CSUF MSW STUDENTS SPEAK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE STARTING THE MASTER PROGRAM [0:00-5:05]

record to this computer, you also get a pop-up, I think. And then we'll just pray that the audio works when I send this invention. Well, I hope, I'm sure it will. I haven't had issues yet recording. I've only done it twice, but so far, so good. I'll go with your streak. We'll keep the streak going. So I want to thank everybody for coming today and being part of this sort of roundtable discussion about success strategies and how to navigate our program. Do you all want to introduce yourself briefly and maybe say a little bit about who you are? So folks know who they're talking to or watching. I guess I should start my name's Chris. I use him pronouns full time cohort graduate this May. So cost of 2024 concentration to mental health. And I guess I'm president of MSWA. So that's part of why I'm here and have a background in feeding mental health programs and community partner research. Thanks. Hi, my name is a radian. I'm part of the flux program. I'm on my second out of my three years. My focus is community mental health and my focus is right now professionally to include policy research and medical case management. I am the vice president of MSWA. Hi, I'm Marjan. I am part of the full time program graduating this spring. So May 2024. And I am a child welfare concentration as well as a cow sweat recipient. And I am the treasurer of MSWA. And yeah, I'm really big into micro and like practice within the community. So, yeah. I'm Amri. I'm a community mental health concentration also in my second year. I'm the admin coordinator for MSWA. And I have a non social work background. So this program is possible for everyone. My name is Gavin. I'm the event coordinator for MSWA allegedly and also in my second year of the full time program graduating spring of 2024 with the community mental health concentration. And I did about six years between undergrad and grad school. So I'm a big proponent of coming back, coming back to school, restarting those wheels, turning. And I want to thank all of you for being here. So let's just start off our discussion by talking about the elephant in the room, so to speak, imposter syndrome. How do I make it through? Did they pick the right person? And I really meant for this work. What tips or advice might you have for newer students to navigate that issue? I can start. Oh, yeah, sure. So for me, I came straight from undergrad. So I graduated in the spring and I came straight in the fall. So for me, when they placed me at my internship, and they were in like my internship was like, yeah, your supervisor is not going to be at your site on either of your days. And I was at a school, I was in a school setting, so I was giving counseling to elementary through middle school kids. And I had a really big battle with imposter syndrome because I was like, I just graduated from undergrad and like, I wasn't even social work, I was sociology, like I've never given counseling, like, why are they letting me do this with these kids. But just kind of realizing that you are here for a reason. And like, if, if they really didn't want us, we wouldn't have been accepted, you know, like if, if there was stuff that they were like, maybe not, like, we wouldn't have gotten accepted. So they see something in us and they think that we can do it and like, because we had letters of wreck and everything. So like other people think we can do it. So just kind of realizing and seeing that like as the weeks went by, I saw myself being more confident in my abilities, especially since I didn't have a preceptor or instructor there with me at my site, like, realizing like, oh, like, I am doing this by myself. Like, seeing improvement and seeing progress and getting feedback. So it's something that I feel like we all face, but eventually you kind of get to see a little bit of like what you're able to do. Thank you, I love that. Chris, you were going to say something. Yeah, I guess for me, I had a different experience. I took so many years off and came an experience that I thought I could like jump past imposter syndrome. So when I had it, especially at like internship, I like beat myself up for having it.