Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

(HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2005)— The offices of 5 Texas lawmakers become the classrooms for 5 future political social workers from Houston.

The students from the University of Houston’s Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) are spending this spring semester with the legislators as part of the school’s Legislative Internship Program.

“This is a remarkable opportunity for me,” Kathryn McCarter said. She is spending this semester in the offices of Rep. Melissa Noriega. “This is a chance to positively affect a great number of people and influence laws that need to be changed, all to help disadvantaged populations in Texas.” Other lawmakers who are participating in the Legislative Internship Program are Senator Mario Gallegos (Houston), Rep. Garnet Coleman (Houston), Rep. Jessica Farrar (Houston) and Rep. Lon Burman (Fort Worth). Staffing their offices will be UH students Kelly Foster, Demetra Lopez, Brigitte Zabak and Rebecca Rosalez, respectively.

The 13-year-old program matches current GSSW students with lawmakers for a semester. This year coincides with the 79th Texas Legislative Session. Kathryn and her intern colleagues will track all bills dealing with health, human services, the environment, consumer protection and education. They create summaries of the bills and craft position statements for the lawmaker they are assigned to.

“The GSSW Legislative Internship Program offers our students a unique opportunity to work with the state legislature, gain a more in-depth understanding of the political process and learn the role social workers have in that process,” Ira Colby, dean of the GSSW said.

The UH Graduate School of Social Work is one of a handful of social work colleges in the country that offer legislative internships. There are more than 30 students in policy-making internships in Houston and Austin this semester. In previous years, students have interned in Washington, D. C. congressional offices as well. Students must apply for the legislative internships and commit to staying in Austin for the duration of the legislative session on a fulltime basis. They attend classes online and stay in touch with their professors through weekly webcasts and online discussions. Many students go on to pursue careers in political social work.

“Following their political internships, the vast majority of GSSW students are hired into significant state and national legislative positions,” Colby said. Alumni of the GSSW Legislative Internship Program have served as chief of staff of state committees, legislative directors in representatives’ offices, as well as governmental relations staff for a variety of interests groups and organizations.”

For students like Kathryn, the internship is a first-hand view of how the field of social work relates to the political process.

“I wanted to see how state government worked. This internship program is invaluable,” Kathryn said. “When I graduate in May, I’d like to stay in Austin and work in the political realm in policy and advocacy. Eventually, I’d like to run for state office.”

The GSSW was founded in 1968 and is the only school of social work in Houston. Political Social Work is one of the five MSW specializations offered by GSSW. The others are children and families, gerontological social work, health care and mental health.
For more information of the UH Graduate School of Social Work, please visit www.sw.uh.edu

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.