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Jeanne Liechty      Associate Professor of Social Work    BA, Goshen College, 1992 MSW, Smith College, 1994 PhD, Simmons College, 2005

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An elementary school teacher

Why or how did you choose your field?

By the end of my sophomore year at Goshen, I had explored and rejected music and German majors, and was pretty much at sea about what I might major in. A close friend (also a GC student, who happened to be a social work major) suggested that I might like social work. I initially rejected that notion, based on my own false assumptions about the profession. Lucky for me, my friend corrected my “information.”

With the seed of social work planted, I took a year off from college to do a Voluntary Service term, and asked that my assignment give me an opportunity to explore both education and social work. I spent mornings in the classroom of a children’s shelter, and afternoons staffing a church’s emergency assistance program, which consisted of me, a phone, a monthly budget of $200, some donated clothes hanging on racks, and some food purchased from the local food bank.

As you can perhaps imagine, children who are living in a shelter are not prime candidates for formal education, and much of my efforts there consisted of keeping order in the room; I determined that if education was all about discipline, it was not the field for me. My afternoons, however, gave me opportunities to engage with a whole host of people who were unlike any people I had ever met before. They were all struggling with poverty, and while the meager resources of my program only facilitated the alleviation of a small portion of their crises, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them, and learning a bit more about their life experiences. My “aha!” moment was, “If social work is a profession that’s going to give me opportunities, skills, and knowledge to engage with, and help people who are different from me, then that’s what I want to do!”

What’s exciting about your job or this field?

My initial excitement described above, still holds true for me today. I continue to be fascinated by people, whether as individuals, families, groups, or communities, and am perpetually curious about why we do the things we do. Within the profession of social work, this fascination and curiosity are blended with a commitment to social justice that provides what for me is a very meaningful blend of personal and professional values.

What has been a struggle in your career journey?

In a profession that is dedicated to helping people, learning to recognize where my responsibility as the professional helper/teacher ends, and the other person’s responsibility begins is essential. Where this boundary is, depends on so many variables, and thus it is an on-going challenge. Another challenge for me is tolerating ambiguity. “Not knowing” isn’t the most comfortable state for me to operate within, but sometimes it’s the only one available.

What great advice have you been given?

“You need to go to grad school.”

What are you really proud of? (in a Mennonite, humble sort of way, of course)

Earning my doctoral degree in four years (I did already have my MSW); during those same four years, I gave birth to our son, and was his primary caregiver. This was only achievable with the unflagging support of my spouse.

What would you do differently?

Nothing.

What advice would you give to a young person just starting out?

Very few decisions that you must make at any point in time have “forever” implications. My hope is that this helps alleviate an all-too-common fear of making the “wrong” decision about one’s major, taking a year off, when/where to go on SST, questions about grad school, and so forth. The principle of equi-finality reminds us that many paths can lead to the same outcome, while the principle of multi-finality reminds us that the same path can lead to many different outcomes.