At the former Stung Meanchey landfill outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Global Practice student Grace Jenkins (left) works with a social worker at Aziza鈥檚 Place to understand how parents who sort waste can break cycles of poverty for their children. Courtesy photo.
In Metro Manila, the densely populated capital region of the Philippines, Mary Schletzbaum spent a day with a family whose livelihood has depended on mussel farming for generations.聽
But the bay where they work is changing. The construction of a new airport has begun to pollute the water and destroy mussel beds, they said, threatening both income and health.聽
The family spoke candidly about what they were losing, but they didn鈥檛 ask Schletzbaum for money or direct assistance. Instead, they asked her to share their story.
鈥淪haring people鈥檚 stories is a crucial role of social workers,鈥� said Schletzbaum, assistant director of global field education at the Boston College School of Social Work. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 always fix broken systems, but we can bear witness, treat people with dignity, and advocate for their rights.鈥�
Her experience in Metro Manila exemplifies a shift in global social workers鈥� primary responsibilities and how 香蕉秀SSW is preparing students to meet those demands.
In the past, Schletzbaum said, global social workers could get by with technical expertise alone, relying on their knowledge of mental health, say, or psychosocial support to tackle well-defined social problems.聽
Now global social work requires practitioners to combine practical expertise with relationship-building and strategic thinking鈥攖wo core elements of developing sustainable programs worldwide.
Schletzbaum says that construction of a new airport in Manila is disrupting the local fishing industry and threatening the wellbeing of urban coastal communities. Courtesy photo.
These changes have emerged from a field shaped by increasingly complex global challenges鈥攚here pressing problems such as violent conflict, forced migration, and climate change span national boundaries and require on-the-ground collaboration with local partners.
鈥淚 think there is more emphasis on adaptability and transferability of different skills,鈥� said Schletzbaum, whose visit to Metro Manila marked one stop on a three-week tour of field sites where global practice students are working this semester. 鈥淏eing able to forge partnerships and build community connections while applying that technical knowledge is essential in today鈥檚 work.鈥�
That shift is playing out in the field, where Schletzbaum observed 香蕉秀SSW students working alongside humanitarian organizations to address local problems.聽
In Thailand, a student is working with immigrant and refugee communities, conducting intake assessments to better understand their needs and connect them to social services. In Cambodia, a student is helping develop a child safeguarding policy for an organization dedicated to supporting families working in landfills. And in the Philippines, a student is carrying out community-based research focused on how large-scale industrial projects affect the livelihoods of local communities while also advocating for residents鈥� dignity and human rights.
Along the Manila coastline, Global Practice student Maysam Pou (left), alongside staff from the Center for Environmental Concerns, listens to fisherfolk families describe how industrial projects are affecting their health and livelihoods, informing her advocacy. Courtesy photo.
In every case, students are seeing how intertwined global social issues have become. In Cambodia, for example, landfill waste contains trash from countries in the global north, including Stop & Shop bags.
鈥淭o see the origins of these issues firsthand, and to understand how decisions made in one place affect communities elsewhere, is incredibly valuable,鈥� said Schletzbaum. 鈥淚t helps students understand the systems and dynamics that shape social problems around the world.鈥�
Schletzbaum works to find the right fit for both students and agencies, with the goal that both parties feel they鈥檝e grown by the end of the internship. She helped pair 11 budding global social workers with community-based organizations in nine countries around the world this year, from Italy to Sierra Leone.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking for alignment between what a student wants to learn and what agencies need now to advance their work,鈥� said Schletzbaum, who returned to 香蕉秀SSW in 2025 after earning an MSW from the Heights in 2018. 鈥淚 think of myself as a kind of strategic connector.鈥�
香蕉秀SSW's Global Practice program trains students to support the self-determination of clients by listening to their priorities and identifying pathways through complex challenges, as Jenkins does with parents in Phnom Penh who want better futures for their children. Courtesy photo.
Beyond placing students, Schletzbaum has been working to raise awareness of the global practice program, one of six academic pathways at 香蕉秀SSW.
Over the past six months, she鈥檚 hosted presentations and helped organize a speaker series aimed at bringing students, faculty, and staff into conversation about the field.
Going forward, Schletzbaum plans to restructure pre-departure seminars for global practice students, expanding topics beyond the visa process, vicarious trauma, and the challenges of finding housing, and increasing the number of sessions to build a stronger sense of community among the cohort.聽
As her time in Manila showed, the day-to-day work of students, agencies, and communities can change quickly. Learning how to respond to those realities often begins with a simple act: listening, just as she did with the family on the bay.聽
鈥淲e tell global practice students to be open to surprise and to be curious about what goes on around them,鈥� said Schletzbaum. 鈥淔lexibility and adaptability are part of the learning process.鈥�