Practicum Spotlight: Alison Diehl

Alison Diehl had a career-altering experience as a civilian working with the United States Army in Korea two years ago. She witnessed a social worker calmly but adamantly advocate for her clients in intense situations. 

“She was the youngest person there by 20 years,” Diehl said. “She was just inspiring, so I talked to her a lot about social work for counseling and ended up here largely because of her.”

Here, in Diehl’s case, is the Online Traditional Master of Social Work program at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. Diehl lives in Hawaii as an Air Force veteran with over a decade of nursing experience. Her husband, who has a graduate degree from KU, is an Army veteran, so Diehl has a particular interest in behavioral health support for young soldiers. 

Her practicum with the Wellness Counseling Center provided valuable experience toward her goals, allowing her to shadow an experienced provider while working her own caseload. Diehl graduated from the KU MSW program in May.

Diehl’s location, experience and history put her in a niche spot for a graduate degree. She got out of the military in 2010 and had 15 years to use the GI bill. This put Diehl in a time crunch to do a full-time MSW program, but KU’s MSW program offered this unique opportunity. 

“I'm good at talking to people, I'm a nurse, I'm caring, I'm empathetic. But there are skills to learn and theory systems,” Diehl said. “Everything we have learned in the program is finally coming together in this internship.”

The flexibility of the program and the encouragement to choose a unique path and follow her interests were highlights for Diehl. She completed her internship feeling like a competent emerging therapist. Diehl liked the option to choose her practicum and behavioral health path, which includes private practice.

Shadowing an expert with the Wellness Counseling Center has already been an eye-opening experience. 

“Hearing him and watching him deal with clients is an amazing learning experience,” Diehl said. “Because often in my head, I'm thinking, ‘what would I ask or how would I respond?’”

Apart from the program details, the people at the KU School of Social Welfare stand out to Diehl. The professors are easy to work with, and there’s a range of people from all sorts of backgrounds, she said. 

“I really wanted to hear smart people talk. So, I enjoy actually sitting in class and hearing all of the other students,” Diehl said. “Their experiences are amazing.”

Diehl’s options could’ve been limited as an adult student, a military veteran on a time crunch and someone based in a state that’s over 3,500 miles from Lawrence. 

But KU’s social work program allowed her to pursue her new dream of advocating for others.

“This is definitely where I was supposed to be,” Diehl said. “I feel like I'm showing up with a way greater understanding of where my clients are coming from.”