CSUEB social work field fair offers internship opportunities to students

• February 14, 2014 5:00am

Approximately 150 students dressed in their professional best with resume in hand gathered in the New University Union Multipurpose Room on the Hayward Campus from 9 a.m. to noon on Feb. 13 to take part in CSUEB’s annual Masters of Social Work (MSW) Field Fair. The event helps CSUEB’s MSW students find internship opportunities with local agencies in order to fulfill program requirements and gain invaluable field experience.

“The connections made at the Field Fair lead to interviews and then placement opportunities for the MSW students,” said MSW Interim Field Director Stacey Bellone. “It is also a great opportunity to see our community partners and learn more about their contributions to our greater Bay Area community.”

Students in attendance were able to connect with representatives from 90 community organizations, including Kaiser, Seneca Center, East Bay Children’s Law Office, Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, Stanford Hospital and Clinic, Berkeley Mental Health and school districts from around the Bay Area.

All of the agencies represented at the fair provide services to disenfranchised and under-served populations, said Bellone.

For CSUEB student Olivia Magallon, it was the hope of finding an internship in the specialized area of medical social work that brought her out to the event.

“It’s important to network to be successful in your social work career,” said Magallon, who is currently in her second year of the three-year part-time MSW program offered at CSUEB’s Oakland Center.

And the fair is not only beneficial to students. The fair also proves to be an important resource to agencies looking to fill valuable intern positions.

“We get an enormous amount of potential applicants, and we can get applicants who are interested in our specialized area of social work,” said Stanford Hospital Clinic Representative Patricia Dwyer.

The MSW program at CSUEB addresses the growing need for social workers to work with individuals, families, groups and organizations. The program prepares advanced practitioners in the areas of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) or Community Mental Health (CMH) who will serve diverse, multicultural and multiracial communities. Students have the option to either enroll in a two year full time program in Hayward or a three year part time program in Oakland.

For more information about the full-time MSW program, visit MSW program. If you would like to learn more about the part-time MSW option, visit part-time MSW option.

--Erin Merdinger