'Social work is about empowerment and helping people realize their potential'
Alysha Carlisle grew up in Oakland, California, 1,600 miles from the rolling hills of southeast Minnesota. She says it was easy to feel hopeless in that environment, with poverty and violence around her, but through her childhood, several social workers stepped up and empowered the young Carlisle.
Now, a decade after moving to the Med City, Carlisle wants to follow in their footsteps. As part of the Bachelor’s of Social Work program at Winona State University-Rochester, she’s on the path to doing just that.
“I’ve had many social workers remind me how valuable and powerful I am, and I think lots of people forget that,” says Carlisle. “When I graduate, I want to be someone’s daily reminder of that.”
Carlisle shares that desire to give back and make a difference with thousands of other students across America, and her career path is becoming a popular one — social workers are in greater demand than ever before. For anyone thinking of traveling down a similar career path, WSU-R’s Bachelor’s of Social Work program is the perfect starting point, recommended by students and faculty alike.
There’s passion for the profession from the top down. It’s in the administrative faculty, the professors, even in brand-new students. Mary Kirk, a professor in the BSW program at WSU-R, says becoming a social worker was one of the best decisions of her life — and teaching the subject has only heightened her sense of purpose.
“From the first time I stepped into a classroom for the BSW program, I fell in love with teaching the subject here,” says Kirk. “Teaching is its own form of social work, in a sense — you’re empowering students and giving them valuable information.”
Kirk was a Warrior herself, earning her degrees from the same institution she now teaches for. The beauty of WSU-R, she notes, is in the flexibility of the curriculum. The Rochester campus specializes in serving students that don’t fit the typical college profile, whatever the reason may be.
Kirk says the Rochester campus has the flexibility to meet any student’s needs, thanks to a sophisticated online learning system (in place pre-Covid) and non-traditional class times that fit with a busy schedule.
“That’s the history of the BSW program here in Rochester — it’s been so responsive to student needs,” says Kirk. “Many of our students are working full-time or are non-traditional students in some way — maybe they’re paying class by class, maybe they’re supporting a family. So, our curriculum is designed to meet our student’s realities and make sure they get the best chance to succeed.”
Azizza Ali, a first-year student in the BSW program, fits Kirk’s description to a T. She says she pursued a computer science degree out of high school at another school, but felt unfulfilled in her studies — leading to months of searching for her true calling. After taking a chance on Winona State’s program, Ali now says she’s found her path for life.
“The foundation of social work really matches up with how I aspire to live my life,” says Ali. “I learned about the code of ethics and preserving other people’s dignity, and when I read that, it just really aligned with what I believe in. It was a perfect match from the beginning.”
Learning by Doing
In addition to classwork, each student in the BSW program must complete internships for various nonprofit organizations throughout Rochester. Carlisle, for example, has spent the past few months as a youth development specialist at Project Legacy, a Rochester-based organization offering assistance to at-risk youth of color.
Carlisle came to Project Legacy seeking assistance of her own over seven years ago. Now, after receiving the help she needed, she can give back to the organization and community — thanks, in no small part, to the BSW program.
“For me, I feel like social work is about empowerment and helping people realize their potential,” says Carlisle. “Project Legacy did that for me. Now that I’m a young professional, I get to do the same thing for the youth in this community — building that same level of confidence and self-value.”
Carlisle’s journey has just started in the field of social work. When she graduates in a year’s time, she says the next step will be to go back where it all started — to Oakland. She’ll take her newfound expertise, earned through rigorous study and real-world experience at WSU-R, back home, and hopefully help young Oaklanders find the same confidence she did all those years ago.
“I don’t like to think of it like I’m improving people’s lives,” says Carlisle. “I feel like they’re improving their own lives. They’re choosing to reach out, they’re taking the initiative — I’m just there to help them connect with the right resources. It does feel good to be that person, though — I’m happy that I can give back this way.”
