This past Thursday, October 4, 2007, I received the 2007 MSW Student of the Year Award issued by the Indiana Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Just for some background on this occasion, I graduated from the Indiana University School of Social Work this past May. Even though I was a complete prick in my classes (always challenging the modern ‘practice’ of social work), even though I received only four A’s (all the rest were A+’s), and even though I became known as the most ardent critic of the paths taken by the Social Work Profession, my academic track record found its way onto a nomination form submitted and juried by the Board of Directors of the NASW-Indiana. Turns out, I looked better on paper than the other MSW nominees and, wadda-bang wadda-boom, I got the award.

 

I can’t complain about this whole arrangement. It provides me an opportunity to give this large collection of ‘professional social workers’ a second chance; a way to really sell themselves to me. And, by the way, I failed to mention that not only is it an award, it brought with it a small scholarship (which I was still eligible to receive regardless of the fact that I graduated in May and am debt free!).

 

So, I prepped for the awards gala with great respect for the organization for which it comes from. The award was given on an evening during and coinciding with the NASW-Indiana’s Annual Conference. The Executive Director informed me months earlier that I would be able to invite up to nine guest to sit with me for the dinner and Gala (yep, we got a free dinner out of it, too!). Karen called me earlier that day to ask if it would be sufficient for her to wear a particular dress that she wore to my organization’s Annual Meeting a few weeks prior. My mom also called me that day to ask about attire and raise concern about the shorts my brother might wear because he hadn’t caught up with his laundry. For them both, I wanted to say, “come on…these are social workers, not lawyers! You could go wearing a soiled t-shirt and daisy dukes and no one would care!” Regardless of which, my wife showed up to the gala lookin’ dead sexy. Her hair flowed like the beer in Budweiser commercials; hoppy, bubbly, and down right American. And her adorable dress fit perfectly over her pregnant bump, with a little belt that tied just above the belly. I must say, she is one hot momma and I,… one lucky dude.

 

My folks met at our place and we all rode to the conference center together. When we arrived, we found the people we needed to find, walked through a lack-luster buffet with accompanying rude wait staff to boot, then we returned to our table. It was real weird for me because in the middle of the table there was a large sign that said, “Reserved, Marc McAleavey MSW Student of the Year”. I’m just not used to that kind of recognition. I wanted to stand on the table and yell out “anyone can sit here, really! I’m not reserving nothing for no-one!”. But, as it turns out, with Karen, my folks, my brother and his kids, and my two friends, we didn’t have much room to offer. Eventually, the Dean of the IU School of Social Work asked if he could join us, and we just happen to have one seat for him. So, he joined us.

 

You might recall that earlier I mentioned that I’d become somewhat known for challenging the Social Work Profession when I was in the MSW program. I knew two things going into this awards gala: (1) there would be A LOT of social workers in the room and (2) I would have them as a captive audience for at least a couple of minutes. So, I decided to prepare a speech that really attacked the core of what I consider to be ‘wrong’ with the Social Work Profession (speech posted here). I do not think that ‘help’ should be our main goal as social workers. To me, the large emphasis on helping takes away from the main point of social work, which is social connectivity and person-hood. Maybe ‘Help’ is just a byproduct, sometimes. But it is never an end, or should never be THE reason to practice social work. You might imagine, then, that I have serious reservations about the current marketing campaign for the social work profession which is driven by the motto “Social Work: Help Starts Here“. Accordingly, this slogan became the proverbial ‘ass’ that I decided to try to ‘whip’ during my acceptance speech.

 

I wrote the speech early Thursday morning (the award was given later that evening). Sometime in the mid-afternoon, I decided to check the agenda for the NASW award gala just to see who else would be speaking and what other activities were in store for the evening. I saw that the Keynote Speaker was going to be a fellow named Gary Bailey, who is a Professor of Social Work at Simmons College in Cambridge, MA and has done many, many, many, many, many crazy-incredible things during his career. One of Prof. Bailey’s many accomplishments is that he is the chairperson for the National Association of Social Workers Public Education Campaign!!!! Do you know what this means?!?!?!??! HE WAS THE GUY WHO ESSENTIALLY CAME UP WITH THE SLOGAN FOR WHICH I WAS TO ATTACK!!!! And he was THE keynote speaker…as in he will be the guy who will follow my piddly little acceptance speech!

 

I was nervous all afternoon and especially leading up to my acceptance of the award. When that time came, I received the award, gave the speech and sat down with roaring applause. Not only did I not get kicked out of the banquet hall (which I thought would happen), but much to my great surprise, the folks in the room loved what I said! My acceptance speech was followed by two other awardees for different awards. And then after a 15 minute introduction given by some local news anchor, WTHR’s Sandra Chapman, the academically formidable Prof. Bailey took the stage.

 

I was nervous. I was scared. I almost hid under the table in fear of this guy’s wicked and intellectually superior rebuttal to my claims against his brainchild of a slogan, “Help Starts Here”. He began his speech with great wit and charm. After some introduction on his own accord, Bailey looked over at me and said “I’d expect reference to a French Philosopher from someone who came from such a good University.” Then he went on to quote like Satre, Camus, or some shit like that.

 

“Hum, was that an insult?” I thought to myself. “Or, did he just send me a compliment? He did…that was a nice compliment!” I realized that this guy went out of his way to call one of my references in the speech out on the table and stroke it with positive affirmation. Then, a few minutes later, Bailey started talking about the notion of ‘help’. Again, he looked over at me from his podium and explained his stance on the issue. In the same breath, he sided with me and defended his side of the issue. He was a master of negotiation and hero of diplomacy. He did nothing to polarize me by pushing some dichotomous perspective counter to my own speech. But, he also did nothing to stand down from the motto he created. It was an incredible experience!

 

After all speeches were made, and everyone was wondering around the room visiting with each other, I experienced something I hadn’t experienced before: A truly supportive and caring profession. I observed colleagues listening to one another, laughing with one another, and sharing with one another. Many, many of my new fellow social workers came up to me with congratulatory remarks and personal introductions. Several folks spent a few minutes of conversation to explain what they liked about my speech and asked me questions about my job at the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center.

 

Then, I made my way to Gary Bailey to extend a personal introduction and apologize for stepping on his toes, if I had. I got caught up in a couple conversations on my way to Bailey, but he noticed that I was heading his way and paced towards me to interrupt my interfering chats (which was welcomed, believe me). He shook my hand, chuckled a little bit and congratulated me on my award. With somewhat of a nervous smile, I explained the anxiety I had when I learned that he was the keynote speaker, considering the subject matter of my speech. He laughed with me for a second and then explained to me the difficulty he had in coming up with the motto and usage the word “help” in the education campaign. He said that he just couldn’t think of a better way to describe, in American culture, the connectivity and exchange of spirit that happens in the social work profession. In just a few minute conversation, he taught me so much about my chosen profession and the value of my education there in.

 

We wrapped up this little learning experience with a discussion about Doctorate Programs in Social Work. He said that I was articulate and would do very well in a Doctorate Program. Someday I would like to do the PhD, but I want to go to a great school and have a dynamic experience. Maybe, just maybe, Gary Bailey and my new social work friend can HELP.

 

P.S. We were able to buy an awesome new crib set for Max with the scholarship money from this award. Thanks, so much, to the NASW for providing my soon-to-be born son with a nice place to sleep! He will certainly uphold the ethics of our work in his life, considering the many great nights of sleep you will provide to him. Here’s a picture of the crib set pieces (in case you’re interested….gosh I am a doofus):