Social work students to present international interview discoveries

The event, Looking at Life through Someone Else’s Eyes: Interviews from Around the World, will consist of students’ experiences and findings from interviewing someone from another country.

Countries represented in the 15-20 minute presentations will include Curacao, Morocco, Rwanda, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mexico, Czech Republic, Lebanon and Jamaica. Audience members are encouraged to come and go, as needed.

Kenney, assistant professor in the Counseling Psychological Sciences and Social Work department, has taught the class for five years, but this is the first time he has included this project.

He said theidea came to him during the semester break. Kenney, who is a member of the CSC diversity committee, said he felt this was a great opportunity for students to combine diversity and social work.

He said the lab focuses primarily on interviewing since it is a key component in a social work career.

“I especially want the students to take into consideration the interviewee’s culture,” Kenney said.

The assignment consists of four sections: research of the interviewee’s country, the interview, cultural observations and presentation of the project.

Jaime Brinamen, a junior from McCook, Nebraska, interviewed Jeff Mugongo, a CSC student.

Brinamen said Mugongo was born in Rwanda, Africa, but moved to a refugee camp in Tanzania when he was four or five. His family moved from camp to camp waiting to be put on a list to come to North America.

When Mugongo was 14, his family received the news that they had been put on a list, allowing them to make the move.

“Just the struggle their family had to endure for those years was crazy,” Brinamen said. “They were in camps with tons of families who were just looking for some asylum.”

Brinamen said the project was designed to help those enrolled to become culturally competent and more fluent in their interviewing skills.

“Even with it being intimidating, it was also really cool to just compare my life as an American to someone who hasn’t lived here all their life,” said Brinamen.

Hannah Andersen, a junior from Gordon, Nebraska, conducted her interview while on a mission trip to Costa Rica over spring break.

“I had no idea who I would find to let me interview them, if there would be a language barrier, or how much information I would get to be able to write a lengthy paper and do a 15 minute presentation,” Andersen said.

Andersen said she quickly learned that her host family did not speak much English.

“Toward the end of the week my host mom and I began to communicate quite well, whether it was through my butchered Spanish or lively charades,” Andersen said. “Her daughter's boyfriend was able to translate for us, which made for a much smoother and elaborate interview when it came time to do it.”

Kenney said Andersen’s experience illustrates the purpose of the project and that is to help the students gain cultural knowledge allowing them to be more effective in their careers as social workers.

Schedule of Presentations

All interviewees are CSC students except Candy Ruiz.

12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.                     

Jamie Brinamen presents her interview with Jeff Mugongo (Rwanda)

12:35 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.

Annie Dillman presents her interview with Omar Dabliz (Lebanon)

12:55 p.m. – 1:10 p.m.

Michaela Weverka presents her interview with Dominika Senkerikova (Czech Republic)

1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Hannah Anderson presents her interview with Candy Ruiz (Costa Rica)

1:35 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.

Brittney Andersen presents her interview with Gavan Archibald (Jamaica)

1:55 p.m. – 2:10 p.m. – Break

2:10 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.

Anna Boll presents her interview with Eli Garza (Mexico)

2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Jazmin Schwark presents her interview with Ben Cheikh (Morocco)

2:50 p.m. – 3:05 p.m.

Savannah Hurtado presents her interview with Clinton Albertus (Curacao)

3:10 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.

Haley Glasscock presents her interview with Tsion Woldekiros (Ethiopia)