Abstract

In the following narrative, the author presents a tapestry of her mentorship relationships across her life span.  The author’s joining a Catholic religious congregation, attending American colleges and graduate school and being immersed in Western culture could have jeopardized her Korean ethnic identity.  But the author’s encounters with positive mentors during these years have assisted her to develop a bicultural ethnic identity in the U.S.  This narrative will present the author’s weaving the threads of mentorship experiences with various mentees among graduate social work students in the university.  This is her way of sharing and paying forward what she has received from her own mentors.

 

Sister Angela Kim, PhD, LCSW-C
Assistant Professor
akim@m.marywood.edu
(570) 348-6282, ext. 2394

Marywood University, Scranton, PA
 School of Social Work & Administrative Studies
2300 Adams Avenue
Scranton, PA 18509

My tapestry of mentoring relationships:
Weaving the thread of cultural competency and international social work

The Webster dictionary defines mentor “as a trusted counselor or guide who gives help or advice to someone who is less experienced and often a younger person.”   Reflecting on my educational and professional social work experiences, I am aware that I have had various types of mentors and, in turn, I have become a mentor to a diversity of people that I have encountered along the way.  Woven from different strands and texture, the mentoring that I have received and given has fashioned the incredibly intricate and beautiful tapestry that is my life.  

As a Korean-American, Roman Catholic Sister in an American religious order and a professor in an American university, I have been living in a multicultural society while sustaining a bicultural ethnic identity as a bilingual person.  Looking back, my religious vocation grew out of my passion for social justice and my conviction that each human being has a right to life, dignity and respect, thus it was fitting for me to study social work as my profession and mission in life.
Back in the early 80s when I came to the States, the concept of acculturation or the emphasis on bicultural ethnic identity development for immigrant children and their families or globalization were not common themes.  Instead, it was more a question of assimilation, asking immigrants to adapt to the mainstream culture and live just like the rest of Americans.   I am very grateful that some of my religious congregation’s Sisters and a few close Caucasian friends consistently encouraged and supported me to maintain my Korean ethnicity, language and to appreciate and respect my Eastern culture.  I am fully aware that my strong bicultural ethnic identity and the importance in sustaining my global vision are possible because of positive interaction and
dialogue with the culturally competent and supportive mentors I had while I was adjusting to American culture.   
My commitment to teaching and mentoring graduate social work students in the university is my way to share and pay forward what I have received in life.  

Tapestry of Mentoring Graduate Social Work Students

 I believe that personal growth and human capacity development are possible when personal strengths are recognized and positively supported and reinforced.  My mentoring interaction with my university students focuses on utilizing their strengths, gifts and talents and empowering them to grow in self-sufficiency so that, they in turn become comfortable with themselves in expected and unexpected life circumstances.   
I consider teaching as a life time opportunity, not only to transmit text book knowledge, but to empower, advocate, and instill the tools and attitudes for a meaningful life, and in doing this to provide opportunities to experience and engage in various activities that seem to be crucial for personal growth.   

In the spring semester of 2012, I taught an on-line course: “Global Perspectives on Social and Administrative Practice” to the MSW and Public Administration students in my university.  This course is designed to teach the contents of international social work and students are required to take the international study program in conjunction with the course. Six students completed the course work and went for a two-week international study trip to the Republic of Korea with me in May, 2012.     

My international social work education foci were: 1) gaining knowledge about different cultures and diversity issues, 2) cultivating positive attitudes toward different cultures and diversity, and 3) stepping out of personal comfort zones and exploring, experiencing and embracing different cultural environments. 

In gaining in-depth knowledge of international social work, the students studied the benefits and barriers of global perspectives into social work education and practice, the roles of international social institutions/organizations, how the Declaration of Human Rights Articles and the mission of social work present the same core values and how international social workers participate in the global community.   My students and I had very rich and in-depth discussions about: 1) how human rights and social justice issues match with the mission of social work, 2) how our personal beliefs, values and knowledge of global education impact our world vision, and 3) how infusing global perspectives in social work knowledge and practice impact the social work profession.   

When the international social work course finished, our next step was taking the trip to Korea—to learn and experience the similarities and differences in international social work education and practice.  It was my belief that an overseas experience would certainly take them out of their comfort zone and force them to embrace an unknown/unfamiliar culture with its norms and values.  This could be a transformative life experience or the total fear factor.      

Tapestry of Mentorship: the Pre-Trip to Korea

I was very excited about taking my MSW students to my birth country, but at the same time I was a bit anxious when all my students told me that they had never visited an Asian country and they were unfamiliar with Korean food, culture, norms, values, and way of life. Their honest expression of both excitement and nervousness led me to believe that this trip could potentially be a turning point for them personally and emotionally.   
Here are the stories of how the students felt as we were about to begin the trip to Korea.

 One student said:
“As we were about to begin the trip to Korea I felt very intimidated and I was excited to learn about the culture of South Korea and experience a different lifestyle than my own.”

Another Student said: 
“As I was about to begin the trip to Korea, I felt excitement, curiosity, and a bit of apprehension.  I was excited about traveling to a place that was completely different from where I have always lived, and to experience what it feels like to be an absolute minority.  There was curiosity for great discoveries about the Korean culture.  I felt apprehension entering this situation precisely because of how much of what was to come was still unknown.” 

Tapestry of Mentoring: During the visit to the Republic of Korea

During the course work, students were asked to identify areas of interest populations or/and social service agencies that they would like to visit while in the Republic of Korea.  Students were interested in the areas of hospital social work, disability programs, immigrant/migrant populations, international adoption, alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs, and the Department of Health and Human Services in Korea.  Students visited all the aforementioned agencies and programs and engaged in conversations with these agencies’ social workers, clients and government policy makers.  In addition, they also visited our two sister universities, the Catholic University of Korea and Handong Global University in Korea and had conversations with a university president and social work faculty and students.  Furthermore, they also visited the First Vice-Minister for Education of Korea and learned about Korea’s K-12 and college/university education system and policy in Korea.

I believe our international study program in Korea was a successful and meaningful experience for our students, because they were not acting or being treated like tourists from the U.S., but as social work graduate students they wanted to learn about and experience Korean culture, norms and values while at the same time studying about social work education and practice in Korea.  As a teacher and a mentor, I tried to empower my students to take charge of what they wanted to learn from Korean social work educators, students, policy makers, and clients and to appreciate the differences and similarities of the Korean and American systems.  Before an agency or government office or university visit was take in place, every evening the students were encouraged to brainstorm what they would like to learn from the host agency/program and to prepare appropriate questions.   Every day a different student took a leadership role to prepare for the day and addressed the purpose of their visit and asked appropriate questions and interacted with various hosts.   
I asked students what was the most valuable and the best educational experience while visiting these places.
A student shared:
“I loved experiencing a new culture, learning about South Korea history, learning about social service agencies and getting to enjoy so many different types of food.”
Another student shared:
“The most valuable experience for me was observing the people in the agencies, the staff and even the clients—the way in which they demonstrated their cultural values in their practice and in their interaction with us.  Every agency we visited showed us the highest dignity and hospitality.  I noticed that their practice and agency environment was informed by their cultural values.”
Other student shared:
“His Beans Café (one of programs we visited) resonated with me.  I thought it was a moving and auspicious venture, considering that a social work student began the business from the ground up, giving intellectually disabled people a chance to work at a coffee shop.  As a social work student, witnessing an organization fostering hope for individuals by giving them this opportunity was inspirational.”

Tapestry of Mentorship: the Post-Trip

Upon our return to the States, I wanted to know how my mentorship had impacted my students’ global education and social work profession.  So I asked students how the international study program contributed to their global education and how this international study program would impact their social work profession.  
Here is some of the students’ feedback.
Student A said:
“I was able to see the way social service agencies in other countries worked and what was different and similar to the U.S.  I was also immersed in a culture, forced to be taken out of my comfort zone, which lead to a deeper appreciation of cultures different from my own.”
Student B said:
“This trip to Korea gave me a global education.  I have never been immersed in a culture that was so completely different from mine.  It opened my eyes in many ways, although our cultures are so different, our problems are the same.  It gave me a lesson in humanity.”
“This international study program impacted my future profession.  This allowed me to gain an insight both into the United States’ and South Korean agencies and social work field since we were able to discuss and compare the two.”
 Student C said:
“The international study program proved to be as invaluable to my global education, awareness, and competence as my internship and field education is to my developing social work practice.” 
“My international study will certainly impact my professional practice.  It will impact through the significant growth in cultural competency, a broadening of practice models and ideas may be beneficial in future practice.  It has made me a more whole human being.”
Student D Said:
“Through visiting several social service agencies and organizations, I gained a deep appreciation for the positive aspects of the Korean culture and how these could be incorporated into my professional development.  By meeting and interacting with social work professionals, I fully understood that one person can make an impact in the lives of others.”

I was fully aware that preparation for the international trip to Korea for the students who had never been in Korea wouldn’t be an easy task, but I wanted to take this project forward.  As a Korean/American and a bilingual person, I could be used as a bridge to connect both American and Korean students and let them engage and exchange in dialogue, to share experiences in different cultures, education, and world vision and assess how they would like to sustain their international social work education and practice in Korea and the U.S. in the future.  Furthermore, I wanted them (the American and Korean students) to have a transformative experience in their hearts through their constructive and hopeful conversations, so they in turn can transform the world.  

Tapestry of Mentorship: Now

My mentorship with my graduate social work students who took the course and went to Korea with me has been an ongoing process.  When I was invited to present the international social work course and the trip to Korea to the university board, I selected one of my students and gave her a chance to present her own experience of studying the global social work course work and how she perceives her experiences in Korea would impact her personal growth and professional endeavors.  The student was both excited and anxious about speaking in front of the University Board of Trustees, but she eloquently described her educational and practical experiences of international social work.  
Another mentoring opportunity was when I was invited to present the global social work course I taught and share the experience of taking graduate social work students to Korea during the global education conference in PA.   Again, I took another student who went to Korea with me and provided an opportunity for her to share her own perspective on the importance of global education and her life changing experience while visiting Korea.  As I had expected, the student was a bit nervous about speaking in front of social work educators, practitioners and follow students, but I ensured her that all she needed to do is speak from her heart. 
This was what the student shared with me after she finished her presentation.  
Student said:
“   When I signed up for this trip, I was informed me my life was going to change, and at the time I was not certain how, but today, I can see it has been altered to a certain extent.  As I continue to study social work, I will now appreciate the importance of traveling the world in order to grasp a deeper understanding of our own backyard.  Since my return from South Korea, I am left to ponder what international experience is in store for me on the horizon.”
Conclusion: 
In mentoring my graduate social work students, my mentorship involved empowering and strengthening them to become positive change agents for social justice in our local, national and global community.  I saw the slogan: “Leave this place better than you found it.”  This message resonates with me because I believe that we are all in this life together and we are responsible for each other as we allow the tapestry of our lives to extend and connect from strand to strand across the teacher’s desk and around the world.  I understand these strands and texture to symbolize each person’s unique life passage and I am glad to be intertwined with theirs.  My tapestry of mentorship is in progress.  I will continue to weave vibrant colors and textures as I live from day to day.