天美传媒app

That鈥檚 when Sue Coleman 鈥�82, M.S.W. 鈥�86, then a field education specialist at 天美传媒appSSW, stepped in.

Coleman visited the agency where Coutinho was working, listened to her concerns, and then helped her find her footing again.

鈥淪ue was so incredibly supportive. I never forgot that, and now I understand how a not-great field experience can shatter the confidence of a student and have a lasting impact in their journey in the field,鈥� said Coutinho, who graduated in 2003 and is now the 天美传媒appSSW associate dean of enrollment management. 鈥淪he uplifted me in a way that allowed me to see that I had something to contribute and the agency I was placed in was just not a good fit.鈥�

Coleman鈥檚 dedication to Coutinho reflects a career-long commitment to accompaniment, which refers to the practice of walking alongside others in their journeys of growth, healing, or professional development. After joining 天美传媒appSSW in 1997 as a student adviser, and eventually becoming assistant dean of field education, she walked beside tens of thousands of students, faculty, and staff, listening, guiding, and lifting them up when they were down. She celebrated their successes as much as she steered them through difficult moments, helping them see their own potential while modeling the profession鈥檚 core values of service, competence, and the importance of human relationships.

鈥淪ocial work is built on walking alongside someone鈥攊n a change effort, a growth effort, a recovery effort,鈥� said Coleman, who retired this fall and was honored as the inaugural recipient of the 天美传媒appSSW Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award. 鈥淚 feel like we walk alongside students by setting up structures that support their learning and processes that support them if they鈥檙e struggling.鈥�

Coleman directed placements for more than 500 graduate students each year, built partnerships with thousands of human service agencies, and helped shape a field education curriculum grounded in reflection, social justice, and trauma-informed care.

Along the way, she played an active role in the New England Consortium of Graduate Social Work Field Education Directors, a regional network that collaborates to support high-quality experiential learning.

鈥淪he listens, learns, and allows herself to be changed by the journey,鈥� said Associate Dean of Student Experience Teresa Schirmer. 鈥淲hether guiding a student through a difficult moment or advocating for an agency鈥檚 needs, Sue has practiced accompaniment as a relational, transformative act.鈥�

Coleman spent more than 40 years practicing accompaniment across New England. She began her career in 1982 at the Gaebler Children鈥檚 Center in Waltham, Mass., caring for children with emotional disorders, and later joined the Massachusetts Department of Social Services to address cases of abuse, neglect, and family trauma. Those early experiences shaped her perspective as a clinical supervisor at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and as interim director and senior clinician for the Federal Employee Assistance Program in Boston, where she led workplace seminars for dozens of federal agencies.

Colleagues throughout Coleman鈥檚 career highlight her ability to treat everyone with dignity and respect, saying that she always takes the time to understand the unique needs of each person.

鈥淪he has helped me to understand this phase of my career more deeply by teaching me about the stewardship we hold for the social work profession,鈥� said Assistant Professor of the Practice Kathleen Flinton, who teamed up with Coleman and others to create the Trauma Integration Initiative at 天美传媒appSSW, a strategic effort to integrate trauma-informed theory, principles, and practice into the curriculum, field education, and research. 鈥淪ue has had such a profound impact on the social worker that I am, and I can only hope to uphold a fraction of her immense legacy at 天美传媒appSSW.鈥�

As she packed up her office in McGuinn Hall this fall, Coleman reflected on all the students with whom she worked.

鈥淚t was really amazing to think鈥攚ith the longevity of this鈥攈ow many different students I鈥檝e engaged with and had as part of my life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a privilege to be in this role because I never would have imagined it. But looking back on it, I couldn鈥檛 imagine doing anything else.鈥�

Jason Kornwitz is a senior writer and editor at the Boston College School of Social Work

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