Jeri Wilson first moved to San Diego when she was 5 years old, then she moved back to Michigan to finish high school. However at the age of 18, Jeri decided to make a life changing decision and move back to San Diego. “I just felt like San Diego was home,” Jeri said. She first […]

Diane Takvorian was born in Pasadena California. Her grandparents immigrated to the United States after surviving the Armenian Holocaust by the Turkish in 1915. Diane expressed that learning about her grandparents experience gave her “an inherent understanding of the impacts of discrimination and bigotry,” despite the fact that she did not live the experience first-hand. […]

Carmen Chausse is an inspiring woman who is impacting the field of social work, both in San Diego and Tijuana. Carmen was born in Tijuana, Baja California. Her first language was Spanish. Becoming a social worker was a not a difficult decision for her she saw her mother and siblings helping neighbors and friends by […]

Misty Taylor, ACSW is Kumeyaay. She is an enrolled tribal member of The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel located in the north east mountains of San Diego County. She hasn’t always lived in San Diego County, in her twenty’s she moved up and down California. During her educational path and travels she attended 7 different […]

Joseph and Tamela Dreyer have their own love story to share, a love story that began at our very own School of Social Work. Joe: We attended the MSW program together, and ran into each other at a field instructor training. Tamela came up to me to say hello. Tamela:  I was there with a […]

Andrea Cangiano was born in New York and grew up in Long Island. She received her Bachelors in Psychology in Massachusetts at College of the Holy Cross. Andrea enrolled in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps upon graduation, and was placed in Texas at AIDS Foundation Houston for the following year. This experience peaked her interest in […]

“Social Work is a Field of Opportunity” by Elizabeth Trader, Licensed Independent Social Worker I was asked by Michael Jones, Faculty at SDSU School of Social Work, to share my career story from SDSU to Iowa.  I got my BSW and MSW from San Diego State University. My work background was in the area of […]

Adriana Gonzalez was raised in National City in a community that she describes as “rough”. Throughout the 90’s, the neighborhood experienced high gang activity which made even walking to school difficult. She became interested in the field of social work after hearing about it at career fair in high school. At Southwestern college she enjoyed […]

Rachel Downing was born in Oklahoma in 1944. She also lived in Kansas throughout her youth. At the age of 13 she moved to Montebello, California, where she attended high school. She graduated, got married, and had her son. Later she worked for a telephone company for years. After attending a retirement party for a […]

Rita Naranjo grew up in Southern California. She was placed in foster care at the age of 4 and moved around a lot throughout her youth. At the age of 17, she became very active in advocacy in order to raise attention to the plight of foster youth. In the beginning she became a member […]