Just One Course Away for a Philadelphia Location BSW Student
After a four-year hiatus and only one course shy of her undergraduate degree, Amanda
Steiniger returned to West Chester University and will earn her bachelor of science
in social work at the winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m.
A non-traditional student, Steiniger was working in the field as she earned an associate’s degree from the Community College of Philadelphia.* She enrolled in WCU’s social work program and, while taking classes, also got married and pregnant. In 2018, during her senior practicum in a substance abuse and mental health facility, she was two months from her due date when she was threatened and attacked by a client in her office. The incident was a catalyst for her to take time off during her final semester to reevaluate. Already worried about the potential for burnout in this field, she said, “I needed to really discover where my heart is.”
In that time of reflection, Steiniger found a social work position in an approved school setting and was able to collaborate with speech pathologists and other mental health professionals. Determining that “school is my thing,” she took online classes in early childhood education (independent of WCU) and made deans lists, then re-enrolled at WCU’s Philadelphia location for the fall 2023 semester to complete her final social work course.
“We are a tight-knit family of classmates,” she says of those enrolled in her social work course at the Philadelphia location. “We really connect on that realm. At one point, I was the youngest in that class and there are those around 70 years old. We support one another, and even organized a carpool.”
Programs at WCU’s Philadelphia location are designed for adults, offering part-time and evening classes plus support services to help adult learners get back into the academic mindset.
Support from assistant professor Susan Wysor Nguema at the Philly location has been important, Steiniger said. Wysor Nguema is a co-advisor to the WCU SuperMoms student group. And associate professor Pablo Arriaza called her to encourage her to keep writing. “He told me he uses some of my work in his classes,” she said. Steiniger has published some of her writing in Heartbreak Kid, a collection of her poems.
Steiniger is now at the Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit in Bucks County, working in autistic support combining mental health and special education.
Beginning this spring, she’s on her way to completing her master’s in special education at WCU.
“Education is powerful,” she stresses, adding, “It keeps you fresh for your students.”
Learn more about WCU’s BSW programs here.
To learn more about WCU’s Philadelphia location and its lower tuition, click here.
For December 2023 commencement information, click here.
* For students who have earned an A.A.S, A.A., A.S., or A.F.A from a Pennsylvania Community College, the Academic Passport waives the first 45 credits of general education requirements so they can complete their degrees faster at WCU.