Westfield State University trains every student in caring and compassion, and with this foundation, many alumni thrive in caregiving careers, such as the four alumni featured here.
Taking social service across the world
Elizabeth Burgos ’07 discovered her love for global caring in 2011.
On behalf of an organization called Global Vision International, which places volunteer social workers in countries in need of services, she traveled to South Africa to create workshops that promoted basic hygiene and first aid.
Burgos also worked at a child care center in a poverty-stricken area and taught the young children, ages 3 to 5 years old, basic practices in personal hygiene and first aid. “I also helped them improve and practice using English,” she says, noting she was in Fish Hoek, about 40 minutes outside Cape Town. “It was an amazing experience, though only two weeks long. It made me crave more travel and service.”
She returned to her job as a hospice social worker at New England Hospice with a surging passion: she had to experience more of the world.
Burgos holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Westfield State and a minor in psychology. After graduation, the Milford native worked as a home care case manager for Greater Springfield Senior Services and started her work with hospice in 2010.
She assists elders and their family members with end-of-life education and bereavement counseling. Her passion for caregiving and her desire to travel came together with that first trip with Global Vision in 2011. She saw it as a “baby step,” a simple two-week exploration, and it taught her she was ready to leap.
New England Hospice is supportive of Burgos’ desire to serve in countries where the need is great, and from May to July 2013, granted her a three-month leave of absence to travel to Fiji. There, Burgos worked on community development projects in rural areas.
“I was a teacher’s assistant for two months in a second-grade class,” she says. “I taught them English, math, art, phonics and spelling. It was amazing. The children were so eager to learn.”
In her final month in Fiji, Burgos worked with the school to develop a vegetable garden. The diet of rural Fijian communities is often basic and, in some instances, lacks nutrition, contributing to health problems.
“We wanted a garden that would help sustain a healthy food supply for the boarding students,” she says. Through this type of agricultural initiative, Burgos and her fellow volunteers were helping the community to grow their own healthy variety of vegetables.
Burgos is back at New England Hospice and getting re-oriented to life in the United States.
When asked about her future travel plans, she says, “I know I have to do more traveling. Even three months wasn’t long enough.”
She plans to do more international work with Global Vision, because she “liked the safe and organized structure of their programs.” In addition, she got to know other social workers from all over the world.
“I met people from England, Australia, all over Europe, Canada and a few from the United States. We still keep in touch,” she says.
Her next journey is likely to be to Nepal, where she will spend one month teaching English and then do a two-week trek to the base of Mount Everest.
Following in her mother’s footsteps
Renee LeBlanc ’08 remembers going to work with her mother as a small child and playing under her mother’s desk at the Greater Springfield Senior Services in the State Home Care Department.
“My mom spent her career in that very organization as a social worker,” LeBlanc says. “I have very good memories of my days there with her,” she says. “I liked the environment.”
LeBlanc liked it so much, in fact, that she began work at the same organization the week after she graduated from Westfield State in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in social work.
“I was following in my mother’s footsteps,” she says.
Currently, as the geriatric support service coordinator, LeBlanc is charged with making sure that senior-aged clients in need of social and medical services are accommodated.
“I visit the homes of elderly clients with a team of experts,” she says, explaining that the team consists of a nurse and an insurance representative, and together they are able to attend to all clients’ need.
The nurse evaluates the medical needs, for instance, and the insurance representative provides clients with a list of local resources covered by their insurance.
“I usually start and end my day at the office, but am on the road visiting clients the rest of the time,” LeBlanc says.
Meeting wonderful people is one of the things LeBlanc loves about her job; they inspire her.
“I do get attached to certain clients,” she says, noting that, because of their ages, she must also say goodbyes.
LeBlanc also helps clients move to assisted living facilities, and she loves to hear from them, as some do tend to keep in touch.
“I really love hearing from former clients and knowing they are doing well,” she says.
LeBlanc is also responsible for authorizing personal care assistants (PCAs) for clients. PCAs provide help with the activities of daily living, such as dressing, eating and going to appointments.
The Springfield Senior Services organization offers a program that teaches clients who are capable to care for themselves. If that is not possible, a family member may be trained to be the client’s PCA. This is an especially successful program.
“One of my responsibilities is to determine and ensure that clients are receiving the correct amount and type of PCA time to meet their needs,” LeBlanc explains.
When LeBlanc reflects on her experiences at Westfield State, she says, “I met some of my best friends there, who helped shape me to be the person I am today. It helped me learn to be more involved in the community and give back.”
The distinct touch of ‘Miss Francis’
Adrienne Francis ’10 is living her dream.
As an adjustment counselor in a Springfield elementary school, she follows in her mother’s footsteps as an educator with heart and intuition. She is known for developing innovative programs that help reach her young students—primarily kindergartners and first and second graders—such as the favorite “Dining with Miss Francis” program.
With this program, a handful of students are invited to a noonday meal with Miss Francis in her office. When the children are gathered, Francis guides the lunchtime conversation, suggesting topics such as “What is Friendship?” or “Politely Interrupting,” for example. The children tell her what they want to talk about.
After eating and chatting, there is a little outside “stretching” time and then back inside so the youngsters can complete a “feelings” worksheet. Francis believes that kind of exercise helps students recognize and identify their emotions.
“It is so important to be aware of children’s perception of themselves and their world,” she says.
Francis was born and raised in Springfield, where she still lives. “I gained a rich educational experience with the Springfield Public School District and was inspired to give back to my beloved community,” she says.
She came to Westfield State University to earn a bachelor of social work degree with minors in psychology and ethnic studies, graduating magna cum laude in 2010.
Following graduation, Francis worked in human services positions, including working with homeless families. Desiring to obtain a master’s degree, Francis was accepted into the Springfield College School of Social Work Advanced Standing Program and, in nine months, completed it with a concentration in school social work in May 2012.
After attaining her master’s in social work, Francis was hired as a school adjustment counselor at the Homer Street Elementary School in Springfield. “My calling came…to be a school adjustment counselor, which I have always aspired to be,” she says.
Joining one other adjustment counselor, Francis primarily works with children in kindergarten through second grade, but she is active with all the children at the K-grade five school. She loves her work and especially appreciates her principal, who encourages and supports the goals of the counselors.
Francis has devoted herself to teaching, in the same way her mother did. For over 38 years, her mother was a teacher, and Francis spent many years volunteering in her mom’s classroom.
“I just knew that I wanted to do the same thing. My mother has been such an inspiration and support,” she says. Her co-workers joke that ‘the torch has been passed,’ as the younger Miss Francis becomes as innovative and dedicated as was the older Mrs. Francis.
Francis’ dedication to her students goes beyond the grounds of the school. When a bus monitor was needed, for instance, Francis volunteered her services. For months, she rode the bus and used that time to engage the students in fun and sharing moments.
“I step up wherever they need me,” she says. “I truly am passionate about making a valuable contribution to the education and well-being of Springfield’s children. I was encouraged by my family and supported in that school system, and now I can give back. It is an honor.”
A busy alum, Francis has nothing but fond memories of her time as an undergrad at Westfield. She was winner of several academic awards and an active volunteer in the community. Currently, she still keeps a busy schedule, which includes being invited as the Alumna Guest Speaker at the Westfield State University TRIO Student Support Services Fourth Annual Recognition Dinner, held in April 2013.
“It was a distinct pleasure to be in attendance honoring students’ outstanding achievements and recognizing students’ civic engagement, leadership and scholarly accomplishments,” says Francis, who intends to continue a close connection with Westfield State.
“I feel fortunate to have had such a rewarding undergraduate experience at Westfield State and to be a product of its success,” she says. “I am passionate about remaining connected to and invested in the University that prepared me well for future success.”
Alum pairs love for theater with social justice efforts
Higher education. Social justice. Theater.
What do they have in common?
Tom Amos ’05 and Westfield State University.
Receiving a bachelor of arts in liberal studies in 2005 set a trajectory for Amos that has him focused on producing social justice theater.
A Revere native, Amos’ passion was realized while directing theater productions such as The Laramie Project, Quilt and Bent while he was an undergraduate. “I am interested in giving people a voice that otherwise may not be heard,” he says. Moreover, the profits from those performances were given to Westfield State to establish a scholarship fund that would support social justice.
Named the Amos/Franco Scholarship, the fund provides dollars for an annual scholarship to a student who furthers awareness of or education about LGBT issues, whether the student is gay or straight.
Created with the help of Kathi Bradford, director of Alumni Relations, the scholarship is in memory of James Franco, a former cast member of Bent, and in honor of Amos.
“Theater has always been a passion of mine,” Amos says.
Following graduation, Amos joined the North Shore Music Theatre and was soon promoted to assistant company manager. After a stint there, Amos worked at the New England Institute of Art and Tufts, and he is now at Boston University. At BU, he is employed as well as enrolled in the Arts Administration graduate program and will earn a master’s degree in May.
As an alumnus, Amos has presented cabaret-style fundraising events for Westfield State, to continue to fund the Franco/Amos Scholarship. Amos brought stars from Broadway—like Dashaun Young, who played Simba in the Lion King—to a Boston venue, where Westfield State students could perform with the professionals.
As a BU graduate student, Amos is currently enrolled in a course about cultural entrepreneurship. His project is focused on developing a sustainable social justice theater program for Westfield State to adopt, in order to continue to fund the scholarship.
Amos says, “My time at Westfield State was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I grew academically, personally and professionally and have made some of the best friends I could have ever asked for. I also gained role models, mentors and colleagues who, to this day, continue to support me and share in my passion for higher education, social justice and theater.”
Amos says his first directing class with Jack Shea made him realize that he truly loved theater, and Vanessa Diana’s “Women’s Ghost Stories” helped him focus on giving under-represented women a voice.
Amos says these two classes reinforced his desire to concentrate on producing social justice theater.
