Alumni-Community Faculty Spotlight: Malaika Hankins, MSW ‘20
“My hope is to provide opportunities for students to direct their own learning, and that through experiential opportunities, students are able to take away some learning that will inform their social work practice”
Why did you pursue your MSW, and what made you choose the University of MN program?
Before coming to the School of Social Work, I was working at a nonprofit with children and families back in North Carolina. I loved the work and was excited to develop skills that would better allow me to work with the young people, families, and communities that I care about. When I was considering programs, I was excited to find that the U of MN’s program had a dual degree program that would allow me to also earn a Master’s in Public Policy.
Describe your professional role/setting(s) in relationship to the coursework you are teaching this semester.
I work as the community strategy lead at the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis. In that role I work to organize with community members impacted by and interested in the youth justice system. I’m excited to be teaching SW 8551 this semester which focuses on organizing as a tool for community change.
As an alumni, with what lens do you approach your role as Community Faculty in the MSW program?
Being a recent graduate of the SSW, I think constantly about the student experience. My hope is to provide opportunities for students to direct their own learning, and that through experiential opportunities, students are able to take away some learning that will inform their social work practice, whether or not that practice includes organizing.
How does the MSW program equip students with skills to advance the social justice values of our profession, especially in the context of a pandemic?
Our program has opportunities for students to consider their own values and how that connects to the type of social workers they want to be. In the context of this pandemic, I hope that our entire SSW community is making the most of this moment to re-imagine the systems that we work within and the roles of social workers in advancing social justice.
Learn more about Malaika and all of our 2020-21 Community Faculty: