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Tips for New Social Work Graduate (MSW) Students

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  Happy start of the school year! Perusing social media, I came across a NASW blog article called “Guide for the First Year Social Work Student”. This post provided lots of great information tailored for new undergraduate students interested in studying social work. I wanted to take that NASW post a bit farther and compile a list of tips specific to graduate students pursuing a masters in social work (MSW). In my opinion, graduate school is a completely different experience from undergraduate, so my hope is that these tips will serve to be beneficial. Tips for New Social Work Graduate (MSW) Students -Don’t worry about grades so much When I was in graduate school, one of my professors told a story about a straight A student who committed suicide several years after graduation. His point was that given the people we need to work with, we social workers need to focus less on being perfectionists (as demonstrated by obsessing over grades and test scores) and work on being empathetic and co
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Cast iron skillet

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Hello! It seems like things are going to be busy for the next few weeks. Next week, I have a literature review due for my thesis class. I also have a number of other papers, presentation, and exams coming up. On top of that, my supervisor is going to start assigning patients to me at practicum. Exciting times!

Now, to go on a major tangent. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but one of my hobbies is cooking. While I don't claim to be a good cook by any means, I like to pull up random recipes of foods I enjoy and make them at home. Some of my favorite dishes to make are desserts such as cookies, cobblers, and brownies.

Anyway, on the subject of cooking, several people have been telling me of the joys of cooking with a cast iron pan. These include great heat distribution, easy cleaning, a nice non-stick surface (granted you season your pan properly), and a sturdy pan that lasts you a lifetime. Wanting to try out one of these pans myself, I took advantage this past weekend's 25% off friends and family sale at Cost Plus World Market and bought a 10 1/4 inch pre-seasoned skillet by Lodge Logic.

When I got home, the first thing I cooked on my pan was some bacon to add an additional layer of seasoning. The next day, I decided to try making an egg over easy, which cooked evenly and did not stick. Today, I made pancakes, which also did not stick. Later this week I hope to try my luck making steak. I hope it turns out as well as the other things I've cooked so far. So far, I can certainly see why my friends enjoy cooking with cast iron cookware.

When they came for a visit this past weekend, my parents told me that they had an entire set of unused cast iron cookware at home that has been sitting in the garage since 1990. I might ask if I could borrow it (on a permanent basis) the next time I go home.

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