Graduating BSW Spotlight: Xavier Noriega

Xavier Noriega is a Bachelor of Social Work student at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and will graduate in the spring. Noriega, who is a Toni Johnson Scholar, is excited about what is in front of him and wants to take the memories and knowledge gained from his social work degree and apply it to the real world.  

Learn more about Noriega below. 

What made you choose social work?  

Noriega: “My mom, my grandma and one of my aunts all worked in senior living. So, I've kind of been exposed to the world of helping professions from a young age. In middle school, I grew frustrated with how we were being fed the idea of ‘get a trade’ or ‘study STEM.’ But I knew that neither one of those things were for me. My best friend in high school, her mom was a social worker, and then my best friend, she was a year above me, she ended up going to Washburn University, and studied social work as well. And they are both just amazing people. I decided that I'm going to do social work too, after I did, like, a little bit of research.”  

Do you have a memory of the School of Social Welfare that you think will stick with you?  

Noriega: “I want to say my first semester of junior year in general. Social work students start most of their classes in their junior year. So, going into the social work classes the fall of my junior year was a really exciting yet scary time to start these new classes, but finally getting to meet my cohort and build community with them was so rewarding. I really liked my class with Dr. Sarah Jen. It was just a really amazing class, the way it was structured, the readings, and just how she taught it. It was really engaging and thought-provoking and enriching. … For one of the assignments, she had us make a short little poem in a private discussion board post, and then she used those and grabbed snippets of our poems and put them into a presentation. Then as a class, we made a poem together using our own little poems. It was cute. That class, as one of the introductory classes into the program, really set the tone for the rest of the year and my academic and professional career.” 

What has stood out to you about the program?  

Noriega: “One thing that stands out to me about the program is how seriously the school takes student concerns. I mean things like hiring people like Hazel Rogers, the student support coordinator, and Joe Bush, the writing consultant. And they just hired an actual clinician who will be providing therapeutic services for students in the school. I said students historically start their classes and meet their cohort toward the end of the program because much of my work on the BSW Program Committee as a Student Representative was brainstorming and implementing ways we can increase first-year and second-year student engagement in the program and school as a whole. I think how caring the professors and adjuncts are toward students makes our program unique, especially in the higher education environment.”  

What kinds of aspirations do you have with your social work degree?  

Noriega: “I don't have a particular job in mind yet. I have ideas of what that might look like, but ideally, I just want to work with the LGBTQ+ population or queer community in whatever which way possible. Long term, I am considering doing research and getting a PhD to become a professor or maybe, like, an executive director of a nonprofit. But I know the population that I want to work with. That’s the beauty of social work, you don't have to know exactly what you want to do.” 

What advice do you have for social work students?  

Noriega: “I want to say do your readings and engage with the content, which is so cliché. I truly do feel like I know as much as I do because of the readings and content that are assigned. Even if we don’t go over everything in class, or if it’s regurgitated in class, that’s at least one extra level of knowledge that I have. But it’s also normal to have a week where you’re drowning in assignments. Give yourself grace. Also, it’s easier said than done, but throw yourself in when you can. Dive headfirst into readings. Dive headfirst into practicum and into classes. Let go of perfection and let yourself learn. That is why you are here. That is something I wish someone would have told me.”