B:E Intern: Loan Nguyen

During Loan Nguyen’s internship at Beyond Emancipation (B:E) she has taken on many projects including holiday drives, advocacy and fundraising. Other work also includes assessing eligibility for transition age youth, case management, and entering case notes. Nguyen says, “The holiday drive was my best experience because I was able to advocate for the youth and was able to accomplish the goal.” She went above and beyond her duties to advocate for B:E clients.

Nguyen has learned a lot from interning at B:E. “I have grown into a new identity that has given me a chance to give back to the community,” says Nguyen. Developing a professional social work identity and conducting oneself accordingly helped her recognize the importance of advocating for clients at B:E. She says, “I practice personal reflection and self-correction during my weekly supervision with my field instructor and recognized my professional boundaries within the clients and myself.”

Nguyen will be interning for the Emergency Response Unit in the Alameda County Social Services Agency for her second year placement. “I want to be able to have the opportunity to learn all the ropes of being a child welfare worker whether it’s investigating the allegations, strengthening families, reunifying with their family or providing services for youth in permanent living arrangements,” says Nguyen. Adding, she will apply the theories of practices that she has learned from B:E.

Her passion and career goal is to be a child welfare worker who will serve as many foster youth as possible. B:E wishes Nguyen the best of luck and is grateful for everything she has done during her internship at B:E these past nine months.

“One advice that I would give to other MSW interns who might want to work at B:E is to always ask questions when unsure about something or when instructions are unclear. It is always better to ask than not to ask at all,” say Nguyen.