Photos courtesy Adam Milano. Allie Patton pictured fifth from right.
by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
Allie Patton was first introduced to the idea of taking a social work course while meeting with her undergraduate advisor.
The sophomore double psychology and Spanish major was considering the next steps in her academic career. Her advisor suggested she take one of the newly established introductory to social work courses offered by the UNC School of Social Work.
Patton quickly signed up for SOWO 101 Strategies for Social Good: From Analysis to Action. That decision sparked an interest in the field and was part of a domino effect that led her across the globe to Africa as part of a global immersion course offered by the school’s Global Engagement Office.
“Social Work 101 opened up my eyes to a surface level of what social work means and the different avenues and processes that it encompasses,” Patton said. “It gave me a perspective that you can do so much and help in so many ways that I didn’t know was possible at first.”
‘It was a great experience’
Soon after classes started for SOWO 101 in January, Patton was hooked.
Students learned social work perspectives relating to the social, economic and structural factors that create and contribute to societal problems and explored solutions to create positive social change. They engaged in community-based learning and examined advocacy strategies.
The course discussions motivated Patton to think deeply about social issues and to further explore them. She didn’t have to wait long for such an opportunity to emerge.
Adam Milano, SOWO 101 clinical instructor and assistant director of global engagement, offered students the opportunity to take a two-week summer global immersion course in Ghana sponsored by the school’s Global Engagement Office. The students would learn in classrooms at the University of Ghana, immerse themselves in the culture, and engage with businesses across the community.
“I thought, ‘What better way to figure out if I like it than to go diving in headfirst?’” Patton said.
Patton arrived in Ghana among a delegation that included Milano and seven Master of Social Work students. In addition to classroom instruction, they conducted site tours, traveled to a psychiatric hospital and learned about Ghanaian history. They also partnered with organizations in Accra, including one that focuses on afterschool programs and skill development for locals.
For Patton, “it was a great experience” that opened her eyes to a new way of viewing the world.
“I think it’s really important to be able to have experiences that shape the way you view things whenever you travel internationally,” Patton said. “You’re opened up to so many things you don’t realize. The way the Ghanaian government teaches certain topics and the way the United States government teaches certain topics is very different and that was very interesting to me because I didn’t realize there were gaps in education depending on where you grew up and where you were raised.
“It taught me to always be skeptical of the things you learn but in a way that makes you more curious.”
‘I want to help people’
Shortly after arriving back in the United States, Patton was on the move again for an internship in Ecuador at a children’s orphanage.
The six-week program, located an hour away from the capital city of Quito in Tabacundo, involved everything from caring for children to helping remodel a school by painting a classroom.
Through the work, Patton is improving her Spanish speaking skills and learning what social work looks like in South America. Like in Ghana, the experience has also shifted her perspective.
“The kids that are here (in Tabacundo) don’t come from very good experiences and past lives,” Patton said. “Seeing the joy in their faces, being able to love on them. They just have so much joy and I love that.”
Entering her final two years at Carolina, Patton doesn’t know where her career will take her. She’s confident she’ll pursue a graduate degree, but she’s unsure if it will be in social work or another helping profession.
One thing she is confident about, however, is that she wants to spend her career helping others, especially children.
“My ultimate goal that drives me is I want to help people,” Patton said. “What that looks like in the future, I don’t know, but I’m confident that wherever I end up I will be helpful to somebody.”