Termination. It is a process that has been talked about
often throughout the course of my social work education. It is an important
method of smoothly and successfully bringing your work with a client to an end.
Although it is a term that I am familiar with, it was not until this past week
that I had to put it into practice.
Last Friday marked the last day of my internship at Cabrini
Green Legal Aid. The weeks leading up to it were occupied with making sure my
clients knew that I was leaving and that they were being transferred to another
social worker upon my departure. It was also a time for me to tie up the loose
ends on various projects I had been working on. I knew going into this semester
that termination was important when it comes to working with clients, yet I am
starting to realize that it is also important for the
social worker; these past few weeks have also been filled with wrapping up my
course work, reflecting on these past four months, saying goodbye to the
friends I have made, and preparing to go home and graduate.
Recently I was asked whether or not it has been challenging
for me to be away from my home college the last semester of my senior year. I
will admit that when I first decided to participate in the Chicago Semester, it
was challenging for me to transition out of Hope a semester earlier than I had
anticipated. But as I look back, this semester has been full of new adventures
and an immense amount of growth both personally and professionally.
Each week, I spent thirty-six hours interning at Cabrini
Green Legal Aid. In addition to my internship, I took two classes at the
Chicago Semester office downtown. It was the perfect transition from the
classroom into the working world. Through my placement, I slowly stepped into
the “real world” by taking on new responsibilities and working toward becoming
a professional social worker. I was able to shadow experienced social workers
as they carried out their work, plan and implement a series of Life Skills
classes, and eventually reached a point where I was able to take on cases of my
own. As I slowly eased into a professional role, I am tremendously grateful to
have had a supervisor to help guide my practice. Through weekly supervision I
was able to seek positive and genuine feedback on the work that I was doing,
ask for help on projects that I was in charge of, and was pushed to become more
confident in who I am as a social worker.
In addition to gaining confidence and competence in a
professional setting, I am grateful for the richly diverse context the city of
Chicago provided to both work and live in. As a self-proclaimed foodie wannabe,
having one of the nations largest culinary playgrounds at my fingertips was
pure bliss. Some of my favorite restaurants were The Bongo Room, DMK Burger
Bar, and Joy Yee Noodle.
Next month will bring on a slew of life changes for me. I am
moving back to Holland, Michigan and will be graduating from Hope College. I
will have three short weeks to sift through my belongings, pack up my stuff,
and move to Fairfax, Virginia where I have accepted a yearlong internship
working at a respite care facility for children with special needs. As I
terminate this period of my life, I look back at this semester and incredible
opportunities the Chicago Semester has presented me with. While this might have
been one of the most challenging semesters of my life, it has also been one of
the greatest. I have developed a great appreciation and love for the city of
Chicago and hope to move back someday soon. There’s no place else I’d rather
be.
