Ashley Myles alongside her fellow partners with nonprofit Operation Smile. (Submitted photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe School of Social Work was really awesome about eliminating barriers for people who need to be working while they\u2019re in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myles said her favorite part of the program was discovering the diverse experiences of her classmates. Some came straight from undergrad, while others, like Myles, had already embarked on two or three career paths. Social work is a broad field, and Myles made friends with classmates who studied vastly different topics, like substance abuse or eating disorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the School of Social Work was probably the first formalized education setting that I had been in where we really dove into equity and systemic barriers,\u201d Myles said. \u201cThose are the kinds of things I talked about with my friends all the time or in my workplace, but it had never been formalized for me in an academic setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed that aspect, diving into that in a more academic way, and it has shifted my ways of thinking and my perspective on not just things that I work in, but really my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myles had already worked for Operation Smile for three years before enrolling at 暗网禁区, and she plans to continue working for the organization after graduation. Myles recently received a promotion at Operation Smile in which she\u2019ll be managing comprehensive care services for patients, which include nutrition, speech therapy, psychosocial care and oral health.<\/p>\n

This past summer, she also had the opportunity to combine her studies with her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did my second practicum placement actually through my work,\u201d Myles said. \u201cThere I created the beginning of a program that would focus on supporting parents and caregivers because that\u2019s something we definitely do, but we needed a more formalized way to do it. When a parent has a patient that they\u2019re bringing in, they\u2019re going through this whole experience as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really hoping to use my social work degree to get that off the ground and work on enhancing the way that we can support not just our patients but caregivers throughout that life cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n