UC Clermont social work grads touch local lives

“Music is self-focused,” Dean said. “I had always focused on others and the concerns that friends had. I realized that I wanted a degree that was more in line with those skills.”

Dean soon found himself at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College to complete general studies courses. Sitting in a psychology class, a student next to him shared that he worked at St. Joseph’s Orphanage (now New Path Child and Family Solutions in Sharonville, Ohio) and offered Dean a job as a therapeutic service provider, working with teens with anger management and sexual behavior concerns.

Professor Jill Gomez, PhD, said demand for qualified social workers is high. The reason is twofold: Baby Boomers who have worked in the field for decades are retiring; and the Affordable Care Act now requires insurance companies to cover mental health services, increasing the number of patients who seek care. Many of her graduates are hired by the local organizations where they intern during the UC Clermont program.

“There are not enough social workers to fill the roles,” said Gomez. “I’ve never had a graduate say they couldn’t find a job. A lot of students want to work with patients — as a child therapist, for example — but don’t think about choosing the social work path, which offers the quickest path to seeing patients because of the ability to earn a license at the bachelor level.”

One of the deterrents, Gomez said, is a preconceived notion that social workers are low paid. On the contrary, she noted that the average starting salary for mental health and substance abuse social workers in the United States is $51,670. And graduates can start earning after obtaining their bachelor’s degree and license, then receive pay increases — up to $15,000 — if they complete their master’s and doctorate studies, respectively.

And in a field defined by hands-on work, UC Clermont’s program also offers practical experience early on; students are required to complete a 16-hour-per-week internship course with local social services in their second year.

For Mallory Mahaffey, an internship arranged by Gomez at Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services turned into a full-time position in prevention, teaching middle schoolers in Brown and Clermont counties healthy life and relationship skills. The Western Brown native has earned her bachelor’s degree as well and is thrilled to help her home region.

“I’ve lived here my entire life and serving this community is important to me,” said Mahaffey, who hadn’t considered a career in prevention before her UC Clermont internship. “I love connecting with kids and watching them grow.”

Gomez, also a military veteran, knows there is no substitute for working with patients firsthand; she spent two decades as a social worker prior to teaching, including as a case manager at the Clermont County Recovery Center. Gomez earned her social work degrees at UC — beginning at UC Clermont. She returned to teach and serve as program director at the college in 2007.

“I love people,” Gomez said. “I love helping people become their best selves. I’ve always loved going to work and have had so many opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives, whether patients or students.”

That passion for people is also the driving force behind the success of alum Denny Moell, now associate director for the Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board. Moell worked in manufacturing for 15 years, creating precision optical lenses at 3M before his job was outsourced overseas.

With support from the Trade Adjustment Act and his wife, Moell returned to school at affordable and nearby UC Clermont. His mother had struggled with mental illness, and he wanted to choose a new career path to better understand her experience. In an early class, Gomez turned Moell from considering a degree in addiction studies to social work — and never looked back.