Kyle Greenidge ’25MSW is a school social worker employed within Boston Public Schools (BPS). He provides individual therapy for 20 students with a range of needs, including support for mental health challenges or assistance with academic goals and post-graduation planning.
Collaborating with teachers and school counselors, Greenidge also teaches social-emotional skills in the classroom and conducts screenings for self-harm and suicide risk.
“There’s no standard day. I’m going to step up for whatever students need,” he says.
Another key aspect of his role: connecting with families to involve them in the therapeutic process. The family, notes Greenidge, “is the glue that holds this work together.”
On Choosing Simmons for Social Work
Greenidge came to Simmons with an MA in Counseling and Guidance and a decade of experience as a school counselor in New York City and the Boston area, including working within BPS.
While he enjoyed the work immensely, he found his impact limited in situations requiring deeper psychotherapy.
“I felt like I wanted — that I needed — to do more, but I didn’t have the skills,” he explains.
He also hoped to one day become a private-practice therapist. His social work colleagues encouraged him to pursue an MSW—a degree that would both enhance and expand his knowledge.
After attending information sessions for the Simmons MSW, Greenidge reports that he “began to feel like part of the community.”
In addition to its comprehensive clinical preparation, he says, “there was a warmth to the program.”
A Simmons Social Work Education
Enrolled in the Social Work & Trauma Practice Certificate program, Greenidge credits coursework on crisis intervention, in-class actor-led simulations, and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) as pivotal to preparing him for a career shift.
He also valued his “Social Work Practice” course, in particular its cohort model and focus on real-world problem-solving.
“It helped to transition me back to the classroom after being out of the academic world for 10 years,” he explains.
For his first placement, Greenidge interned at a charter school in Boston, where he counseled students in grades 5 to 12 and supported students’ learning through consulting and communicating with families, school stakeholders, and community agencies.
In his second internship at a Boston-area college, he provided individual psychotherapy to undergraduate and graduate students. He also handled crisis intervention, risk assessments, and case management.
Through the self-reflective nature of the Simmons program, says Greenidge, “I became more aware of the impact that I could make right here, right now.”
Why Social Work is Meaningful
“I think that I’m placed on this earth to be a light for individuals who need help seeing their way through a dark moment in their life,” says Greenidge. “I make my office a safe space for students to express or explore different parts of themselves. To help kids voice what they need to say is very rewarding.”