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RDC's Social Work Program Marks its 40th Year
Celebrating 40 Years of Connecting to our Community.
It takes a certain sort of individual to dedicate their life to helping others - to be selfless, giving and compassionate. Luckily for the central Alberta community, there’s an entire fleet of these individuals enrolled in the RDC Social Work program. This year, these individuals have plenty of reasons to celebrate, as 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the program.
Meeting the needs of the growing College and central Alberta community since 1969, the RDC Social Work program has come a long way. In fact, 2009 saw the largest class of students start ever, with 67 first year students. The program also has 42 second-year students.
If history repeats itself, many of these students will remain in the central Alberta community after graduating continuing to improve and contribute to the quality of our local social support network.
A large portion of the program is based on hands-on learning – each of the students is engaged in field placements in the central Alberta area.
Assisting more than 50 agencies, students help to conduct necessary research, generate new ideas and work on various other tasks for two days per week in each term. This role is critical to the success of the agencies, as many can’t afford to employ the number of individuals needed for their projects.
The agencies are also instrumental to the program’s success – without these connections to agencies within the community, students would be missing out on a huge portion of the practical experienced gained in the program.
A prime example of this mutually beneficial relationship came a few years ago. Students partnered with a local organization and helped conduct the first ever study on homelessness in the Red Deer community. This study is now being used to implement change and improve quality of life for people living in central Alberta.
This symbiotic relationship continues to be one of the major keys to the success of the widely recognized RDC Social Work program. These partnerships occur frequently and benefit students, local agencies and our community.
A graduate of the program herself, RDC instructor Tera Dahl-Lang enjoys watching her students develop to create change in our world. “It’s fantastic to watch learners grow, change and challenge - then enter the field and continue to grow, change and challenge.”
A true indicator of this program’s success, Dahl-Lang often runs into past students at seminars or community social work events and takes great pride in the fact that she, as a faculty member, is able to contribute to the future of the profession by influencing today’s students.
To recognize the Social Work program’s successful 40 year history, the College is hosting a two day celebration as part of the RDC Alumni Welcome Back Weekend, November 6th and 7th.
Events include the unveiling of a much anticipated DVD that began as a student project and evolved into much more. In the DVD, alumni and past and present instructors were interviewed to recount their most memorable experiences in the program, their journeys since and to share their thoughts on changes in the Social Work field.
The weekend will also give students an opportunity to present various topics to their peers, as well as alumni and industry professionals who attend.
To learn more about the RDC Social Work program, or its 40th year celebrations, contact Brenda Joyce, Social Work program Chair by phone at 403.314.2478 or email.