McGuinn Hall, home to the Boston College School of Social Work.
It was late September, and Hannah Vigneron was discussing her path to Boston College School of Social Work with a small group of students and alumni around a dinner table in 521 McGuinn Hall.
Vigneron told the group she was transitioning from a 12-year career in commercial real estate to clinical social work, with a focus on women’s mental health. Now, 15 years after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and art history, she was a first-year social work student.
“This turned into incredibly meaningful conversations about our own lived experiences and how that informed our decisions to pursue careers in social work,” said Vigneron, MSW’28. “Much of what was shared was deeply personal, and I felt as though everyone was able to be present with one another at that moment.”
The dinner—one of two gatherings that grew out of a conversation between members of the Alumni Board and Teresa Schirmer, associate dean of student experience—marked one of the most recent events in Boston College School of Social Work’s Accompaniment in Action initiative, which seeks to foster a model of education built on listening, kinship, and mutual transformation.
The evening brought students and alumni together in small, informal groups to ask questions, hear personal stories, and build relationships that could extend beyond the dinner table.
Vigneron said the informal setting encouraged participants to share stories about their lives and careers that they might not have divulged at a traditional networking event.
She exchanged contact information with a fellow classmate who was also changing careers after years in another industry. “There aren’t a ton of people in my class that are in that specific life stage, so it is nice to share that connection with her,” she said.
Cristina Goverman, director of school-based services at the Home for Little Wanderers, a nonprofit that supports vulnerable children and families, connected with a student seeking employment in a school setting. She hopes to share her expertise with more students who want to pursue similar work.
“The evening embodied the idea that none of us is navigating this profession alone,” said Goverman, MSW’15, who is also president of BCSSW’s Alumni Board, “and that our connection to the School and to one another continues well beyond graduation.”
Mary Selig, a first-year student in the global practice program, said she is often met with resistance when she tells people that she wants to work in another country. But the alumni at her dinner table supported her decision to pursue international social work—and even gave her the names of a few organizations in the U.S. seeking social workers for overseas positions.
“Not always, but most of the time, I get a response along the lines of ‘There are plenty of people who need help here in the U.S.,’ which is very true,” said Selig. “But the alumni validated my experiences and encouraged me to pursue international social work. It was important to hear that from someone who has been in the field for a while.”
Goverman was particularly struck by a student specializing in macro social work who described her internship supporting a bereavement program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She said the exchange reminded her of the importance of macro social work skills, which she believes are sometimes undervalued.
“There is so much value in approaching one another with curiosity, humility, and a willingness to be changed by our interactions,” she said.
