Paula C. Mazzeo

The courses described below have been especially designed to prepare me for a profession in the human services field.

 

 

Family Theories: The family theories class provides students with the basic knowledge of what the family and human services major is centered around. In this course we learn an overview and apply theoretical frameworks underlying research on families.

 

Fundamentals of Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector: This class was very useful in terms of learning about the ins and outs of what it takes to run a successful nonprofit organization. It also had a service learning component that required me to be at a site for a minimum of 50 hours during the course of a semester. It was in this class that I did my service-learning at the Park Heights Community Health Alliance. 

 

Family Resources: This was a course that helped me learn about what kinds of resources are available for a family and how to allocate those resources for at-risk families. This class had a field observation component where I went to Sarah's House, a shelter for women, children, and families. This observation helped me gain a better understanding of how family resource professionals help their communities. 

 

Trends in Contemporary Life: This course went further into the concept of resources. I learned about patterns and changes in family structure and processes in their social and historical context specifically in the United States. Here I was able to dive into the Affordable Health Care Act that is currently a hot topic in our nation. 

 

Family Law: This course provided a basic understanding of legal and public policy and application of family law issues families are facing across the lifespan in American society.

 

Parent-Child Relationship Across the Lifespan: This course was based off of a systems theory perspective that went in depth about the relationship of parents and their children beginning at pregnancy, through childhood and adolescence, and into the death of elderly parents. I found the prenatal lectures extremely interesting learning quickly that parenting starts at pregnancy. 

 

Preparing Human Service Workers: This course prepared me for the experiences I would have during my internship. It was in this class that I became a member of The National Council on Family Relations (NFCR) and began reflecting on what kind of internship experience I wanted to have. I ultimately wanted a more non-traditional internship working directly with children. This is how I came in contact with Art with a Heart. 

 

Internship in Family and Human Services: This course provided me with an internship experience in the human services field. It required that I be on site for a minimum of 120 hours. The course also had an in class component where class time was more seminar style. This time provided me with a network of classmates that were all going through similar situations. It was a class that provided me with guidance as well as a community to turn to during my time at internship.