University starts!

Dear all,

After the first two introductory weeks, we were very excited when university started on August 24^th. It was fascinating to observe how Chapel Hill filled with more and more students from all over the country and even the world (four German girls included :-). 

The whole town and all its citizens extended a warm welcome to “their” students and celebrated their return. Everywhere they put up huge welcome banners in the UNC colors white and light blue and even all the busses had illuminated displays saying “Celebrating UNC’s Week of Welcome”. We were very impressed!

In our first week at the university we got the great opportunity to participate in the “Jumpstart! Preparation for Practice” program at the school of social work. This program provided an introduction to all new social work master students and included diverse activities and workshops.

In the context of “Jumpstart” some of us attended the “A Day in the Life of a Social Worker” Cracker Barrel Sessions. A cracker barrel session is a 25-minute session, where profess-ional social workers out of the macro perspective (organization & manage-ment) and micro per-spective (work “in the field” with clients) informed us about a typical day in their personal work life. Every session was repeated several times, so that all students (divided into small groups) were able to visit all five sessions. Every session had a special focus: child mental health, adult mental health, families & children, health care and aging. Especially interesting was the session on medical social work covering the work with premature babies & their families and patients needing transplantation. Every single professional was very motivated and encouraged us to connect with her/him and ask questions. It was great to see how multifaceted the life of a social worker can be. 

Get on the bus! This was the slogan of the “Agency Bus Tour”, which provided an opportunity to get to know the social and health services delivery systems serving the “triangle” (Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill). During our interesting trip we visited three different agencies:

• Urban Ministries of Durham is a community center providing food, clothing, shelter, and supportive services for people in need. Professionals working in the center told about their enriching everyday work and challenges they have to face.
• The Orange County Senior Center offers a variety of programs including classes, wellness programs, trips and lunches. We were welcomed by a performance of the senior cheerleading group – very impressive!
• The Healing Place of Wake County is a non-profit recovery and rehabilitation facility for homeless people with alcohol and drug dependency, located in Raleigh. Participants of the program showed us their facility and gave us an insight into their personal life story. This was a very enriching experience we will keep in mind!

On the bus we also had some informative presentations regarding the history and culture of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Durham communities.

All in all the “Jumpstart” program offered us the great chance to learn more about the manifold practical work of social workers and the social/health services delivery system in the US. Moreover, we really enjoyed the time with the friendly social work students, who integrated us at once.