I got news this week that one of my favorite professors, Essie Tramel Seck, PhD, from USC, has died. She taught the course on Social Welfare Policy at the start of my MSW. Here was my email response to my faculty colleagues to the Deans announcement: Dear Colleagues, I was very saddened to hear of the death of Professor Essie Seck. I was a student of hers in Fall, 1992, when I started the MSW program at USC School of Social Work. All these years later, I am proud to serve on the adjunct faculty for the VAC. For over 20 years, I have utilized some of the things she taught us in Social Welfare Policy that semester in many practice settings. It was Dr. Seck who taught me the social work world view, that issues must be understood in a biopsychosocial context, and in a cultural, social, political, historical, and economic one, too. At that time, in Fall 1992, Dr. Seck taught the parallels between the country in economic hard times in 1932, with the coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the (at the time) current Recession of the early 90s, and the coming of young Bill Clinton. It was, in part, her inspiration that made my student colleague, Alan Espiritu, and I organize a fundraising dinner for the Clinton campaign at Alans restaurant in Mid-Wilshire, and much of our class and other friends from USC were there. It was her inspiration to be bold and active in the policies that we believe in that made me become a Precinct Captain in my West LA neighborhood, driving out every last vote that election night. Dr. Seck taught us that political issues are cyclical, and if we know our history, we can understand our present. It was Dr. Seck who helped me continuously consider and strive to fulfill a role of advocacy in social work practice with clients, particularly those with severe/persistent mental illness, LGBT persons, the homeless, and those living with HIV/AIDS -- all extremely impacted by the social welfare policy issues under which they live. It was Dr. Seck who taught me about the importance of social workers striving to effect change in support of social justice. A tall, statuesque, beautiful African-American woman, Dr. Seck related a story about how she had recently gone to pick up her original copy of the reader for the course (at that time, we purchased big, thick, comb-bound readers of course articles in hard copy) at the local strip malls copier service, and she was greeted at the desk with, Oh! Are you here for the professor? She explained that she WAS the professor. That anecdote illustrated the racism that so many of our clients and colleagues are raised with and endure, even in oh-so-enlightened 1990s Los Angeles, and to this day. It was Dr. Seck who taught me about how if the academic standards bar is set high, students will meet it. Her class was notoriously demanding and difficult -- yet we, as students, responded by forming study groups, breaking down the material into digestible chunks, refining our writing about the issues, and supporting each other in the challenge that we faced. I poured my heart out into those little bluebook exam booklets essays, and was proud to earn an A in the course. It felt good because I knew I achieved a high grade despite the rigors she set forth. It is for this reason that I set my own bar high when I teach, and give my students the encouragement, coaching, support, cajoling, and insistence that they meet it -- and they almost always do. Years later, as I participated in a group discussion as a volunteer for All School Day, I approached her and thanked her for how well her teaching equipped me for local social work practice. I told her that I still used material from her course every day in my private practice, in understanding all the dynamic policy forces that affect clients. She responded, You know, we dont always earn all that we really would like to in this field, but that, right there, hearing that, makes it all worthwhile! I told her that her course was especially hard, but I think she knew that. If you set the bar low, students will meet that. If you set the bar high, students will meet that. Which experience would you rather have? All those years later, I still remember much of the material, and perhaps more importantly, the reasons why that material is important and relevant in helping our clients. Understanding how social welfare policy affects all of us, and our clients, enlightens us in the ways of the world, and helps us to see dynamics and forces that many people outside the field cannot. As I served as a field instructor and now clinical supervisor for MFT interns and ASW associates, and as a case consultant for other therapists, I am always careful to include a discussion of how social welfare policy issues affect the conceptualization of the case. And as I do, Dr. Secks voice is in the back of my mind. She also taught me about balance; that we can be effective without being perfect. That first day of the course, she was very late. For the first semester, first day, first course at USC, those in our class were puzzled and a bit miffed that she was late and we were not informed. She didnt even have a good excuse, or at least didnt give one, when she finally arrived. She got right to the material, helping us understand the history of our nation in an entirely new perspective. She might have started off making a bad impression, but the impression and feelings she ultimately left me with that semester, and many years afterward, were those of enlightenment, knowledge, a sense of triumph over demanding material, and a very deep gratitude for having known this energetic, passionate, mesmerizingly intelligent, and inspiring professor. Every day of my career, I live in gratitude for the opportunity to have attended and graduated from the USC School of Social Work. I live in gratitude that I have the opportunity to strive to carry on the inspiration of so many wonderful professors I had, in my own teaching and practice. And, I live in gratitude for knowing Dr. Essie Seck. May she rest in peace, and may we all carry on her ability to inform and inspire others, for many years to come. By knowing our history, we empower our future. Ken Howard, MSW, LCSW Adjunct Lecturer - VAC GayTherapyLA
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 22:55:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015