Lifestyle By Design Podcast: Mathias Thorpe (MSW’21) Interviewed on Macro Social Work Degree
What is macro social work, and how do you know if it’s the right path for you? BU School of Social Work alum Mathias Thorpe (MSW’21) sat down with Karen Jacobs on the podcast Lifestyle by Design to discuss his journey to choosing a macro social work degree after working in the clinical social work space.
Excerpt from “Exploring Macro Social Work with Mathias Thorpe,” originally published by Lifestyle by Design:
I was lucky enough to get a job right out of college with an agency that was looking for a case manager to work with people living with HIV and AIDS. I thought it was a great way to work with an underserved community and get some experience other than my internship. I loved my clients that I worked with because it gave me a whole new outlook on healthcare and client-centered health care, and what it was supposed to be like. Unfortunately, that is not the experience that I got in the agency. A couple of months in I realized that it was not somewhere I could see myself making a career, or even stay another year because of the leadership there and the money-focus, and lack of person-centered care. So my wheels started spinning with, ‘What can I do? What can I do?’
I spent about a month vigorously applying for other jobs everywhere, and nothing was working out. I said, ‘You know what? Maybe this is my chance to go back to school and learn a new skill set to give back to social work.’
Macro social work—I know you said you’ve never heard of it, and a lot of people haven’t—but macro social work focuses on policy, larger scale social problems, and program implementation or evaluation. Going into agencies and seeing what works and what doesn’t, or doing a needs- assessment for an entire community.
Just at that time, my mentor was hired as a chief programs officer at my agency and she had gotten her masters degree at BU School of Social Work. When I met her, I had already started the process of applying because BU was ranked #10 for social work (by U.S. News & World Report). I told myself, if I applied and got in then I would take it as a sign – and I got in. I finished in June with a macro social work degree and an aging specialization.”