Student Experience

Social Justice is considered the 5th force in counseling, The University of Scranton, as a Jesuit institution, calls us to be men and women for others. How have your experiences with Community Based Learning and/or internships help you live out these ideals as an aspiring professional counselor/human service professional?

By Megan Pratt

Meghan Pratt

The CHS department, as well as PCPS as a whole, encapsulates the Jesuit ideal of being men and women for others through our service learning. The internships I have completed as a CHS student have helped to further solidify this ideal; as counselors, we are inherently men and women for others. I completed most of my Community Based Learning with NEPA Youth Shelter, and I was able to serve as a mentor to teens who may not have otherwise had a safe place to go after school. At my internship with the Federal Probation Office, I did not have as much direct service with clients, but I was able to serve the officers I worked with by helping them to prepare case files and reports. At my internship with Outreach, I was able to serve inmates at Lackawanna County Prison by teaching GED classes or facilitating criminal and addictive thinking groups. All of these opportunities certainly provided me with different kinds of lessons that I will take with me into the profession, and all of these experiences have solidified that what I have been called to do as a counselor supports that I am living, and will continue to live, as a woman for others.

By Mei Lin McElhill

Mei Lin McElhill

As an aspiring counselor, my goal is to provide the best quality of services for everyone and break down barriers that prevent accessibility to these services. One of the forces in the field of counseling is social justice. Social justice aims to create a more just and equal world for everyone. Social justice means becoming an advocate for change in a world of injustice that stems from inequality. Through my internship and community service-learning opportunities, each fostered the development of my advocacy skills to become a better professional and a more compassionate person. From volunteer experiences, I can view situations from different perspectives and show more empathy. An example of this was when I became aware of the impact of economics on a person’s well-being by listening to an individual’s personal experience. Another example is from my internship at the Jane Kopas Women’s Center. The center had challenged me to become aware of current issues in society like gender equity and inclusivity. As a result, from becoming informed, I have put my pronouns in email signatures and use gender neutral words to greet others everywhere I go. These experiences have inspired me to attend conferences like Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ), to learn what I can do to create change. By integrating the knowledge from academics, internship/ service-learning experiences, and conferences, I can continue to reflect on how to incorporate the ideals of social justice in my profession and personal life.

By Grace Dickson

Grace Dickson

A Jesuit education has taught me that it is one thing to be a man or woman for others, but being a man or woman for and with others takes social justice and advocacy to a new level. Community-Based Learning and internship experiences are opportunities that the University of Scranton provides students that help them be for and with others in the Scranton community. It is one thing to learn through lectures and textbooks about what social justice is and how professional counselors are called to it, but it is an entirely different learning experience to put yourself out there and learn these things from real-world experiences. Having that opportunity allowed me to practice social justice in many different ways: serving food, helping with administrative tasks, fellowshipping with those who receive services, etc. These experiences during my CBL hours have given me perspectives and understandings of people in need and the services that are out there for people to utilize. These things will be useful when I am a professional counselor. My internship at Marley's Mission allowed me to be a woman for and with children who have experienced trauma. During my internship, I learned what advocacy in the workplace looks like, as well as how to carry out what I have been learning in my counseling classes to help people to the best of my ability. I am grateful that the counseling department pushes its students outside of their comfort zones in a way that not only helps the community but also helps its students grow in their personal and professional lives.