Field Supervisor Recognition
Field supervisors give of their time and energy to mentor social work and/or sociology students, helping to equip them with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to successfully begin their careers. The Department of Sociology & Social Work recognizes a field/internship supervisor at its spring reception each year. The department wishes to express gratitude to all community professionals who agree to work with our students. You truly enrich and enhance their education.
2015 Laura Kowalski, Program Coordinator at Northwest Journey 
Laura Kowalski has served as the Program Coordinator at
Northwest Journey since they opened in 2002. In her role, she is the on-site
administrator for the Journey day treatment program and outpatient program for
youth. Northwest Journey provides comprehensive therapeutic treatment services
for at-risk youth and their families. The organization has been successful at
preventing out-of-home placements, creating family stability, and improving
social and emotional success in the population it serves. Laura has been a true
champion of the sociology and social work field program, and she has been
providing supervision to social work interns for a number of years. In fact,
there are many semesters that she has multiple interns from our Sociology and
Social Work program. Northwest Journey is an agency that has provided our
students with wonderful learning experiences. They are able to learn critical
engagement skills with youth, and have opportunities to facilitate groups and
provide case management to children and families. Thank you so much, Laura, for
your commitment to at-risk youth and families, our students, and our sociology
and social work program!
2014 Teresa Kovach, Portage County Health and Human Services, Child Protection
Teresa
Kovach, Child Protective Services Supervisor at Portage County Health
and Human Services,
has been providing supervision to social work interns for a number of
years, both prior to the development of a social work major and since.
Though she truly does the work of at least two people, has regular
staffing and policy changes to respond to, and faces
the pressures associated with responding to child maltreatment in our
community, she has consistently taken on a student every semester in her
unit, including most summers. She is known by students to provide an
excellent experience in which they get many opportunities
to practice their social work skills, and her placement is one of the
most consistently sought after by students. Teresa demonstrates
dedication to the professional development of the students she takes
on. Additionally, Teresa guest lectures about child
protection in Amy Boelk’s Intro to Social Work class almost every
semester, and she also speaks regularly to Sonny Smart’s Child Welfare
class. Thank you so much, Teresa, for your dedication to our students
and to families in our community!
2013 Donna Lang, Big Brothers Big Sisters
Donna Lang of Big Brothers Big Sisters has been supervising both sociology and social work students through the department’s internship program consistently for over 10 years. Though the office location of Big Brothers Big Sisters has changed three times during this time period, Donna has consistently worked with one or more students almost every semester. She is known to provide an outstanding experience for students. Under Donna’s supervision, students gain significant knowledge and skill in interviewing, assessment, case management, fundraising, documentation, and community outreach. Donna really integrates students into the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and helps them to be an active member of the professional team. Thank you, Donna, for your commitment and service to our department.
2012 Michelle Nelson, St. Michael’s Hospital Mental Health Unit
Michelle Nelson has been supervising both sociology and social work students in our department’s internship program consistently for almost 10 years. She first started working with our interns while she was employed as a psychotherapist at Ministry Behavioral Health and continued her involvement when she took a position on the Mental Health Unit at St. Michael’s Hospital. Michelle has worked with one or more students almost every semester, and is known to provide outstanding opportunities for growth and development. Under Michelle’s supervision, students gain significant knowledge and skill in working with people with mental health and substance issues. Michelle has also given of her time to guest lecture every semester in the Introduction to Social Work class, and she has even taught full courses for the department as an adjunct instructor. Thank you, Michelle for your commitment and service to our department.
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