Hands-on Learning

Social Work Students Explore & Engage in Community Practice

Students in SOW 4343: Practice with Communities and Organizations, taught by LeaAnne DeRigne, PhD, MSW, social work professor, recently participated in a series of immersive learning experiences in Delray Beach, Florida, designed to connect classroom theory to real-world practice.

As part of the course’s experiential component, students visited local institutions including the Delray Beach Children’s Garden, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, and the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, gaining insights into environmental education, cultural preservation, and urban revitalization. The course also featured an Academic Service Learning (ASL) project with Eat Better, Live Better, a nonprofit working to reduce food insecurity. Students supported food distribution, engaged in client outreach, and observed nonprofit operations in action.

These activities help students apply core macro practice skills, such as program implementation and community engagement, while reinforcing the value of culturally responsive, place-based learning.

Rose McGrath, student, helps support food distribution at the nonprofit Eat Better, Live Better

Students from SOW 4343: Practice with Communities and Organizations learn about the workings of a local nonprofit as part of an ASL project