In order to better educate students about the major and field of social work, Saint Mary's Mezzo Methods social work class will hold a social work fair today to both inform underclassmen about the major and to integrate the information that current students have learned in the course. Students said that many peers remain uninformed about what the field entails, and they said they hope to change this attitude."A lot of people don't know what [social work] is about," said Erin Heidkamp, a junior social work major. Students said that the fair, which will be held in the LeMans Lobby from 7 to 9 p.m. today, has also helped to educate them."It's a learning experience for us too," junior social work major Theresa Ulrich said.In the field of social work, the "mezzo" level works with small groups and families, and is an intermediate level between the fields of micro social work, which works one-on-one, and macro social work, which deals with larger groups and organizations. In demonstrating that they have understood the material that has been learned, students planned the social work fair by diving the planning responsibilities amongst different small groups in accordance with the field of mezzo social work. The social work fair will be comprised of six different tables in which all of the areas of social work will be represented. These areas include both more well-known areas such as public welfare and school social work, as well as research, international social work and policy and planning. The tables will also allow students to see which organizations deal with the areas of social work they prefer, and information on local agencies that deal with these different areas will be available. "We can say that these places deal with this issue," said Michelle Powell, a junior social work major. Powell said that this information will provide students interested in social work with the chance to network and see where they may gain experience in the field.Social work majors will be available, along with course professor JoAnn Burke, to answer any questions students may have. Students who attend the fair will have the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire to inform the social work majors if the fair was a good idea, if it helped them to acquaint themselves better with the social work major and to suggest what can be done in the future to improve the event.As an extra initiative, students will participate in a raffle of $100 worth of different gift certificates. Breadsticks and soda will be available for refreshment, and all Notre Dame, Saint Mary's and Holy Cross interested students are invited and encouraged to attend.
