By James Fay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catherine Breneman, assistant professor of social work and director of field education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breneman received her bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master\u2019s in social work at West Virginia University. She earned her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh and is taking post-graduate classes to keep her skills up to date in the clinics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: Where are you from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: Have you taught anywhere else prior to Hood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: Towson University for 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: How long have you been teaching?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: 14 years. 10 years at Towson and four years at Hood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: Why did you choose Hood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: I took a position at Towson which was a larger school but decided I wanted a smaller liberal arts school. So, I came to Hood during the pandemic which was an interesting transition time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: What got you into teaching? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: I have been a social worker for 30 years. I had a lot of experience and worked in a variety of settings and was doing some teaching on the side. I decided to pursue my Ph.D. later and after that, I started to transition full-time faculty position at Towson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching social work to students?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: Because social work has been such a wonderful career to me. I think preparing future social workers and other students in other majors who might experience people with life problems is very import to understand and prepare for what they encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: What classes do you teach here at Hood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: I teach Introduction to Families, Community Mental Health, Addictions, Social Work Field Seminar and my primary responsibility as the field director is I coordinate the 500-hour field placement for seniors that they are required to do for their major. I look to identify sites in the community that we can partner with to match students with those places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: What research are you interested in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: I\u2019m interested in case management and working with people with behavioral health needs. I\u2019m also interested in working with children and families coping with illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: What is your biggest challenge here at Hood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A: My biggest challenge is to help students recognize their confidence in their skills and ability to be more confident and competent in their decisions and support them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"