Simmons School Social Work 2009 Graduates — Where are they now?
Corey Kritzman, a 2009 graduate of Simmons College School of Social Work, started this summer her new job as a clinical social worker.
She works at Hearth, Inc, a supportive housing organization for formerly homeless or at-risk elders located in Boston and Brookline. In her new position, Corey is responsible for assisting the residents in 3 of the homes. She works alongside nurses, resident coordinators and activities directors to ensure the residents have access to the services they need while also promoting self-sufficiency.
How did your experience at Simmons help you to get your current position?
Corey's first placement was at Travelers Aid Family Services where she gained a better understanding of the public benefits and public housing systems in Massachusetts and the issues facing Massachusetts families. Corey said "this internship sparked an interest (that I continue to have) in working with homeless and at-risk families and individuals."
For her second year placement, Corey worked at Passageway, a domestic violence intervention program at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston, where she had the opportunity to sharpen her clinical skills and try out being a social worker in a very large, medical setting. According to Corey, "the field placements that Simmons arranged for me provided me with new learning experiences and exposure to populations I had never worked with. From my placements, I learned my strengths and weaknesses as well as where my passion lies within the field."
The classroom experience at Simmons enabled Corey to enhance the learning that she did in the field. The courses that she took afforded her the space to talk about her internship experiences and apply the material she was studying to her clients and internship work. Corey said "My advisors and close professors acted as great guides/mentors, making sure that I was always working towards my own learning goals and that I find a job that would enable me to continue my growth post-graduation."
She also said that "Simmons is also very well-known and respected within the social work community and having the Simmons name on my resume certainly helped me to get interviews for positions when I started my job search."
Before coming to Simmons, Corey worked as the Program Coordinator for the Juvenile Court Clinics of Middlesex County, supporting the Executive Director and Development Coordinator, and doing direct service work co-facilitating groups for court-involved adolescents. It was Corey's first taste of social work "it was what made me realize that I wanted to pursue an advanced degree in Social Work."
Corey graduated from Brandies University in 2003 with a BA in Sociology.