MSW holds virtual graduate recognition ceremony

On the early evening of May 28, just days after George Floyd’s killing left the Twin Cities reeling, the graduating master of social work (MSW) class of 2020 gathered virtually to acknowledge their accomplishments amidst the backdrop of COVID-19, distance learning, and swelling protest. This recognition ceremony is a highlight of the School of Social Work, traditionally featuring an unlimited number of guests, including those each graduate gives the honor of hooding them, which symbolizes their successful completion of the program. While this year’s event was notably different, students expressed gratitude for community and connection in a time underscoring why they chose to enter a field that holds social justice as its central value.  

Many of this year’s 98 MSW graduates Zoomed in alongside partners, parents, children, friends, classmates, and faculty sharing what their time in the School of Social Work has meant to them:

“In the second week of my program, I realized the goal wasn’t to make us better social workers; it was to make us better people. And not one person in this graduating body has failed to do so.”

“This is the only school I applied to – not because I was that confident—but because it’s where I wanted to be.”

“I didn’t feel like I had found my people until this program. And I am honored to enter this field with you all.”

MSW Program Director Megan Morrissey sent her students-turned-colleagues off with a charge. “We can’t look at this painful moment, and not recognize the crying need for your social work skills,” she said. “You—the class of 2020—are taking up the mantle to be the conscience of our society. To be the doers of social justice. The task is large, but your skills are great.”