Cristiano Casalini, a professor in Jesuit pedagogy and educational history, said that true accompaniment ends when dependence gives way to autonomy. Photos by Tony Rinaldo.
The goal of accompaniment—the practice of walking alongside people in their journeys of growth, healing, and professional development—is to empower rather than foster control. Accompaniment is inextricably linked to the Jesuit mission of justice. And care for others begins with care for oneself.
Those were the three key takeaways from a talk by Cristiano Casalini, Endowed Chair in Jesuit Pedagogy and Educational History at Boston College, who spoke at the School of Social Work’s Accompaniment in Action Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration in 100 Gasson Hall earlier this month.
His talk dovetailed with BCSSW’s theme for the academic year, “Accompaniment in Action,” which is built on four principles that mirror the National Association of Social Workers code of ethics: walking together; kinship and shared dignity; intentional engagement; and social justice.
Flanked by a Steinway & Sons piano and a large maroon banner emblazoned with the BC seal, Casalini described accompaniment as a three-phase movement: meeting others where they are, walking alongside them, and ultimately empowering them to move forward independently. True accompaniment, he said, ends when dependence gives way to autonomy.
“Accompaniment is helping someone else get autonomy,” he told Rocío Calvo, assistant dean of community engagement, who facilitated his talk. “It’s helping someone else to not need us.”
Calvo echoed Casalini, recalling a lesson from one of her professors: “You know that you have done a good job when you don’t have a job,” she said. “Your job is to get fired because you have nothing to do.”
Students, faculty, staff, and alumni filled 100 Gasson Hall for the Accompaniment in Action Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration.
Casalini tied accompaniment to the Jesuit mission of justice, urging awareness of the power imbalances inherent in helping relationships. The goal, he said, is not to erase these asymmetries but to recognize and continually work to rebalance them.
“The main point of accompaniment is trying to readjust the imbalance of power between the agent of the intervention and the other person,” he said. “Are you able to readjust that completely? I don’t know, but that’s the intention.”
Calvo said that’s exactly what she and her social work colleagues are constantly working on—checking those power dynamics, trying to find that balance, even if it’s imperfect.
Casalini explained how Ignatius and the early Jesuits practiced accompaniment through their ministry—by caring for the poor, the sick, widows, orphans, and travelers—not as distant helpers, but as people who walked alongside those they served.
“Ignatius pushed them to go into the city in Paris and do some work that today you would call social work,” said Casalini, who has published extensively on the history of Jesuit education and pedagogy. “Studies alone are not enough,” he added. “You don’t study for the sake of studying. You study to go and help others in society.”
Casalini acknowledged that accompaniment asks a lot of those who practice it, calling for endurance and deep commitment to offer presence and support without imposing an agenda.
He told students, faculty, staff, and alumni in attendance that it’s impossible to effectively serve others without first taking care of themselves—and then he gave them a piece of advice.
“Whatever helps you stay human, keep doing that,” said Casalini, who is active in soccer. “Have fun. Rest. Pray, play, reflect. Because if you’re not in shape—physically, emotionally, spiritually—you can’t help anyone else.”
Rocío Calvo facilitated the conversation with Cristiano Casalini.
The principles that Casalini discussed—walking alongside others, fostering autonomy, and balancing power—were embodied in the careers of three BCSSW alumni who were honored for their contributions to the field of social work.
Traditionally, the School celebrates two graduates at the event every year: one who earned an M.S.W. or Ph.D. 10 or more years ago, and another who earned an advanced degree between five and 10 years ago. This year, however, BCSSW introduced its first-ever Lifetime Achievement award, presented to Sue Coleman, who retired in October after 28 years of service to the University.
After joining BCSSW in 1997 as a student adviser, Coleman walked beside tens of thousands of students, faculty, and staff, listening, guiding, and lifting them up when they were down.
As assistant dean of field education since 2011, Coleman directed placements for more than 500 graduate students each year, built partnerships with thousands of human service agencies, and helped shape a field education curriculum grounded in reflection, social justice, and trauma-informed care.
“It is difficult for me to hear that a lifetime achievement has been reached,” said Coleman, with her particular brand of humor. “I would like to think I have more to give than I do, and I plan to continue to practice in new ways going forward.”
During a moving speech that brought several audience members to tears, Coleman shared three lessons she learned at BC: Enter the lives of those you serve with openness; build strong connections with colleagues; and continuously adapt to meet the needs of others.
She illustrated the third lesson through a concrete example from her career. As students graduated and became supervisors themselves, Coleman and her colleagues created programming to support their continuing education. They paid attention to the changing ways that students were learning and updated materials to be responsive to their needs and differences.
“Instilling confidence in others,” she said, “especially new practitioners, was something that really spoke to me.”
From left to right: BCSSW Dean Gautam N. Yadama, Rocío Calvo, Jooyoung Kong, Scott Easton, BCSSW associate professor, who nominated Kong for her award, Sue Coleman, James Patterson, president of the BCSSW Alumni Board, Jennifer Lemmerman, and Erin McAleer., president and CEO of Project Bread, who nominated Lemmerman for her award.
Like Coleman, Distinguished Alumni Award winner Jennifer Lemmerman has worked tirelessly to accompany people in need for several decades.
As the chief policy officer at Project Bread, a Boston-based nonprofit that works to address food shortages, Lemmerman is driven by one core goal: making sure no one in Massachusetts goes hungry.
Since joining the organization in 2019, she has secured universal free school meals in the Commonwealth and launched a pioneering statewide coalition to permanently end hunger.
“When systems fail, social workers don’t look away. We listen, we stand beside people, and we work to change the policies and structures causing harm,” said Lemmerman, MSW ‘08. “Accompaniment isn’t just an approach—it’s what makes the work successful. Real change happens when we do it with people, not just on their behalf.”
Jooyoung Kong, PhD’16, who received BCSSW’s Distinguished Recent Alumni Award, brings the same dedication to collaboration, partnering with people who have experienced childhood trauma.
Kong, a researcher who studies how adverse childhood experiences shape health and well-being, conducts interviews that give participants a safe, respectful space to share their stories. She is dedicated to centering the voices of the individuals she works with, respecting their perspectives without pushing her own views.
“I aim to challenge my status quo and make each day count, working toward even small changes in the areas that matter most,” said Kong, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. “What I’m most proud of is myself—trying to hold these values as a social worker and make a meaningful difference.”
