February Events

in this section

• Networking event Monday, Feb. 18
• Service event Saturday, Feb. 23

1. Networking featuring guest speaker Mark Moore, P.Ed., PMP

Guest speaker Mark Moore will deliver training in team dynamics. Monday, February 18, 7:00-8:30 pm, Ashley Park Clubhouse, Brier Creek, Raleigh. $1/ person. Go to http://hispanicpros.meetup.com/106/ for more information.

2. Service Event: Cocinar y Servir

Cook and serve Saturday evening dinner and dessert for the women and children residents of Durham Rescue Mission. Saturday, February 23, 4:00-6:00 pm, Good Samaritan Inn, Durham. Follow link for more information. http://hispanicpros.meetup.com/106/calendar/7243707/.

Camille Cholerton, SPHR

Accidental Advocate
By Camille Cholerton, SPHR

The ability to speak Spanish can open up doors of opportunity professionally and in the most unexpected ways. I call myself an “accidental advocate.” An immigrant myself, I came to the United States at the age of three, never having learned my own native language. In college, I minored in Spanish because I felt it was important to learn another language besides English. That decision opened up opportunities to travel abroad and learn about the 21 different Latin American countries and cultures while fulfilling my duty to learn one other language.

Upon graduation, I found myself looking for a full-time job; the six-month student loan grace period did not seem to last that long after all. I looked for jobs in my field such as Sports Management, but alas, there were no openings for my dream job: Personal Development Coordinator for a major league baseball team with operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. After deciding to look for a position in which I could utilize Spanish, I happened upon an advertisement for a bilingual administrative assistant at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project (ECMHSP). I applied, and behold, I got the job! Little did I know that this humble beginning would open up a career path for becoming an advocate for the migrant farm worker population.

As the company grew outwardly, I grew professionally. I became the first bilingual Human Resource (HR) assistant, was promoted to an HR Specialist, Senior HR Specialist, and subsequently, the Staff Development Manager. In each position, I have been able to work directly with our migrant families. They have shared with me their experiences and their stories of traveling from one state to another, their nomadic livelihoods affected by the weather and crop conditions, following the planting and harvesting of oranges in Florida, moving to North Carolina to pick apples, then going to South Carolina to pick sweet potatoes. In previous experiences, they would arrive at a farm with no housing, forced to find temporary shelter in their vehicles. Sometimes they would be promised housing, but upon their arrival find simple shacks with no heating, no air conditioning nor indoor plumbing, a situation that is generally considered an unfit living condition. With advocacy efforts made by farm workers rights groups and agencies such as ECMSHP, these situations have improved, yet they are still far from ideal. Along with the challenges of finding adequate housing, this transient lifestyle does not create a stable learning environment for these workers’ children.

The existence of ECMHSP and its mission is able to bridge the gap: “ECMHSP is committed to preparing young children for educational success – especially children of migrant and seasonal farm workers – by providing holistic, high quality early childhood services for families in a nurturing, culturally sensitive environment” (http://www.ecmhsp.org/). The services we provide facilitate a stable learning environment, wherever families may move along the eastern seaboard. At the centers, children are away from the dangers of the field and receive education and assistance to develop physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. Children flourish in all learning domains and are prepared to succeed in public schools and beyond.
As a service-based organization, we provide education, health and transportation services, including an active literacy program for families. Parents play an active part in decision-making in the program; therefore we strive to provide opportunities for parents to work with our program as volunteers and employees. Their participation in our policy council influences approvals in the hiring of the staff who work at the learning centers and in administrative offices. When considering potential candidates, the insight these parents share promotes thinking beyond knowledge, skills and abilities to include consideration for compassion and commitment necessary to serve the migrant population. These parents inspire this personal reflection: “If my child were in the program, would this candidate provide a safe, welcoming and culturally sensitive classroom for him/her?” All of this resulted because of the decision to minor in Spanish.
Yes, my unconventional career path has made me an “accidental advocate” for migrant families and children. Think of them when you are in the grocery store picking out your favorite fruits and vegetables; remember the back-breaking work they do from sun up to sundown, in hot and dangerous conditions, to bring produce to your local supermarket. You, too, may become an accidental advocate…
For more information on how you can volunteer and advocate for the plight of the migrant farm worker, please visit:
http://www-cds.aas.duke.edu/saf/
http://www.ecmhsp.org/
http://www.volunteermatch.org/results/org_detail.jsp?orgid=30771

Student Perspective

Micaela Mercado, the only Latina in her Ph.D. program, explains her motives

It is an exciting time to be a social worker. Though many people know social work entails counseling, case management or other social services, many do not know that it is not a narrow discipline. In reality, social work is a profession that really makes the whole system work. To be a social worker means working with clients and administrators. That is, a social worker must be involved in all aspects of micro and macro issues. It is an exciting time to be a social worker. The field is booming with talented on-the-ground “movers”, policy “shakers” and science “innovators”. This is truly a great profession with many opportunities for everyone, but perhaps most importantly, for Latinos.

I am a first year Ph.D. student in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Not surprisingly, I am the only Latina in the entire program, if not one of the very few in the entire country. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that of all doctoral students enrolled in the United States in 2004, only 3.5% were Hispanic. The number of Master level social workers is also fairly small and most likely concentrated in California and New York as well as in southern states such as Florida and Texas. You can imagine this is a big challenge for the profession, since Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, with 44.3 million people estimated in 2006. This is about 15% of the total population according the Census Bureau. It is clear that Hispanic social workers are in great demand as the Hispanic population continues to rise in the following decades.

Along with these challenges come great opportunities for the future. The social work profession acknowledges the need for more Hispanic social workers in all aspects, from working in schools to immigration reform. Social workers in the field are constantly challenged by trying to assist Hispanic clients but are unable to do so for a variety of reasons. The language barrier is one of the most frustrating facts facing non-Spanish speaking professionals. The inability to inform clients about their rights or provide them with accurate services has been recognized by the profession. As a response, graduate schools offer Spanish classes to social work students and semester courses on providing services targeting the Hispanic population. This is a great reflection of how the profession is inclusive of serving a variety of people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or legal status.

A second challenge is the issue of cultural competence or acknowledging Hispanic culture as central to the Hispanic family and community. Most notably, acculturation issues relatimg to how Hispanic immigrants adapt in their new environment is being explored by a variety of researchers. Some examples include understanding Hispanic parents reluctance to engage in their children’s schools; reasons middle and high school Hispanic students have high dropout rates in addition to a variety of other fascinating and breakthrough work that is currently fueling the social work profession.

In future issues, I plan to talk more about these projects as well as Hispanic related-topics related to the social work profession. I came into the social work profession to dedicate my career to seek knowledge and understand micro and macro needs and challenges, and to improve the lives of individuals through research. Although I am perusing a PhD degree, the values of the social work profession are the same regardless what degree you hold. After all, change, equality, and opportunity are the driving forces that energize the social work profession.

Micaela Mercado is a first year Doctoral student in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She grew up in Miami and Fort Lauderdale Florida where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Nova Southeastern University, Florida and her Master’s degree in Social Work from the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her primary research interests are successful School-to-Work transitions among marginal academic achieving students in high school.

For further information and questions please contact Micaela Mercado at 325 Pittsboro St., Campus Box 3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550; email mmphd@unc.edu.

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