倡导运动深深植根于莱斯利·沃德尔24年的城市生活垃圾DNA中. 在军队服役23年后, she knows how to stand up for herself and - more importantly - how to stand up for others. 但她觉得好像少了一块拼图.
“我在实践中做过辩护, 但我想了解背后的教育, 了解更多, 更深入地研究,St。. galaxy银河娱乐场app 社会工作硕士 graduate said.
Originally from Kentucky, Waddle earned her undergraduate degree in communications in 2003. While in school, she realized she needed help paying off her student loan debt. She joined the Army and turned it into a two-decade career. 沃德尔从事后勤和公共事务工作. She's been to more than 55 countries and served three combat tours.
Nearly 20 years after completing her undergraduate degree, Waddle found herself back in the classroom seeking out answers to help her take the next step in her life by gaining a deeper understanding of advocacy and social justice. She knew she was in the right program when she took the Trauma 信息rmed Care class.
"I've been in the military 23 years and know hundreds of 士兵 with PTSD personally, and the fact that we don't hear about the effects of trauma on the body is insane,这位退休的陆军少校想道. "We're in fight or flight for a whole year - some people. Not everybody has the same job and does the same job over there. But some people are in fight or flight for a whole year. We're not made to go on that long in fight or flight. 你应该在里面呆上20分钟."
She says this information connected a lot of dots for her. She began to understand that you cannot effect change in a person's life if you don't understand what they have been through.
“那一刻就像, ‘哇, 是的, 你可以试着帮助别人, but you can't if you don't take the time to find out what they have been or are going through. If you don't understand prolonged exposure to trauma and how to care for it, how are we helping them?“如果你经历了长期的创伤, a lot of times you have to reconnect that brain-to-body connection that has been severed."
“这不仅仅适用于社会工作者, 这应该是教师的常识, 医生, 士兵, 警察, or anyone in a career with a responsibility to help others."
From this understanding, she began to see social work as more than just advocacy. Social workers affect policy change, they are school counselors and researchers. They affect change in their communities or with individuals.
"That really helped me to see that the options are endless of what I could do. 不仅仅是一件事或一组事. 可以是任何东西. 社会工作可以是任何事情."
瓦德尔充分利用了她在SAU的时间. Despite remaining active duty military until December 2023, Waddle completed the full-time two-year social work program through St. galaxy银河娱乐场app. It includes two fieldwork experiences and she added on two winter term study abroad trips.
"I just thought it was awesome that I could take advantage of that,她谈到自己的印度和厄瓜多尔之行. “两次访问都以不同的方式产生了影响."
Through her study abroad trips, Waddle learned how other countries implement social work. In Ecuador, she studied the country's social service policies. In India, she learned about their approach to mental health. These experiences, and her fieldwork placement, further shaped her understanding of social work.
在她的最后一个学期, Waddle's fieldwork placement was at Wright House of Fashion, 这是爱荷华市的一个非盈利组织, 爱荷华州, that engages youth in collaborative partnerships with the fashion and design community. There, Waddle was inspired by the organization's founder, Andre Wright. From him, she learned the importance of taking a leap of faith. If the resources aren't there, create them yourself.
"Don't let red tape barriers get in the way of trying to help people," she said. “有很多工作可以做. 不要让任何事情阻碍你."
Since Waddle is retired, she isn't planning to take on a traditional role as a social worker. 她的兴趣是帮助别人. Though she's not exactly sure what that will look like, she knows her St. galaxy银河娱乐场app education has provided the tools she needs to make an impact wherever she lands.
"I'm more looking to just help the people that I can help. Provide a space where people that need healing can come and heal and get back on their feet. We all see a lack of resources anytime we look around. 你不需要承担整个世界. You don't have to try to change a policy or a law or, 你知道, 这些事要花很多很多年. 或者它们可能永远不会改变. You can just take action and affect the people immediately around you. 希望它能成长并影响其他人."
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