Student speaker Sheldon Howard addresses the graduating class at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work 37th Annual Block Education Plan Commencement ExercisesOn July 21st, 2014 Wurzweiler held its thirty seventh Commencement Exercises for the Summer Block Education Plan, in which fifty five students were conferred their MSW degrees. In addition to the Commencement Address by Dr. Joyce Brenner, the retiring Director of the Block Program in Israel, the students were inspired by their selected student speaker Sheldon Howard. Prior to graduation the graduating student body is given the opportunity elect any student to offer an address on their behalf at graduation.
Below is the text of this exceptional address by the graduating student, who was also the recipient of the Elaine Schott Advocacy Award, which is given to a graduating student for promoting community initiative and social change. This address encapsulates the spirit of social work education and the commencement exercises and celebrates the accomplishments of the graduating students and the great and important work ahead of them as social work professionals.
Congratulations to all graduates, and to Sheldon Howard for his wonderful and entertaining words, shared here with his permission.
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"OKā¦. So before I really get into what I want to sayā¦
I have some news to share quicklyā¦
ā¦ this is just in from the folks who produce the DSM ..
It looks like theyāve introduced a new conditionā¦
Itās calledā¦
POST-GRADUATE OK so which one is Adam 2 again? SYNDROMEā¦
Itās brought on by prolonged periods of stressā¦
ā¦lack of sleepā¦
ā¦and acute exposure to something called SSD for R.
Whatever that isā¦
Symptoms includeā¦ a pervasive sense of panicā¦ and you twitch every time you hear either one of these wordsā¦ integrative or essayā¦
Lastly - youāve got that feeling you just want to go home already.
Well I donāt know about you but thatās how it feels to meā¦
ā¦like weāve just run a marathonā¦ and a sprint at the same time...
A sprint-athon. Or a mara-thint.
But we are done. Finished. Graduation is termination.
And for meā¦ this is about as good a way to go out as possible.
You've done me a great honour asking me to do this... And Iām very grateful...
Iām also very excited.
Itās hard to believeā¦
I mean itās always been a dream of mineā¦
Noā¦not speaking at graduationā¦. Not even being a Social Workerā¦
Iāve now got about five minutes to say pretty much whatever I want to a captive audienceā¦regale you with stories about my familyā¦ my old neighbourhoodā¦ my dogā¦ odd childhood experiencesā¦
...basically I have about five minutes to pretend Iām Professor Sweifach.
Which really wouldnāt be such a bad thingā¦ to be like Professor Sweifachā¦ or any of our professorsā¦ for that matterā¦ whoā¦ each one in their wayā¦ has engraved the very best of their experience and knowledge ā¦ on each one of our new Social Worker selvesā¦
...and always with caringā¦ and commitmentā¦ and a profound passionā¦ for us and the work we now set out to do.
On behalf of all those I am proud to call my classmates and colleaguesā¦ many many thanks to the Wurzweiler Facultyā¦. Administrationā¦ and Cheryl... you are the most miraculous one of all... Thank you...
...and of course thanks to all the friends... family... loved ones... who supported us through all this. That could not have been easy. A very big and special thanks to all of you.
Now I know these few minutes I have to speak are not about meā¦ I mean everyone I told about thisā¦ made it very clearā¦ itās not about you Shellyā¦ but please indulge me in this little bit of self-disclosure.
Sooooā¦. Iām not 24. Oh ā you knew that? OK never mind.
The point isā¦ Social Work is not my first profession.
I worked in Journalism for a while...
Telling stories is the focus of Journalism. Doing it dispassionatelyā¦ a watch dog on governmentsā¦ the first draft of historyā¦ and all thatā¦
But where Journalism does its best to document whatās happening in the worldā¦ and hopes to make a differenceā¦
Social Workersā¦ are all about making a differenceā¦ being the differenceā¦
Pursuing either profession will take you into some pretty dark places; into the shadowsā¦
...a reporterā¦ armed with the power of the penā¦ Social Workers with the power of our professional valuesā¦ our skillsā¦ our compassionā¦ our courageā¦
...we go into those dark places because thatās where thereās sufferingā¦ thatās where people are sadā¦ oppressed and in painā¦ thatās where the vulnerable need a voiceā¦ where people who are hurting need a handā¦ where those most aloneā¦ most afraidā¦. most in needā¦ they just want to hear that one person sayā¦ what is our job to sayā¦ what we commit to sayā¦
That - Itās OKā¦ Iām here... Iāve got your backā¦.
When no one else doesā¦ I do. You do. We do.
Thatās our job. Weāre Social Workers.
And we can never know who we might find in those dark placesā¦ we might not understand their painā¦ or how they ended up feeling so isolatedā¦ rejectedā¦ lostā¦ but hereās what we DO knowā¦ we know dark from lightā¦ we all crave the lightā¦ everyone deserves the dignity of knowingā¦ I am seenā¦ I am accepted for who I amā¦ how I was createdā¦ like everyone elseā¦ Bātzelem elokeemā¦ in godās imageā¦
And thatās what we do. We help to bring light to those dark placesā¦ help people find their way back to themselvesā¦ Thatās OUR job. Thatās what we do. Weāre Social Workers.
Now if you were looking for itā¦ in our graduating group todayā¦ there is no doubt you COULD find difference. We are diverse.
We are American. Canadian. Israeli. Religious. Secular. Jewish. Christian. Agnostic.
Some Older.
Almost everyone else muchā¦ muchā¦ younger.
Some of us are bald.
Some have hair.
Some have purple hair.
But the way I see itā¦with usā¦ with all peopleā¦. we are much more the same than we are different. And that sameness is powerfulā¦ stickyā¦ it binds usā¦ and gives us something to make contact withā¦ in every one of our clientsā¦ no matter who they areā¦ or how they ended up in front of usā¦
Virginia Satir said we connect at the level of samenessā¦ grow at the level of differenceā¦ So we Social Workersā¦ we celebrate diversityā¦ we canāt let it divide usā¦. We acknowledge and learn from the otherā¦ and walk together in search of more light.
And these daysā¦ thereās so much darknessā¦ in parts of the world so many of us are so deeply connected toā¦ it is very hard to see any lightā¦ to feel any feelings beyond painā¦ sadnessā¦ and frustrationā¦ angerā¦ and fearā¦
And I know Iām new at thisā¦ I havenāt even been a Social Worker for a day yetā¦ so forgive my youthful innocenceā¦ (I was never able to shake it anyway)ā¦. but whether itās through prayerā¦ or meditationā¦ exerciseā¦ or shoppingā¦ however we do itā¦ we need to take care of ourselvesā¦ to keep learningā¦growingā¦ evolvingā¦ so we can still see something better on the horizonā¦
I had a great teacher who introduced me to the work of Paulo Freire who said ā āIf the structure does not permit dialogue - the structure must be changedā --- thatās where we come inā¦ we advocate for that changeā¦ for Social Justice... that's our job. Thatās what we doā¦ Weāre Social Workers.
A few years ago when I was saying kaddish for my Mother - who I miss every dayā¦ but especially today ā I got familiar with several passages in the siddur ā the Jewish prayer book ā passages I didnāt know so well. One line has stayed with me and helped me in a lot of ways but also as a Social Workerā¦ and I will end with thisā¦ the line is - Uāveātuvo mehadesh bāchol yom maāaseh braysheet... in his (or her) goodness ā God - howeverā¦whatever you understand god to beā¦ god renews the act of creation every day. To me that means thatā¦ Every day mattersā¦ Every day there is hope. Every day things can get betterā¦
And guess what?
We get to help do that nowā¦
ā¦you know why?
Thatās our job.
Weāre Social Workers.
Congratulations everyone.
Thanks."
