he/him. I am looking forward to learning with you all this semester.

I am hoping to learn more about group work and how to effectively manage group dynamics in a therapeutic setting. I have 10 years experience working with single adults experiencing street homelessness, but limited experience working within group settings; I would like to learn how to incorporate that into my work.

See you all tonight!
-James

p.s. sorry for not uploading an image. I'm on a very old work computer and things like uploading images is just too much for it to handle.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi Everyone! My Name is Orlene Molina. My pronouns are she/her. I currently work for Children's Aid mainly with foster youth and familes so I am looking forward to learn more about groups/families and how to better engage these individuals in my current work. I am most passionate about working with underprivileged youth mostly in black/latino communities. I believe if more resources/support services were available in these communities, we would see more youth thrive.

I am looking forward to meeting everyone this year and exicted for whats to come!

# data[].attributes.body
Hi! My name is Laurie (she/her) and I'm looking forward to seeing you all in class. The population I aim to work with are parents of children with mental health disorders, learning issues, and special needs. I am eager to learn practical skills for the application of family and group theory as I hope to do the best I can to support parents and families who struggle or are in crisis.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi! I'm Erin and my pronouns are she/her. My previous work in the SW field was with refugee and asylee populations, and I'm still interested in working with these groups as well as with survivors of intimate partner violence. I don't have much experience with group work, but it's something I definitely want to incorporate into future practice, so I'm really looking forward to learning some foundations in this class. My first year at Silberman showed me that this community is full of deeply knowledgeable and passionate people. I'm excited to meet all of you and to learn from you throughout this semester!

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Hena and I use she/her pronouns.
I am looking forward to being in class with ya'll as I have missed being in a classroom setting and found the remote last year pretty difficult. I'm looking forward to learning from everyone as well as Professor Goplan. We all have great experiences and knowledge to share!
I am mostly passionate about the refugee and immigrant populations. My family has a history of being refugees and one of the experiences that brought me to social work was being a community orientation intern at a refugee resettlement organization in CT. During my time there, I mostly worked with Afghan/Arab families and enjoyed my experience immensely.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi class - I'm Greg! My pronouns are he/him, and I'd like to learn the basics of family dynamics, and especially how those may play out in group therapy.

Here is a picture of me excited to start school, and with a family therapy book I have yet to read!

Excited to meet everyone!

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
A highlight for me this summer was going on a weekend-long bike ride for a friend's 40th birthday!

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Sarah and I use she/her pronouns. I'm looking forward to learning various approaches to group and family work, especially since I was kind of thrown into leading groups in my internship last year without really knowing what I was doing! :)

I think the population that interests me the most are the families (parents, siblings, and children) of individuals who've suffered serious mental illness and/or addiction issues. While I'm not 100% sure which populations I'll work with after I graduate, I do know that I'd like to grow into becoming a psychotherapist who works at least occasionally (if not more!) with families.

# data[].attributes.headline
Hello. My name is Saima Ima. My pronouns are she/her. I am looking forward on starting my MSW journey. I know the last year and half the classroom settings have changed. But I can not wait for this semester to start. I have experience working with teenagers in the foster care for two years now. I would like to continue to work with foster teens on a clinical perspective. Hope to see you in class today. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Hello. My name is Saima Ima. My pronouns are she/her. I am looking forward on starting my MSW journey. I know the last year and half the classroom settings have changed. But I can not wait for this semester to start. I have experience working with teenagers in the foster care for two years now. I would like to continue to work with foster teens on a clinical perspective. Hope to see you in class today. 

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Leila (she/her)
My interest is in early childhood education. I currently work with families whose children are in Headstart. I am looking forward to learn and share methods that can better engage families as they are their children first teachers

# data[].attributes.body
Hi. Brenda is my name, and she/her is how I refer to myself. I'm delighted to be back in class. The classroom ambiance and human connection are what I missed the most about being in a classroom.

In this course, I hope to expand on my present family and group engagement skills. I'm excited to learn from the personal experiences, moral lessons, and anecdotes of my peers. Lastly, I want to be inspired and encouraged to see things in new ways.

The population that is my greatest passion is the Deaf community. The Deaf community has all of the challenges that other minorities and persecuted groups face. I want to be their voice and work alongside the community to ensure that they received equitable treatment. I'd also like to help close the communication gap between the Deaf and hearing communities.

Hello Everyone!

Add a caption

# data[].attributes.body
Good evening Class,

My name is Jhessett Estrella (She/her/hers), and I’m anxious and excited to be having class in person. I am looking forward to learning more about interventions and practices that can be used with families. I have experience with families as I work in the foster care system for two years. The population that I am most interested in is adolescents.  Recently I am passionate about moms who experience postpartum depression.

I am looking forward to my first year in person.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello everyone! I go by Alyssa and I use she/her pronouns. I am looking forward to learning more about family therapy and the differing dynamics of various types of families. Before starting graduate school, I was a caseworker as well as a child and family crisis counselor. I have some experience in the 'family therapy' realm and and looking forward to learning more! The population that I am most interested in are those who are incarcerated or have had contact with the criminal justice system.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
My best trip yet! Visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi!

# data[].attributes.body
Everyone calls me Yubii and I use she/her/hers pronouns.

I look forward to gaining the tools I need to best serve my community. When I first joined the field of Social Work, I worked with families in preventive services. The impact these families had on me made me fall in love even more with Social Work.

I currently work with teenagers in Foster Care as a WWK Permanency Recruiter. I work with ages 9-21 and my goal is to build their network with adult resources who have a positive impact in their lives and who are willing to commit to them. My ultimate goal is for these children to achieve permanency in a loving home.

I am very passionate about working with teenagers, specifically those from Black and Latino communities. Teenagers go through a very tough time of their lifespan and through so many changes, trying to discover who they are and where they are headed in life. Finding a person who believes in them can be life-changing.

I am looking forward to my first year in person (2020 was online), a bit nervous but I am excited to meet anyone!

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Nadya (she/her) and I'm so excited to be back in person to finally meet some of the classmates and professors from last year, and meet new ones as well! What I'm looking to get from this class is a deeper understanding of how group/family dynamics have an effect on all the individuals that belong to said group, as well as to best serve them. The population that I am most passionate about is hispanic immigrants, specially the ones that have not had the privilege to learn the English language while in the US.

# data[].attributes.body
I go by Allison and I use she/her pronouns.

My internship this year is with the Bronx VA, and I'm going to be working with families of veterans. I'm hoping to learn more about the dynamics of family therapy! In particular, I hope to expand my knowledge of the cultural norms and practices of families of different racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, and compositions than my own and how to be responsive to the diversity of experiences that my future clients will bring to our time together.

# data[].attributes.body
Let's meet!

Upload a picture representing you and write your responses to the following questions:

1. What would you like to be called in class?
2. What pronouns do you use?
3. What you would like to get out of this class?