Field Trips!

To all my many followers:  It has been about two weeks since my last post and things here in the city-of-windy have been rockin’. The sun has finally started to emerge, and the crisp, cool smells of spring greet me as I step into the morning. All the joys of winter are quickly dismissed as we look forward to the coming of longer days and rays of sunshine on our faces!

The past two weeks have been very eventful. I have been able to participate in a few field trip opportunities—one to the Jane Addams’ Hull House on the University in Chicago’s campus, and also the whole Chicago Semester program took a day to attend the SCUPE Conference on urban ministries. The SCUPE conference was a gathering of many religious leaders in the Chicago area who are intentional, or are trying to be intentional, about creating and developing the communities in and surrounding their parishes. Speakers addressed issues such as ministry to gangs, building community, and advocating for community member’s rights. We were also able to participate in a march to the Thompson Center downtown Chicago to rally to pass bills regarding the carrying of concealed weapons. Recently, the state of Illinois was considering passing a law that approved the carrying of concealed weapons with license, but the religious leaders of SCUPE were upset about this bill. They wanted to make sure no one was allowed to carry weapons to prevent unnecessary violence. They conducted a peaceful protest outside the Thompson Center by sharing personal stories, singing hymns, and raising awareness about the subject. Overall, it was a neat experience to actually be IN a group that was advocating for something very real in our world today.

The social work and nursing students were also able to attend a field trip and tour at the Jane Addams’ Hull House at the UIC campus. It was the original Hull House Museum where we were able to learn about Jane’s life as the first “social worker” to open a settlement house in the United States. Her model of holistic health created a standard for all social work and health care practice since.

Besides the educational trips, my internship has been getting better and better! I think the longer we are here the easier it is to be completely immersed in what we are doing. I have been able to get a lot of experience in a broad spectrum of social work roles. I have been able to do case management, resource referrals, business and administrative tasks and research, general research, client specific research, teach education classes, provide home visit services, and conduct enrollments into health support. Overall, this has been a great experience! I can’t believe we are already a little more than half way done!

Ready for the restaurant referral?


I dream of Falafel is a great restaurant that has now become a few locations strong around the downtown area of Chicago. There is also one located only 3 blocks from the Chicago Semester Offices! If you like Mediterranean Cuisine (i.e. gyros, pita, hummus, tubule, etc.) you will LOVE this place. It’s also a great find for vegans and vegetarians! Yumm…..!