Shelli Gregory

Background

About Shelli Gregory

I earned my DSW in May 2023, developing a comprehensive design for International Social Work Field Education (ISWFE) as my capstone project. There have been several components to my career that have led me to this project. First, I have supervised over 115 college students in practicum. I have considered the importance of this work to be equal to that of my actual paid social work practice. It has been my passion and my joy. The reason that I have dedicated my career to supervising, coaching, and instructing practicum students is because I believe strongly in the power of experiential learning. Learning is more effective when information is rooted in meaningful and purposeful interactions and experience. There is another essential component to experiential learning, and that is reflection. Reflection provides an occasion to stop and consider experiences, including multiple interpretations of said experiences, and develop meaning. It is my job to ask good questions, guide reflection and dialogue, and facilitate learning. It is my responsibility to help my students succeed, whatever that means to them. I do this by building relationship. I do not put on airs for my students. They see the real me. I admit when I do not know something, but vow to find the answer. I believe this to be the only way to build genuine rapport. Students respond to personal stories, so I often speak of personal experiences during supervision. While they may not relate to all my stories, they find them memorable, and hopefully, they learn from them. I love to learn, and I want to instill that love in my students. Their curiosity and questions inspire me. I am challenged to expand and improve my supervisory techniques and strategies. Second, throughout my career, I have had the honor of meeting, working with, and learning from people from all over the world, including refugees, international students, and multicultural clients. I believe that diversity is essential to the most well-rounded learning experience. I believe that ISWFE can be a truly transformative experience for students who are open to learning new ways of doing and being. Upon review of the research pertaining to ISWFE, it is evident that ISWFE comes with powerful rewards and unparalleled difficulties. The rewards call upon social work educators to provide more ISWFE opportunities and the difficulties demand a well-planned and intentional model of execution. I hope to one day implement the model I am developing at a university, collect data, and further add to the research regarding ISWFE.