FIELD EDUCATION: CHRISTINE ESCOBAR-SAWICKI
TRANSFORMING LIVES-AND PROGRAMS
Chicagoland students benefit from the work of the MSW field team in the Windy City—and from a new hybrid program that allows them to stay in Chicago while earning their MSW. One of Christine Escobar-Sawicki’s favorite parts of her job is seeing students transform.
“At the School of Social Work, we talk about how we transform lives and prepare students to be difference makers,” says Escobar-Sawicki, a clinical associate professor who has been part of the MSW field team in Chicago since 2011. “I get to see that transformation in students. At the beginning of their journey, they’re hopeful, nervous, facing a big learning curve. Then you fast forward to graduation, and you can see the obstacles they’ve overcome, the goals they’ve achieved, NOIS AT CHAMPAIGN-URBANA how much more confident they are in their practice.
ILLINOIS.EDU Escobar-Sawicki is on a team of four for the MSW program, and they work closely with a team of three for the BSW program. All play a big role in growing that confidence. They work with students through the placement cycle, select sites, coordinate with the sites for placement interviews, and provide support for the students and field instructors throughout the process. She notes that the School works with more than 125 agencies in Chicagoland, more than 300 throughout Illinois, and more throughout the US and internationally. “We’re always looking to expand our sites and offer opportunities in different types of settings,” she says. “We work with students to identify their passions and what they want to learn, and we try to find the best fit for them.
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“We’re always thinking about what we can do to enhance student learning, how we can better support field instructors,” she adds. That includes intervening with students who are struggling, staying abreast of current trends in the field, and ensuring that research needs inform practice and vice versa. A trend in higher education that the School is embracing is online and hybrid options. Escobar-Sawicki points out two offerings from the School as examples: a Leadership and Social Change program that is offered completely online, and an Advanced Clinical hybrid program that has just started in Chicago. The latter program allows students to combine online classes and face-to-face weekend classes. Both options make it easy for students to study where they are—a particular boon for students from Chicagoland. “The Chicago hybrid makes sense because we have existing relationships with organizations up here who want to host our students,” Escobar-Sawicki explains. “It’s exciting to be able to expand the ability of people who want to get their MSW from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while living in Chicago.” “The breadth of learning opportunities and experiences that students have are significant,” she notes. “And I am traveling to sites all over the state and seeing how social workers impact lives. To see this happening live is really exciting.”