Student Spotlight: Teaching by Example
Get to know MSW student Nasham T. (SSW ’26-27)
Nasham explains that his decision to enter the BU Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Public Health (MPH) dual degree program was largely inspired by his interactions with his supervisors. Drawing on the combined knowledge of both fields, Nasham aims to tackle social justice issues in a holistic manner. While working at his internship for the Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC), Nasham uses his own lived experience to guide youths on how they can pursue careers in health services.
Could you describe your background to me? What are your interests outside of work and school?
I was born and raised in Boston. I’ve been interested in psychology since I was a child, with the goal of being a psychiatrist. I started studying it at Stanford University when I was seventeen, and then Wesleyan thereafter. I’ve been working in the mental health sphere since I was nineteen, so that’s kind of what I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember.
Outside of studying, I like to exercise. I’ve been working out for a few years, but I feel like I’ve only recently begun to really commit myself to it. I also really enjoy being out in nature as much as I can – I just came back from camping to get started off on the right foot this semester. I’m also big into video games and manga. I’m a big anime guy, but I like reading manga more than watching anime. Right now, I’m not really watching anything, but I’m reading a ton. I’m a huge fan of One Piece; I always want to make sure that I’m caught up on that especially right now because it’s a banger. Same thing with Blue Lock and Hajime No Ippo!
Why social work? What drew you to the field, and how did you become interested in it?
I feel like my journey has been more unconventional than a lot of other MSW students. I found out what social work was a month before I submitted my application to BU. I discovered the field when I was working with a bunch of my mentors after I had just graduated college, and I was working with them to develop a summer program. Of my two mentors, one of them had his MPH, and the other one had her MSW. In casual conversation, she tells me, “Hey, BU has an MPH-MSW dual degree program.” I just knew I really like what these two people do, and there’s an opportunity to get the degree that each of them has. So, why not? And so, without really knowing what social work even was, just knowing that this is the degree that this woman I look up to has, and I’m super proud of the work she does, so let me let me take that. BU was the only school that I applied to just because of the MSW/MPH program.
A lot of the things that I know just through the lived experience of working in the field and being an active member of different programs and organizations have prepared me pretty well for this MSW program. When I got to class and saw things like trauma-informed care, positive youth development, or frameworks and these terms that I wasn’t formerly introduced to before, I had experience with from all the different things that I’ve been doing in the field before coming to social work school. It’s kind of like putting a name to a face, and that’s really fun because then I get to keep doing that. It feels like I’m learning both presently and then also in hindsight by being able to take what I learned and applying it to what I’ve done.
Tell us about your experience in the MSW and MPH program so far.
It’s super enriching, right now, my work is tied really well to both social work and public health.
I’m a program manager for the Public Health Commission at the Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC). I’m the senior program manager for the behavior-health career pipeline programming there. I’m able to take the current social work principles that I’m learning and apply them directly to my work in every facet, whether that’s how I’m managing, what leadership looks like, or how I’m developing my programming. That’s really fun being able to take what I’m learning in class and then apply it to my job, especially during my first year because my BAHEC was both my job and my field placement. So, not only was I working, but I was also able to embrace the student role actively and use what I’m learning in class to apply it within my organization. My direct supervisor becoming my field supervisor worked out really well, and I was able to gain that much more from the school experience by directly applying it to the work I’m doing every day at BAHEC.
So, the way the dual degree program works here is you start taking the foundational public health stuff while you’re here at the School of Social Work, and there’s a lot of overlap in the curriculum. It’s actually ideal to get as much of the public health curriculum done while you’re at [BUSSW]. There’s a very sharp difference between an MSW course and an MPH course for sure. The MSW classes are almost always going to be entirely writing-based assignments such as essays, while the public health courses are more STEM centered. Navigating that was an experience because I’m a really good writer, but I’m really bad at numbers. My quantitative class was a doozy. Navigating those shifts [of] what’s expected of me is an interesting challenge that I wasn’t expecting to face. But, because I work at the Boston Public Health Commission, I’m blessed with the opportunity to have really solid co-workers. All three of the members of my team all have MPH’s; two of them got their MPH from BU School of Public Health. If I did have any complaints, I’d sit there and I’d start talking to them about my challenges and they’d be like, “Oh, yeah. I know that class. Here’s what you got to do.” And that makes it a whole lot easier for me to handle, because now I know I’m not doing it alone. I would even say it’s really cool, because I’m able to see both curriculums play out in my job every single day, and so it feels all very cohesive.
What makes social work worthwhile to you?
I think about social work in combination with public health a lot. So, for me the Macro MSW feels like you’re taking a very bottom-up approach, whereas public health is kind of the opposite where it’s top-down. With social work, you’re paying attention to individuals, communities, organizations, and policy in that order. It feels like that’s the way that I’m going with my MSW, and then the MPH is kind of the opposite. I’m starting with that policy and working my way down to the individual. I really like the way that I’m able to navigate that. I think centering my psych background and my focus on mental health around this idea that an MSW is gonna get me from the bottom up and then the MPH is gonna get me from the top down, I’m able to build this very well-rounded approach. And it’s when I inevitably begin to create my own programming, with whatever it is that I end up doing moving forward, [and] I’m gonna have this really holistic approach to how I interact with people and how to best support them.
What work from your academic career are you proudest of?
There are not many people who look like me in these spaces, it’s awesome to be that person in the room, more often than not. Usually, I’m the only male in the room, and if I’m not the only male in the room, often I’m the only man of color in the room. And so, I’m always proud to be able to share in the class knowing that my experience is fundamentally different from the other people around me, and that it’s enriching for them to hear that experience and also enriching for me to take these steps.
Diversity is an important part of the work that I do in educating high school students in behavioral health careers. So, I like showing them that it is possible to move along this career pipeline. And so not only do I like teaching them about the industry, but I’m also actively living and experiencing the things that I’m telling them that is possible for them to do. Every day at school, I feel incredibly proud. When I bring my grades to my mom, even now as an adult, I still show my mom my report card like, “Look mom, I got an A on this paper.” To live the things that I’m telling my students that it’s possible for them to do makes me proud to show up to class every single day.
What are your favorite courses, professors, and events at BUSSW?
I would have to say, Professor Emilia Bianco and Professor Phillipe Copeland. Plus, a special shoutout to Junior Pena at Student Services, too.
I took both of Emilia’s courses, Communities & Organizations and Planning & Program Development; they were fantastic. Copeland’s Racial Justice course was super fascinating. It’s definitely been my favorite class so far. I’m taking another class with him this semester and I haven’t started it, yet, but I’m really looking forward to it.
It’s really awesome that Professor Emilia is from Argentina, so she speaks Spanish. It was really cool to have that connection with a professor. Also, Professor Copeland is a man of color in the field, and it’s really nice to be able to know that he understands the experiences that I’m sharing in class. Both of those things combined give me a really solid experience and make me feel like I’m really bringing something to the space.
What are you looking forward to after you graduate? What fields interest you?
What I really want to do is have my own program, my own organization.
One of the things that I keep thinking about, that I circle back to often, is creating a gym where it’s not only about physical exercise but also mental health. Essentially, the gym would also be my therapy office, where different therapists would work with patients. Maybe that looks like a Zumba class or yoga class in the gym led by a dance-movement therapist, as well as offices where people can get one-on-ones with a social worker; a therapist. Also having personal trainers be mental health first aid certified at the very least. That way when somebody comes into this gym, they’re not only enriching themselves physically, but also getting rest mentally. I found that the gym for me is a space where I’m really able to come in, leave my problems at the door, and put in some good work and then talk about whatever is on my mind. So that’s kind of the idea for me.
I really have the belief that high school students, specifically juniors and seniors, are like the most important population to work with, and I want to be able to create and lead programming that supports them directly. I just want to be the one who’s navigating it, and running it as opposed to being the one who’s on the floor facilitating. And that’s why for me, macro is really important. That way I know what it all looks like, and I can have a trusted group of subject-matter experts who are there directly delivering the services and support to the students.
What is your advice for other MSW students?
I would say, for starters, that every clinical student should take at least one macro class, particularly the ones I mentioned earlier. That way they’re able to get a deeper understanding: learn management, learn leadership, and be able to navigate those things better. That’s also just advice that I’ve heard other social workers that have come into my classes and say, and I really agree. Definitely take a macro class. Learn that umbrella approach, that generalized approach to really paying attention to the entire group, as opposed to just the individualized care that comes from the clinical perspective.
Also, ask a ton of questions. One thing I’ve learned is that all the professors here love what they do, and they are really interested in talking to you about what they do. And so, asking them questions and really getting to learn about the work that they do and why they’re teaching the class that they’re teaching leads to a lot of really insightful answers, I’ve found. A lot of them are social workers themselves; learning from their experience is going to help you figure out what it is you want to do with your own life and career moving forward.