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Two social work interns with World Relief Wisconsin (WRW) are learning to serve as case workers as they gain experience engaging with newcomers in the Fox Valley.
Adina Holmes, a senior at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh set to graduate in May, became interested in majoring in social work when she encountered negative comments in 2015 and 2016 about refugees and other immigrants on social media.
“It made me want to do something that would help vulnerable people, so I decided social work would be my major when I went back to school. When it came time to do my internship, I was pretty excited our field coordinator offered World Relief as an option,” she said.
Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, Holmes moved to Appleton nine years ago, after her husband retired from the Navy.
“A lot of this internship is practically applying the theories and concepts I’ve learned in classes. I’ve learned to do client notes and translation services through Boostlingo,” Holmes said. “I’m also learning about the different services my clients are eligible for and how to get them enrolled. I have shadowed caseworkers and met some of their clients. And I’ve been able to help with tasks in anticipation of client arrivals.”
Malek Zaatrah, a UW-Green Bay social work graduate student from Milwaukee, was interested in working with refugees and exploring the resettlement process.
He said he is learning much during the internship from the first-hand experience of visiting clients. “Seeing how they live their day-to-day lives really has opened up my eyes,” he added.
Mutually beneficial internships
Susie Brekke, integration and wellness associate director, said each intern is assigned two to three clients for the year. They are mentored by WRW staff as they learn how to provide culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care and set smart goals with the clients.
Brekke said WRW benefits from the gifts the interns bring to their work. Holmes is inquisitive and asks good questions, while Zaatrah speaks in Arabic with clients.
Since 2012, World Relief Wisconsin has partnered with the church to welcome nearly 2,000 new neighbors fleeing violence, famine and extreme poverty. Programming focuses on humanitarian and disaster response, as well as community strengthening and resilience