By Dr. Philip Breitenbucher
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend my children’s Back to School Night, or as it was referred to in the invitation – BSN. As I walked on campus, I watched K-8th grade students beaming with pride and excitement, parents interacting with one another, and teachers sharing their expectations. The campus was abuzz; it almost felt like a festival. Students ran through campus excited about their new teacher, the new friends they will make, the lessons they will learn, and hope for a new beginning.
But below the feelings of excitement and hope were also feelings of anticipation and angst. Many of us can remember our own experiences at Back to School Night, and if we think back to those nights and look forward to where we are now, we can see how much we accomplished. I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your past accomplishments and achievements and think about what you did to be successful. Maybe you focused on time management, joined a study group, or perhaps you took a risk and joined a club or research team. I encourage you to remember those successes and strategies you used to obtain them so that you can build on them this academic year.
At CBU, we believe that connection helps to create conditions for success. One great way to connect is to engage with faculty on research projects. I understand that this may sound scary at first, but I assure you that you will gain much more than a set of research skills, which are very helpful; you will gain connections. Nevertheless, you do not have to take my word for it; in this two-part series, I worked with two of my Master of Social Work (MSW) mentees* to write about their experiences as Graduate Research Assistants and the power of networking. In the first part of this blog series, Bianca Sanchez discusses the importance of networking in her article “Building Bridges, Building Success.” In the second part, Jenifer Gonzalez Banuelos discusses her fears as a first-generation college student and the real-life lessons from her qualitative research on technology implementation in her article, “Seizing Opportunity.”
As we return to school, I hope these articles encourage and inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and lean into the opportunities to serve on a research team here at CBU. If you are interested in serving on a research team, reach out to any of your faculty or post a comment below.
* In CBU’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program, all students are assigned a Faculty Mentor. Faculty Mentorship is a distinctive feature of the MSW Program. All MSW students are assigned a Faculty Mentor and are part of a Mentor Group. The purpose of the Faculty Mentor is to:
• Model social work values
• Model Christian faith and ethical social work practice
• Help students set proactive patterns of self-care
• Help students select a social work track that is best for them (generalist year)
• Help students choose a Capstone Project topic ( specialization year)
• Empower students to Live their Purpose
• Communicate student feedback into the program
• Help students access all the CBU resources available to them (i.e., counseling center, student services, writing support, financial aid, campus ministries, career center, recreation center, global service opportunities, etc.)
• Guide students on their faith and professional journey
