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Social Work: Becoming a Change Maker

Learn, Guide, Transform

This is a survey course that will assist students in developing the ability to help people and communities improve their quality of life through the field of Social Work. Students will gain an understanding of the social work profession, focusing on its mission to promote social and economic justice and enhance human well-being. Get excited to learn about social work careers in various settings. In this course students will engage in:

  • Dialogue
  • Journal Reflection
  • Role-Playing
  • Skill-Building Exercises
  • Community Service Projects
  • Local Resource Mapping
Four students sitting outside of the school of social work building

Sessions Offered

Hartford

June 29, 2026 - July 3, 2026

Format

Non-Credit

This class is meant to be immersive.

Course outcomes include:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the core values and ethical principles that guide the social work practice
  • Recognize various fields of social work and the populations social workers serve
  • Build core skills necessary in the field of social work
  • Connect with professionals and community partners that support the work of social workers

Meet the Professor

 

Tynisha Tyson, LMSW

Professor at UConn's School of Social Work

Tynisha Tyson, LMSW, is a School Social Worker with Hartford Public Schools, providing direct individual and group counseling services to students in grades 6-8. She has 17 years of experience providing micro and macro level social work services to youth and families within the public and private (clinical day) school sectors. In addition to her role as a School Social Worker, she is an Adjunct Faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, teaching the Direct Practice in Schools graduate-level course to students interested in pursuing a career in social work within the school setting.

Tynisha's prior work experience in the field of social work also includes providing direct therapeutic services (counseling, group and family therapy) and care to individuals (ages 6-18 years old) and families with mental health and substance use/abuse challenges or impacted by substance use/abuse within the family unit in the following congregate settings: partial hospital, residential program, group home. Her background knowledge, training, and current interests in the field of social work include: Trauma-Informed Care and Practice, Mindfulness Practice, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Strengths-Based Therapy, Trained in the Seven Challenges Program, Trained in the Girls Circle Curriculum, Trained in the Voices Curriculum.

Tynisha received her B.A. in Psychology from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Master's of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.

Public Service for the Greater Good

Make an IMPACT on your community: Jumpstart a career in Public Service

Throughout this one-week summer course, students will get immersed in the world of civics and public service - starting with the building blocks of public policy development. Students will work as individuals and teams to explore the institutions, rules, actors, and processes that shape policymaking. Interactive class activities will navigate the “Who/What/Why/How/When” of policy development, how we review the effectiveness of those policies, illustrate the power dynamics in play, and uncover paths to seat oneself in the “room where it happens.” Students will also explore current approaches to civic engagement that will prepare them to stay attuned to current events and make a difference in their local communities.

Beyond the building blocks of the policy making process, students will learn about the day-to-day professional contexts of leaders on the front lines of public service. Current leaders in local and state government, nonprofits, and adjacent private sector organizations will offer insights into how they got to this point in their career and share advice on how to best pursue personal and professional passions. Given our location in Hartford, students will participate in activities on the UConn Hartford campus but will also get to see first-hand some behind-the-scenes work at the Connecticut State Capitol, City Hall for the City of Hartford, and local nonprofit organizations.

By the end of the weeklong experience, students will be better informed on the stakeholders involved with public policy development and public service career paths, and will be prepared to think critically, navigate political processes, and understand their place in society and making an impact locally.

Sessions Offered

Hartford

June 29, 2026 - July 3, 2026

Format

Non-Credit

This class is meant to be immersive.

Course outcomes include:

  • Visit local government and nonprofit organizations to see first hand how staff in public service roles support their communities.
  • Build comfort in public speaking, debate, and interpersonal communication.
  • Explore career and volunteer pathways that enable you to make an impact in your local communities and beyond.
  • Complete interactive individual and group activities to explore the processes and power dynamics in the world of public policy and government.
  • Understand how to get involved in local, state, and national initiatives of interest, allowing them to build broader professional networks and align them with opportunities with low barriers to entry.

Meet the Professor

 

Ryan Baldassario

Director of Engagement, UConn School of Public Policy

Ryan Baldassario is the Director of Engagement for the School of Public Policy (SPP). In this role, Ryan manages professional development programs, community outreach, external relations, and student career programming. Prior to SPP, Ryan spent six years administering the Full-Time MBA program at the UConn School of Business, taught several First Year Experience courses, and has advised numerous “Alternative Break” student service trips across the country. Ryan earned his undergraduate degree from the Honors Program at CCSU, his MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the Neag School of Education at UConn, and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the UConn School of Public Policy.

Ryan originally went to college to become a K-12 civics teacher. Midstream he pivoted to political science. After some campus leadership programs, an honors thesis on revising CT high school curricular requirements to increase young adult civic engagement, and community volunteering - he fell into campus research and pivotal internships. Parlayed that into a job serving with a Member of Congress, then eventually went back to grad school to focus on higher education student services. Since getting into higher ed Ryan has worked with a TON of great staff and faculty and hundreds of graduate students hailing from every part of the world. Outside of work, Ryan also serves as the chair of an environmental commission in his town, and has previously run sports-focused nonprofits. His career has taken him across the country and across the world - and Ryan considers it a privilege to be in a space to support the next generation of public servants and our local communities.

Pre-Law

Experience the Law in Action

Oliver Wendell Holmes famously stated that “the life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” In accordance with this observation, our Pre-Law course provides high school students with both academic and practical understandings of the law, legal education, and operations of the American criminal and civil justice systems as well as appellate processes. This course may be of particular interest to aspiring legal professionals as well as to those who have a curious interest in current legal issues.

Students leave this course prepared to enter a pre-law program at the college level with a more comprehensive understanding of legal theory, constitutional rights, as well as formal and informal systems for resolving disputes in the United States. Participation in simulations throughout the week bolster public-speaking skills. Engaging conversations centering on current legal issues feed each participant's intellectual curiosity.

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Sessions Offered

Storrs Session 4:

July 19, 2026 - July 25, 2026

 

Format

Non-Credit

This class is meant to be immersive and students will:

  • Study theories of the law and the U.S. Constitution
  • Experience legal education by being a law student for a day during our visit to the UConn School of Law
  • Observe the American criminal justice system in action by visiting a local courthouse and meeting with real-life judges and prosecutors
  • Assess current issues relating to the civil justice justice system, particularly in relation to environmental litigation
  • Participate in the appellate process by way of a Moot Court simulation based on a highlighted case in constitutional law

Image of Law Class

Image of student reading

Image of students writing on board

Meet the Professor

 

Kimberly R. Bergendahl, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in Residence, UConn Department of Political Science

Dr. Kimberly R. Bergendahl is an Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Political Science and also serves as its Internship Coordinator and advisor to Crime and Justice minors. A recipient of the 2018 Honors Faculty Member of the year award, Dr. Bergendahl teaches courses in the fields of Public Law, American Politics, and Political Theory. She has been teaching the Pre-Law course in the Pre-College Summer Program since 2017. She also served as the coach and advisor for the UCONN Moot Court Competition Team. Dr. Bergendahl received her B.A. from Southeastern Massachusetts University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Her current research interests include the Senate Judiciary Committee's review of Supreme Court nominations throughout history, local and state regulations on environmental toxins, the influence that popular culture has on the law, and Political Science education and civic engagement.

Dr. Bergendahl has been active in local politics, including her previous service as a Justice of the Peace and on the Planning and Zoning Commission in the Town of Pomfret. A native of Rhode Island, she now resides in Pomfret Center, Connecticut with her husband, John, an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. They have two children, Thomas and Meredith, as well as a Beagle named “Marcie.”

Read more about Dr. Bergendahl in UConn Today

Image of Professor Begendahl