MORE ABOUT MARY
Graduation Date: June 2008
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas
Undergraduate School: University of Kansas
Current Employment:
- Intern at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Mary Brewster
Area of Study:Social Work (MSW)
I chose my area of study because... social justice is something that I am passionate about. I didn’t want to have a career where I just worked for the betterment of myself. I wanted a life that contributed to the lives of others.
My favorite thing to do on campus is... I am only on campus one day a week this year, so not much time is spent on campus or with my other classmates. Between my classes I enjoy spending time with my fellow classmates, as this is usually the only time I get to see them.
The learning environment here at DePaul is... unlike anything I have experienced before. I have a sense of freedom here that I didn’t when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas.
My favorite professor at DePaul is... Dr. Noam Ostrander. Noam has a way of connecting to his students. He treats us as his colleagues and truly respects us. His classes have taught me so much about being a social worker and I am very grateful for all that he has given to me.
The class I most enjoyed here was... this summer I took a class taught by Dr. Ted Manley titled “Eradicating White Racism.” This class changed me as a person. It opened my eyes to so many issues that I was aware of but afraid to address. It was an amazing experience.
When I have free time, I like to... I cherish my free time, as I don’t have much of it. I have rediscovered "Veronica Mars," and well, she has been getting much of my free time as it is too cold to actually leave my house!
My favorite thing to do off campus is... I love the fact that Chicago has so many options for live music, so I am trying to take advantage of this, though I am not succeeding as much as I wish I was.
One thing I didn’t know about DePaul before coming was... the word “Vincentianism” was so foreign to me. People would use this word and I thought that they were making something up.
The greatest thing about going to school in Chicago is... the city itself. Coming from a smallish town in Kansas, I was afraid to move to Chicago, afraid that I would get lost all the time and be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city. However, I have not felt this. After less than two years here, I can honestly say I feel at home in Chicago.
At DePaul, service learning is... paramount.
DePaul's School of Social Service program is unique, compared to other schools I considered attending because... DePaul University was founded on the premise that all people deserve dignity and opportunity. This mission has so much in common with what social work is about. The ideas of social justice and dignity are central to the service of social workers. The MSW program at DePaul has a community-based concentration, something that is quite unique among most programs that I looked at.
I chose a career in social work because... I sometimes feel as though I didn’t really choose the career in social work, as much as it chose me. The concept of social justice is something that I truly believe in.
The best thing about DePaul is... the freedom I feel as a student.
After graduation, I plan to... stay in Chicago and work in the HIV/AIDS community.
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