Ep. 6 - Social Work Practicum Co-ordinator, Bayani Trinidad BA, BSW, RSW - Social Work Beginnings

Episode Transcript
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Brad Fraser (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Social Work Beginnings

(00:02):
podcast. Social Work Beginningsis a student hosted podcast
engaging with instructors,agencies and members of the
Social Work community in Canada.
As we strive to learn to becomeeffective social workers at the
beginning of our careers, weseek to amplify the ongoing work
to advance social justice inCanada within social work. This
podcast was born out of a desireto equitably increase the

(00:23):
accessibility of opportunity tolearn outside the classroom
about our diverse field.
Today, our guest is BayaniTrinidad. Bayani sat down with
us in early 2023 and we'redelighted to finally work
through our backlog of editinghere on the podcast to release

(00:43):
this episode to each of you.
Bayani currently resides inTreaty Six Territory in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hisancestry and cultural roots
originate from the Philippines,Spain and China. His passion for
helping others has led him tohis career in social work, which
is cultivated by his livedexperience, learning about
cultures, communities and addingvalue to others. Currently,
Bayani is the PracticumPlacement Co-ordinator at the

(01:05):
Faculty of Social Work at theUniversity of Regina campus in
Saskatoon and he's had this rolesince August of 2022. He has
been working in the field ofsocial work since 2015 in
various areas and populations,including in mental health,
community development, outreach,youth work, youth corrections,
disability support, work, agingpopulations and seniors,

(01:26):
newcomers and working alongsideindigenous communities. Outside
of his professional career,Bayani has passion for
entrepreneurship,self-development, and breakin',
also known as breakdancing. Heuses dance as a way of healing,
storytelling and connecting withothers.

(01:46):
Thanks for joining us today,Bayani.

Bayani Trinidad (01:48):
Yeah, thanks for having me, Brad. It's a
pleasure to be on here and hearda lot of great things about the
social work podcast. So yeah,just extending my gratitude.

Yeah, you're very welcome. I know, a lot of
students are right in the crunchof, many of them in their mini
practicums here at theUniversity of Regina, but then
they're actually applying fortheir full practicum. And so
practicum is something thatyou're very involved with.

Yeah, absolutely. So I can share a
little bit about my role. I amthe practicum placement
coordinator here in theSaskatoon campus. I've been in
the role for close to sixmonths. So I started back in
August of last year. And I tookover for the last practicum

(02:36):
placement coordinator. So AmyKasner, she has worked with a
couple of students already. Sowhen she left, I kind of took
over her like caseload andworking with students who are
going into practicum one andpracticum two for the fall and
the winter term. So it's reallygreat, being back here with the

(02:59):
faculty, I convocated with thefaculty back in 2016. So it was
when we were still at the theatrium building, so a couple of
years back. So it's reallyhumbling and exciting to just be
on the education side of things.
So yeah, and it's been apleasure. Just starting to work

(03:21):
with students with the new termwe're starting to wrap up with
with fall and get thoseplacement meetings like in. So
yeah, it's busy but excitingtimes.

Absolutely. I think for a lot of students, they
might not know, when you'rehaving them register and apply
to practicum. There's this wholeprocess of recruiting the places
and going through that fieldeducation piece. And then that
matching, could you maybe expandon that a little bit for them?

Absolutely.
Yeah, I was actually having aconversation with my
counterpart, So shout out toMiranda Hoiland in Regina, and
we were just like talking aboutthe placement process. Like even
as for me, as a coordinator, itcan be a lot of information, a
lot to digest, and a lot ofmoving parts so I can understand

(04:15):
to where students are comingfrom and feeling with, you know,
maybe some anxiety, lack ofinformation, those kinds of
things. So, as we're doing thiswhole process we do are in we
provide information session tostudents in person, which is
like a new thing that we'redoing and online as well for a
lot of the distance students.

(04:38):
And in those informationsessions, like there's always a
lot of information to cover,especially for practicum ones.
So we try to find this balanceof like, you know, we don't want
to overwhelm students, but wealso want to provide as much
information transparency andjust make this process like
really smooth so.

(04:59):
What I find because it's such abig process, Miranda and I, we
like to do kind of like checkins with students. So we will be
sending a lot of emails justkind of like those monthly check
ins to see kind of wherestudents are at like, Hey, have
you submitted your application?
Have you booked your placementplanning meeting? Do you have
these documents, etc, etc. Soright now, in February, we're in

(05:23):
the process of doing thoseindividual placement planning
meetings where we get a realfeel for like, okay, especially
for practicum. One, it is yourfirst one, where are you? Where
are you hoping to get someexperience, right? There's a lot
of different opportunities withdifferent agencies anywhere

(05:43):
from, you know, working withchildren and youth shg, possibly
corrections, mental health,community based organizations,
so whole spectrum. And what Ifind too, you know, we're also
on the back-end, we're, youknow, sending surveys to
agencies to see like, who cantake on a student for fall. And

(06:05):
there's a lot of moving piecesas well, where, you know, some
agencies may be able to take ona student to during the winter
term, but things shifts, thingschange, and they can take a
student on for fall, whetherit's their capacity, new staff,
just many different things. So,in those cases, like, you know,

(06:26):
in winter, we may have had, likea lot of other agencies, but
come fall, it may have likedecreased a little bit based on
everyone's availability. Andthen so it's kind of like you're
balancing like, two needs,right? The needs of the
agencies, and then the needs ofthe students. So we're really
also understanding as we dothese placement meetings of just

(06:49):
students as learning goals,their interests, their
expectations, because, again,you know, if you're coming in
new to a different environment,or a specific population or
organization, sometimes you mayhave an expectation or an idea
of what this placement can,like, look like. So we try to

(07:09):
really unpack that during thoseplacement meetings. And then
also, you know, set up studentsfor success, as they're going to
do those interviews, whetherit's like, resume cover letter,
you know, workshops. We just hadone on Friday, and then also
like interview prep. So gettingstudents to do that real like

(07:30):
reflection piece of like, okay,what are my strengths? What are
my skill sets? Where do I fallin terms of like the BSW
competencies, right, anywherefrom like, you know, navigating
through community resources, howto facilitate meetings, you
know, communication, applyingthe things that folks they're

(07:51):
learning in their courses,right, what kind of approach
theory that you're comfortablewith, that you have knowledge
and that you can apply it fieldeducation, right. So there's a
lot of different pieces. But Ifind it's always like to refer
in our slides. It's like acomplex dance, right. And so
we're trying to balance thejuggles and needs of, you know,

(08:14):
students and agencies, and we'rekind of those, like Miranda and
I and like, and we're kind ofthe are kind of like the bridge
of field education. So, yeah,that's my response to your
question.

Yeah, thank you. I think, you know, having just
gone through that placement lastsemester to now be in my
practicum one right now, it'sreally neat to kind of see how
all that work, leading up tonow, makes it just that much, I
don't know if I want to saysimpler, but it just makes you
have a better sense ofpreparedness going into that
practicum opportunity. And so,when you talk about some of

(08:53):
these workshops, and you talkabout this placement, is there
anything that you would maybewant to say to students is maybe
a common question that comes upthat, you know, students that
are thinking about practicum,for maybe winter of next year?
You know, they're not at thatplace yet, Is there something
that you would remind thosestudents way in advance to think

(09:15):
about?

Great question, Brad, I would say, if you know,
you're about to start yourpracticum one, right? And think,
like, our timelines are prettytight, because then in May,
you're already if you'reeligible, right, and you have
the courses, you're about toapply for practicum two, I would
say, and I wish I told myselfthis sooner when I was doing

(09:38):
practicum is really like, beopen to, you're like, you're
gonna make mistakes, and that'snormal as humans, right? As as
future social workers, and youdon't know what you don't know.
And, like agencies,organizations will have
different policies andexpectations and some agencies

(10:01):
like are really, like structuredand they value having students
like, you know, they've hadstudents before. They want to
invest into students, thosekinds of things in some
organizations. And this is notto label them, it's just they
don't have the infrastructure tosupport students. And that

(10:22):
there's only a certain number ofagencies and organizations we
can provide to students. But Iwould say any experience that
you get that you will learnsomething, again, it takes that
like, self assessment of like,okay, I'm put into a new
environment. How am I going tolearn in this environment? How

(10:42):
am I going to seek support? Howam I going to adapt to new
situations that I've never beenexposed to? When it comes to
crisis? Or stress? How am Igoing to respond? How can I use
some practices or principles inmy courses, or even like in your
own personal life experiencethat you can apply into your
practicum. So I find likepracticum will really grow you

(11:07):
stretch, you challenge you andmaybe test your own personal
values as you're in the field.
But again, it will like, youwill experience that resistance
in that stretch. But by the timeyou're done those four months,
and with that deep reflection,you'll find, okay, like I can
manage X amount of clients orlike, I was put in this

(11:31):
environment, and I learned ABCD.
And then moving forward, as yougo into your practicum, to
whatever experience you got, youwill have had key points that
you can potentially draw in intoyour next practicum. So I know
the first practicum is alwayskind of like, it's kind of like

(11:53):
a guessing game like, Okay, howis this gonna go. But I think if
you come into it, and maybe it'scliche to say, but I always like
to, like, encourage, have like agrowth mindset coming into it.
Because if you are, and I had areally good conversation with my
friend the other day about thisis like, if you experienced
resistance, and you're trying tofight that resistance, it's

(12:14):
going to make it feel moreuncomfortable and unsettling for
yourself. But if there's a wayyou can, like really embrace
this resistance, because it'salways like, and my mentor has
shared this with me before,like, life's not happening to
you, but for you. So there's areason why these things are
happening. Maybe something'scoming up in practicum that make
you grow and stretch, and comepracticum to you've developed

(12:39):
those whether those skills,those experiences, and then you
can apply it in your futurepractice. And then, you know, as
you're progressing through yourcareer, and when you, you know,
get that first job, right, youcan also apply a lot of those
things. And practicum. And Iguess my last thoughts, field
education is like, it is thetime to make mistakes, and

(13:00):
you're not going to be good thefirst time. And that is okay,
because, you know, we'restudents, we're still learning.
Right. So, yeah, when, um, alittle bit of a tangent, but
yeah, that would be like my, Iguess suggestions perspective
for for students.

Absolutely. And I appreciate Bayani how you're
talking about, there's thisopportunity to go into
practicum, with a lot ofclassroom based skills that
we've learned through thedifferent courses that we've
taken. But there's also thisopportunity to see, what does it
mean for us as student socialworkers to bring our ethic and
value with us? And so no matterwhere we get placed, we're

(13:39):
there. So we're bringingourselves so what does that look
like in the terms of who we'reinteracting with in terms of
maybe service users we'reconnecting with our fellow
colleagues, whether they'resocial workers or not? What does
it mean to bring that ethic andvalue? And I, in my own
experience, within practicum, sofar, it's been lovely to see how

(14:00):
I'm with some social workers.
But there's also the differentpeople that have completely
different perspectives than wedo. And so what does it look
like to communicate? Hey, thisis what we value, and why?

100%? Yeah, well said, Brad.

I think another thing I wanted to ask you about
Bayani. When you're thinkingabout kind of that, for lack of
a better way to put itmatchmaking process behind the
scenes, and you're connectingwith students, I know often I
hear as undergraduate studiesrepresentative for the Regina
area students. There's a lot ofquestions around well, I really,

(14:36):
really, really don't want to beplaced in I don't know a
specific area of social work.
And so there's anxiety aroundthat. My understanding of the
processes is if that's the case,you are able to let you know
that and you can talk not justabout maybe the one area you're
not interested in, but you canprioritize and layout, hey,
these are the four or fivethings that could possibly be

(14:56):
good fits. It's not a guarantee,but I think for students who's
never been through the processbefore, it's not throwing a dart
at a board blank. This is anactual matchmaking process that
is taking students with specificinterests and trying to match
them to an agency.

Yeah, absolutely. I think the, that
area of interest form reallyhelps like there are, like a lot
of different areas orpopulations that, you know,
students can take interest in. Ithink having the ranking system
does help, right, being able torank one to five, and Miranda

(15:35):
and I, we always have theseconversations of like, you know,
in the ideal world, we wouldlove to give everyone their top
choice. It's not that we don'twant to, it's like, I think
understanding the limits aswell, I always like to use this
reference, because, you know,come practicum, too. I know, SHA
is very, like popular. And seeif you have you know, 50

(15:59):
students that want SHA butthere's only maybe 10 at the
time, you know, we can'tguarantee everyone's top area of
interests, but then that's whereyou can, you know, you can go
back to your second choice,third choice, maybe even your
fourth or fifth, right, ideally,those top three. And so, we

(16:19):
really do our best to, you know,like find those top areas, and
then, you know, go down to thelower like numbers. But the just
the unfortunate thing is likenot every placement is
guaranteed, there was a storywhere I was like to reference
it, like we had two studentsplaced at this agency. And

(16:44):
because the social worker onsite had, you know, left to go
to another position, and weWell, I only found out a few
days before practicum. And so itwas a lot of like scrambling and
last minute calling. But I thinkthe nice thing is that we will
always have backup agencies. Soyou'll never not have a

(17:06):
practicum placement, it may notbe your exact area of interest,
but at least you'll havesomewhere to go to still learn
and engage and complete yourpracticum. So it is yeah, it is
quite the process. And then asI'm like looking at to like if
you think of like casemanagement, right, like there's

(17:27):
Miranda and I have anywhere fromlike 100 to possibly 120
students per term as well. Sowe're really, you know,
understanding like everyone'sgoals, needs, and then on top of
the agency's, like goals andneeds as well. So it's it's a
bit of a balancing act. And youknow, we don't always get it

(17:47):
right either, right, we makemistakes. And, yeah, so hope
that answers your question.

Ya no, for sure, I think you know, this practicum
opportunity. You know, I beforewe shift gears a bit Bayni, I
just want to kind of talk to thestudents and perhaps other
people who have alreadycompleted their social work
journeys with the BSW andthey're thinking back to
practicum, or maybe there'speople listening that could
become field educators, and thatcould actually help take on
students and engage with people.
There's like this set amount ofhours, and I know you and I've,

(18:20):
personally, I've talked aboutthis outside of the podcast
before, but a lot of studentsdon't actually realize that
that's a national certificationthat's happening. And so the
practicum program, though, it'sfacilitated by the University of
Regina, those requirements areactually set nationwide. Could
you maybe expand on a little bitabout how that works?

Absolutely.
Yeah. So I remember we alwaysbring that up in the information
session. So thanks for thatplug, Brad, but it's by CASWE,
we it's like our CanadianNational kind of governing board
when it comes to fieldeducation. So when you look at
other universities or programs,they follow those standards,
whether it's those hours,policy, training, rules, ethics,

(19:05):
it's all set by our nationalgoverning board. So in a way,
like it's, it's to have a highstandard, right. And so I think,
having that as well, like inyour back pocket, right, like
the the caliber of practicum.

(19:25):
Basically, the caliber ofexperience that you're getting
is recognized by a CanadianNational Board, which is, you
know, pretty huge. Not otherprograms may have that and I
think we were talking about thatoutside of the podcast before.
So the fact that and I reallylike how you mentioned before,
where it's like we get to learnabout ethics and policy and

(19:49):
research and you have thatbacked by a governing board and
your courses where otherprograms may not have that so in
a way it's like it's it's areally versatile program. It's a
versatile association andgoverning board that like, you
know, supports you in yourlearning. And in your, you know,

(20:10):
future career as a socialworker.

Yeah, absolutely.
And I know in chatting with

Absolutely. No, that's a really good piece,
students, and I know you've hadthese conversations as well,
sometimes there's that questionof like, hey, like, there's a,
there's a reading week, or aspring break coming up, but
practicum goes straight throughthat. And so, you know, that's
Brad. And I remember, it wastalking to an agency here in
something that is entirely dueto the fact that the minimum
hours are set by CASWE, youknow, and so when we're talking

(20:34):
about how many hours do studentsneed, obviously, that's the
University of Regina sets upthat, but there's a minimum
requirement that set by thatnational body. And so I know
with a lot of the students Italk to, they're like, hey, you
know what, like, sometimes thisis like taking me right to the
edge of my capacity. So whatdoes this look like? And so, you
know, for my fellow studentslistening, this is an

(20:56):
opportunity for us to, toadvocate and continue to connect
with these regulatory bodiesthat exist outside of the
University of Regina acrossCanada, because they're the ones
that set our standards. They'rethe ones that are setting kind
of this minimum level. And so ifthere was to be reform, as I
know, some students have askedabout, for example, it wouldn't
necessarily come directly fromthe University of Regina, it

(21:19):
would come from collaboratingwith others. And, and why I
mentioned that, and you and I'vetalked about this in the past
Bayani, is this that socialwork, it's finding out that
there's other people and otheragencies or other jurisdictions
that we need to connect with,and that we need to learn their
experience? And then we buildthat advocacy piece? And what
does that look like? And I thinkthat's some of the really neat

(21:42):
things I'm seeing come out ofpracticum. And and that of my
peers, when we have ourbi-weekly seminar, and there's
that opportunity, hey, what doyou doing in Seminar, but oh,
well, hey, we're learning aboutwhat each other's placements
are? And what are you doingthere? And it's amazing the
breadth and diversity of thoseplacements, you touched on those
different communityorganizations in different I

(22:03):
guess, areas of social work. Andin my seminar alone, there's
just such a diversity ofopportunity. And then the cool
thing is, is we get to talkabout it and learn from each
other. So it's not just oneperson learning themselves in
their practicum. It's comingback to each other and being
Saskatoon just doing an agencyvisit. And, you know, you nailed
like, Hey, this is what I'mlearning. But what can you teach
me about where you are? Andthere's that opportunity to get

(22:26):
exposed to not just your agency?
Because you're connecting withfellow peers?
it on the head, there's thatthere's that community learning
amongst students. And there'salso that piece of like,

(22:48):
networking as well. And beingable to, like you said, get a
feel for what other students arelearning in their agencies like,
hey, what, what is it like towork in that organization? What
are their what are their ownpersonal values? What has been
maybe challenging you? What'slike working? Well, you know,

(23:09):
how is your your learning inthat environment? Like those
kinds of questions? So I reallyappreciate Yeah, the the seminar
pieces like, I wish I could siton in and just like be a sponge.
But it sounds like it's a reallygreat learning opportunity for
students and findingcommonalities as well. Like
being in that role as a studentand the similar learnings that

(23:30):
everyone is experiencing whetheryou're in practicum, one, or
practicum, two, so I'm reallyglad you brought that up.

Yeah, thank you.
Bayani, you talked a little bitabout you got your degree from
the University of Regina. And soyou were saying 2016 was the
year?

Yeah, that's correct. So it convocated back
in 2016. But prior todiscovering of like, social
work, I, I was just wrapping upmy three year like, base,
sociology degree. So at thetime, I had no idea what social

(24:09):
work was. Shout out to AaronCruz, a cousin of mine who
introduced me to social work,and he's like, why don't you
check out this program? It seemslike it has more opportunities
and more learnings and just morejobs. So I was like, okay, you
know, really young student atthe time and like, early 20s,

(24:31):
and kind of had an idea of whereI wanted my life to go, but
still figuring things out as aas a young, young adult. And so
I think I attended aninformation session and found
out social work is such a cool,but broad, but it can be
specific field depending whereyou want to end up in. And I

(24:53):
think the beautiful thing Ireally appreciate about social
work is we're helping indifferent capacity. Cities,
whether it's from a micro macro,mezzo kind of level, write
anywhere from like, you're doingresearch and you're getting
stats on a specific social issuethat could lead to a bigger

(25:14):
impact to individual counseling.
When it comes to mental health,or a lot of different other
things that clients arestruggling with, or, you know,
you're you're referring aservice or as a program to a
client or something along thoselines. So I think it's just nice
that someone with differentstrengths, and skills and

(25:38):
competencies, it's like, onceyou really hone in on that you
can really apply yourself in thefield in so many different ways.
And you have fast amount ofchoices where you want to go
with social work. But anyways,yeah, so I went through the
program, my mini practicum, Idid it at Crocus Co-operative.

(26:00):
Oh, sorry, my mini practicum. Idid it at Cosmo industries. And
yeah, I'll be super honest andvulnerable. I, I was terrified,
I had no idea how to supportfolks with disabilities because
they didn't have thatexperience. And to be honest, I
don't think it was a I don'tknow if they had the area of

(26:21):
interest form before, but Idon't think it was a top choice.
However, what I did learn inthat experience was like, how to
be a really great communicator,how to learn more about just
that, the disabilities sector,and how to build relationships
and like how to, you know, havecompassion and empathy. But it

(26:43):
did really stretch me because Iwas like, again, we don't know
what we don't know. And when wedon't know what we don't know,
there can be fear wrapped aroundthat. And so, yeah, I was just
like a young student who waslike, terrified, I have no idea
what I'm doing. When this is apart of the process, I have to
go through practicum. And so Ijust kind of went into it just

(27:03):
okay, I'm just going to be asponge, I know, I'm gonna make
mistakes. And so just kind ofexpose myself like filleted
myself open, but to learning andmaking those mistakes and
learning to ask for help. Ithink, at the time, I wish my
mindset was like I learned toask more questions at the time.

(27:25):
But again, there was that thatfear and anxiety behind going
into practicum. So that's why toI feel like I can relate with
some students who are goingthrough that process of like
just not knowing, or the anxietybehind, not knowing about a
specific agency or like a fieldlike that. That's real, like,
you know, I recognize that. Butit did grow me.

(27:47):
And then fast forward topracticum two, I did it at
Crocus Co-operative. So it's asmall agency, and here in
Saskatoon supports adults withdifferent mental health and
illnesses. And so it's a drop inprogram, they offer like a

(28:09):
cafeteria, or program, differentrecreational kind of social
programming, which is reallycool. And, you know, big shout
out to all the community basedorganizations that are
Saskatoon, Regina, just all overSaskatchewan. And I think that's
the real cool piece when youstart to network and find out

(28:29):
what everyone's doing. It'slike, and maybe I'm like
preaching to the choir, buteveryone is making a difference
in some kind of way. And there'sjust so many needs, in social
work and in the community thatneed to be addressed. But I
think everyone is doing theirpart in some kind of way. And so
when I started networking more,I was like, Wow, this
organization does this. I had noidea for this organization, did

(28:52):
this sporting, like these kindsof folks are having these
services. So anyways, I'm kindof digressing. But yeah,
practicum made me grow. Itchallenged me, it got me to get
out of my comfort zone, learn tobe a better communicator and
still learning to this day andlike seeking perspectives of you

(29:14):
know, students and clients. Andthen fast forward a year
convocated in 2016. And one ofmy first positions is that
testing Open Door society. Soworking with a lot of newcomers,
immigrants, refugees, that's hasa special place in my heart

(29:38):
because my parents were once youknow, refugees, like leaving war
from their country. So just abit of background of that they
are working in Kuwait, but atthe time in the 90s. There was a
war going around so they had togo back to Philippines and then
find a way to come back toThailand. Canada to establish a

(30:01):
new life for their family. Butanyway, so that that field in
that area just has a specialplace in my heart because
there's a lot of amazingstories, the the trauma
resilience that folks go throughfamilies, individuals, and I
worked in the school, so I wassupporting a lot of students who

(30:24):
are like new to Canada and justunderstanding our system,
understanding cultural norms,values, things like that. And so
yeah, that's, I guess, one pieceof like, my career and then I've
worked in a lot of differentother community based
organizations, I won't go to toomuch detail but just shedding a

(30:45):
little bit of light on them,like working with, you know, use
use still a big passion in myheart.
And then combining my otherpassion with breakdancing and
the culture of hip hop,incorporating that in in a
social work lens, and shout outto blueprint for life, which is
organization based out ofOttawa, they've allowed me to

(31:08):
work with them by doing likeyouth work through corrections
and different rural andindigenous communities and
reserves. So it's kind of havinglike that social work lens,
through kind of a hip hop lensthat kind of intertwine by
providing youth workshops,through dance music, art, just
expressive therapy, on top ofhaving a really deep discussions

(31:31):
on, you know, substance abuse,bullying, boundaries, those
kinds of like, basic life,things that every young person
should know. So, yeah, that's,that's a little bit of, you
know, my, my career and justwhat I went through to school,
and so yeah, if there are anystudents that pick my brain,

(31:51):
about community basedorganizations, or youth work, or
working in corrections, oranything, I'm always happy to
help I always go by this, thisterm that I use, and that I got
from hip hop, it's called eachone teach one. And just
basically, the concept of thatis like, for me, like, as I'm
learning through life, personaland professional, I just want to
share that with with others. AndI think we all learn through not

(32:15):
just individually, but as acommunity.

So yeah, no, absolutely. Bayani. And I think,
as I hear you talk about justkind of this journey that kind
of took you between this likedifferent area. You know, I
think about first and foremost,you just mentioned this kind of
like ability to blend aninterest you already had within

(32:38):
hip hop culture. Thebreakdancing, but then you're
actually able to bring that intosocial work. Could you maybe
expand on that?

Yeah, absolutely. So I'll give a shout
out to, his name is Stephen, aka'Bboy Buddha' Leafloor, he was
this breakdancer that pursuedhis master's program and started
his organization calledblueprint for life that combines

(33:08):
social work, and hip hop, and hewrote a master's, like a thesis
paper on it. And I think iflike, for me, anyways, it's just
my perspective. So with workingwith youth, is that, you know,
if there's a way we cancommunicate, not just through

(33:30):
our words, whether it's likethrough storytelling, or art,
and I think that's where like, Ireally love dance, music, like
just the whole art piece of hiphop, it's another way to connect
and build rapport with, withclients, with youth with
community. And I know for me, asa young person, I struggled like

(33:52):
communicating and using mywords, so I've come a long way.
But if there's a way you canconnect, not just through words,
but you're still storytellingthrough sharing common
interests, or culture, or foodsor things like that. That's
like, one of the biggest piecesin social work is how do we
connect? How do we relate? Whatwhat similar experiences do we

(34:14):
have? And so I think the nicething about like hip hop, and
just that culture on its own,and what I've learned and gone
through is like hip hop wasbirthed from oppression. And so
a lot of it started out in thestates in the South Bronx where
a lot of young people of colorwere from African or like Latino

(34:37):
descent. They were oppressedbecause poverty was happening. A
lot of violence, gang violence,marginalization, racism, like
all those things were happening.
But because of a individual bythe name of DJ Kool Herc, he was
this DJ that provided this spacewhere youth could express

(34:57):
themselves through music anddance. So he would do this thing
he had like those old schoolturntables, you would do the
merry go round. And people couldjust have different color,
different culture, it doesn'tmatter what is, you know, maybe
happened to you in the past, youcan be in this space and vibe,
and enjoy and connect with eachother, and celebrate through

(35:19):
dance and culture, despite yourdifferences, right. I think the
really cool thing about hip hopand their own personal values,
it's it's peace, love, unity,and having fun. And so I think
what, what Bboy Buddha did,Stephen is like, he used those
kinds of same values andincorporated into his social

(35:41):
work practice. So, basically abit of background, what
blueprint would do is they wouldoffer this kind of weak
programming to youth, or thecommunities that we would go to
whether it's youth correctionalor a community or reserve, and
it's, it's like a five dayintensive programming, where we

(36:02):
get to explore the differentelements of hip hop, whether
that's like music, rap,freestyle, DJing, dancing,
beatboxing, photography, spokenword, all those elements. And it
was a way to kind of have thatbuilding that rapport, and that
relationship piece. And, youknow, some use would be, you

(36:25):
know, a little bit nervous,because they're like, oh, who
are these strangers, but as youinvest that time into youth, and
saying, like, hey, like, youknow, I've also gone through
maybe some similar strugglesthat you have, like, come check
out what we're doing. And then,you know, as we're building
these relationships, and doingthese programming, and you know,

(36:45):
dancing, engaging in art, you'rebuilding that, that connection
piece, and then to we can go astep further and have these, you
know, not so easy conversationsaround. Yeah, like substance
abuse, bullying, racism, a lotof those topics. And first, I

(37:06):
think just what I know aboutlike social work and combination
of hip hop, is like, there'sthere's storytelling. And
storytelling is so powerful,because we can relate to each
other's stories, whether it'ssimilar struggles, or similar
successes. And I know there'sthat piece of like, ethics and

(37:28):
policy in social work. And so Ithink that also helps guides our
programming and how, you know,we go into communities and
coming into it in a respectfulway, as well. So there's,
there's kind of like, I wouldsay, there's elements from both
social work and hip hop that cancombine really well. And that

(37:49):
can help with your practice andyour approach when it comes to
engaging with communities andclients. So like, I don't know,
for any future, like socialworkers out there, if there is
something you're reallypassionate about, maybe it's
photography, or some kind ofexpressive outlet, or sports or,
you know, any kind of skill youhave, I think there is a way to

(38:12):
connect it into your practice.
And I guess, depending where youended up in, right, in your job,
but that's the one thing I wastrying to find is like, How can
I incorporate a passion of mineinto my learning and into the
social work field? And so, yeah,that's a little bit of a ramble.

(38:35):
But yeah, I wanted to share myexperiences on that.

Yeah, thanks Bayani, because I think when you
were talking about how you wereblending these different things
together, and how it was anexisting passion that you had,
and then you talk throughbriefly the history of hip hop,
and then what it looked like interms of providing a space to,
to resist that oppression. Andyou talked earlier about, pardon

(39:01):
me practicum, right. And youalso said that resistance word.
And so there's this opportunity,I think within our own social
locations to look at what makesus, us, but what does that look
like within that paradigm ofsocial work? So that when we do
go into these spaces, we arethinking about the ethics, we
are thinking about, hey, isthere a way that I can maintain

(39:22):
confidentiality and privacy? Isthere competency here? What am I
going to go in and do right? Imyself not a competent,
breakdancer, I'll leave that toyou Bayani, but when we could,
but I would love to connect withyouth and be able to tell
stories and and do things and Iknow one of the things that I do
is I will connect with peopleover basketball and it's just

(39:42):
it's such an opportunity just tobe able to see that there's
these things that we reallyenjoy. But those things are also
bridges into relationship withother people. And that's a huge
part of social work and what Iwas hearing you say about being
able to connect with youthbecause if you're just there to
say hey, Here's my 15 minutePowerPoint presentation on

(40:03):
whatever subject, that's fine.
But what are we giving youth andquite frankly, anyone we work
with, to be able to find thingsoutside of that. And so when we
can participate together, youmentioned food, you mentioned
these different cultural normsthat you had to help people
with. All of that is a huge partof I think that service to
humanity piece within our ethicsand values, because it's not

(40:27):
just helping in terms of meetinga direct need, but it's coming
alongside to participate incommunity. So it's more of a
with.
And so I think a lot Bayani alittle bit about how,
specifically, when you and I'vetalked, you've highlighted how
there's this journey you've hadwithin your own social location,

(40:51):
incorporating these things thatare important to you. And then
you found that social work,gives you that not just a lens,
but quite frankly, a foundationto stand really firmly on to
then get to a place where you'removing things forward in a way
that helps people with a lot ofsubstance. Is there anything

(41:13):
else that you would want toshare with with people in terms
of maybe they're at thebeginning of their social work
journey? Or maybe they'relistening? And they're like,
geez, yeah, I really need tofigure out a way to take
something that I'm creative withor artistic with, figure out a
way to implement that. Is thereany advice you'd want to share?

Yeah, that's, that's a great question, Brad. I
would say, and I, Yeah, I wouldsay that, I guess the number one
thing is like, you're not,you're always going to be
learning, there's always goingto be something different you're

(41:52):
exposed to, and you are going tomake mistakes. But when I found
like, I guess for myself, likeif there is a passion, and I
like how you said you brought upbasketball, I think a lot of
youth can relate to that. Ithink there are a lot of
different services and programswe can offer. But I think

(42:14):
looking at the humanity sidefirst, how can we communicate?
How can we connect? And how canwe offer a safe space to people
that we're supporting, because Ithink it's very easy to get
caught up in the, you know, Iwant to, I want to provide this
service, I want to impact thiscommunity this way. Or I want to

(42:41):
have all these really amazing,fantastic ideas. But I think it
and I wish I knew this sooner,but you know, better late than
ever, but really understandinglike, who are the folks that
we're supporting, and connectingwith, before having that idea

(43:02):
or, or service that we'reproviding. And I think earlier
on to, and again, it's betterlike late than ever, it's like
understanding that traumainformed approach. I wish I knew
that earlier on and practicum.
But again, better late thanever. And then under also
understanding, and I'm learningmore about it, too, is just the

(43:22):
idea of colonialism, and howit's impacted nations,
communities and individuals invarious ways, and not just in
the Canadian context, like ifyou look at that, through a
world perspective, likecolonialism has happened, like
everywhere. And just just seeingthe impacts and that has caused

(43:47):
for people, whether it's Yeah,anywhere from like resources to,
you know, taking away ofculture, language, those those
things. I think it's reallyimportant to consider basically,
like the history and how thingshappened, especially for you
know, marginalized groups. Andyeah, I would just say, you

(44:12):
know, also, like network too, ifyou have, like a really cool
idea that you want to implement,whether it's in a program with
an agency, I always like to seekperspective to have like, folks
who've done something similar,right, so maybe another student,
you're connecting with, like,Hey, I've always wanted to start

(44:32):
this photography program. And Iwant to incorporate it with
working with, we'll say, justlike seniors, like offering like
more programs and services toseniors, like, maybe chat with
other photographers or connectwith other folks who are working
with seniors, and maybe they'vedone it already, or maybe they
haven't, it can be like a gapthat you'd like fill in. So

(44:53):
really take the time to like,plan it with a good intention.
And yeah, network. Have like, ifyou have one idea, another
person could have the same idea,you can collaborate on it. And I
find through networks andconnections and groups, and
maybe I don't know, maybe doinglike a focus group, it really

(45:16):
helps, because then you havethat same vision and goal. And
it's just like bringing togetherpeople and resources to also
have, like more of an impact anda realistic impact to like, I
think when I was doingprogramming, I wish I really
understood the idea of like,specific goals or smart goals.

(45:37):
Sorry. Right? And seem to if itis sustainable, if it's
realistic, timely, measurable,those kind of things.

Yeah, it's interesting hearing us talk
about the importance ofconnecting with the community,
and thinking about not just yourfellow social work students and
the different people that mightbe providing these services, but
who are the the people thatwe're actually trying to connect
with, and something that came tomind as you were talking biani,
about what it means to like,think about that humanity. And

(46:10):
the impact of colonization, notjust here in Canada, but in
other countries as well, is thatthere's that stigma associated
with social work for somepeople. And so, you know, it's,
it can be very important to notjust kind of start out with,
Hey, my name is Brad, I'm yoursocial worker, because
automatically that can create apower dynamic. And it
essentially reinforces this typeof relationship, that may or may

(46:34):
not be what we're intending tocommunicate. And so what does it
look like to enter intorelationship with the people
that we're connecting with thosecommunities understand that they
know themselves best, and thatwe may have access to resources,
or we may have skills ordifferent things that we can do

(46:54):
to help them with, but makingsure that we think about it in
terms of how do we allow it tobe person centered, so they're
coming to either to us, orthey're telling us, like you
said, maybe in a focus group orotherwise, this is what we have,
as a need, these are the needsthat we're having. And I think
moving into those areas of hey,I'm Brad, I like shooting hoops,

(47:17):
right? That's a important placeto start. I'm Brad, I like
working alongside you. Right?
And I think those are the thingsthat if we really think about
that, perhaps a uniqueopportunity of social work is to
have that like professionalregulated, registered social
work level, to say, I amcommitted to advocate for

(47:40):
change, I am committed to serveyou, but not just serve you
individually, like you touchedon earlier Bayani, being way
beyond micro, but thatopportunity to serve people in
terms of their entire community,and hopefully, a community that
you're actually able to be apart of, rather than kind of a
commuting social worker, though,that's not always doable.

(48:02):
There's that opportunity, Ithink, through art, through
creativity, you mentioned dance,to actually enter into
communities. And I think a farmore respectful way. I don't
know if that triggers anythoughts for you, but I'll leave
that there.

Ya know, you brought up a lot of really great
points, Brad, even just ourlabels, right? Like looking at
history, right? As socialworkers that can be potentially
triggering or harming to folks.
So even just the language thatwe use, right, going into
communities or engaging withfolks, and just like, I don't

(48:38):
know, finding this, I guess,like common ground, on that
human human piece of just like,I'm just like a human, just like
you, not any better, right? Andfinding that humility, when
we're engaging with clients,and, and community. So I really
like what you said, of justlike, hey, and Brad, like to

(48:59):
play basketball, right? Or theseare some of my interests. And
finding those ways to connect,it always comes back to the that
connection piece first, andacknowledging I like what you
said to you about being personcentered approach. And, again,
it can be easy to forget aboutthat. And just focus on, you

(49:20):
know, the service or like, youknow, our, our own, like
professional agenda that we haveto provide within this
organization. Right. It's it'sthat human piece, that person
centered approach and knowingwho we're engaging in. So yeah,
you touched on a lot of reallygreat points.

Yeah, the only other thing I was thinking about
Bayani, before we close here, isthat you and I've talked in the
past about, I guess I called itcritical hope, I forget if those
are the words you used as well,but just this desire to create
empathy. And one of the thingsthat I've seen, fellow practicum
students talk about is sometimesyou're going into a practicum.

(50:02):
And you're new, you're astudent, you've kind of got that
energy of like, yes, I want tohelp people, but you're going to
enter into it. And you might beentering into a place where
there's a lot of weight that'sbeen carried for a very long
time. And so your new energymight be a little incongruent
with some of what others arecarrying. And so you've talked

(50:24):
about how you found a way toincorporate your social
location, you've found ways toincorporate the values, you
talked about the refugeeexperience your parents went
through. Could you maybe give usa closing thought on what it
looks like to remember that, associal workers, when we expand
beyond, like you said, just likethe kind of point A to point B

(50:47):
service delivery, how we canbring that critical hope and
perhaps critical empathy, notjust to, perhaps the service
users, but to our peers andcolleagues as well?

Yeah, that's a great point. Great question,
Brad. I think tying it back tothe pieces, especially if
you're, you know, very new, andyou're coming into this field of
practicum. And I think havingthat excited, hopeful, kind of,
I like how you said criticalhope, or critical thinking kind

(51:19):
of like energy and bringing tothat. I think also acknowledging
this like piece of like, yeah,combat compassion, fatigue,
it's, it's a real thing. Like, Ithink it's great that we can
have this energy and kind offire within us to help change
the world, change folks, changesystems, potentially disrupt

(51:41):
systems. But because of ourwork, you know, we're in people
sector, and there's emotions,and there's feelings and things
that are going to happen. Soit's also like, how can we as
like, I always go back to theanalogy is like, whenever I'm
going into this work, I alwayswant to make sure, and it's, and

(52:01):
it's not perfect every time likewe're human, is our cup needs to
be full. And how does that looklike? And then when you touch
on, and I appreciate, like inall the courses where they're
always like self care,self-care, what does self-care
look like for you? Right? Havingthat piece as well as like, as
you're going through thisdifficult work, and supporting

(52:25):
folks and knowing that there'sgoing to be limits to what we
can do, or services that we canprovide, whether it's within the
agency itself, whether it'swithin the community, whether,
you know, there's only a certainnumber of resources or staff, or
people to go around to supportlike, I think keeping that in

(52:46):
mind, and sorry, I'm kind ofdrawing on a blank. What was the
question again?

Well just if there's anything else you think
in terms of bringing thatcritical hope, because you
talked about that compassionfatigue. And I think when you're
talking about this relationshipthat you build through field
visits, and you're looking atpracticum placements, there's
this very real reality thatyou're taking very new students
who are so excited to help, soexcited to, you know, share

(53:15):
their fire, that you may beentering into a place where
there's some compassion fatigue.
So what does it look like to notjust be bringing that critical
hope to the service users orclients or whoever it may be
that you're working alongside,but to those peers and
colleagues that are going to beteaching you. But you're also
going to be holding on to thatenergy? That you're, cuz you're

(53:37):
just that's why you're here. Youtalked about it, you want to
help people? That's the commonthread. We're all here because
we want to help.

Okay, yes.
Yeah, I think just adding on tothat Brad is like, as a student,
incoming new into fieldeducation, there is still kind
of like those power imbalances,right? As a student, there are
things with, you know, let's bereal, there is going to be
limits and only certain thingsthat a student can do in field

(54:09):
education. But what I've beenhearing about, you know, some
agencies is that there areagencies that like to, because
they've been doing things foryears, and what they've been
doing is great, they also valueand I won't say like, every
agency is like this, but theywill value new perspectives. So

(54:29):
if students are coming in withthat fire, and that like new
energy and like, I think it'sokay to ask questions of just
like, hey, this is an idea thatI have, could we incorporate
this in our programs or servicedelivery? And then, you know,
worst thing worst cases, theysay no, but at least you you

(54:49):
brought that out, or like, Hey,I noticed you have this specific
policy. Have you ever thought ofmaybe shifting it or adapting
it. They're changing it, or likeI noticed, you know, you don't
incorporate trauma informed,have you ever considered
incorporating trauma informedinto your practice or approach?

(55:09):
So I think it's kind of likethat balance of like, it's kind
of like dancing. Like you'retaking a step forward, you're
like, hey, try this doesn'twork. Okay, well take a step
back. Okay, maybe we have thisother idea and that allows both
the organization in thecommunity, the student,
everyone, all the stakeholdersto take two steps forward.
Right. So I think there will belimits. And I think with

(55:34):
anything, there's always goingto be risks, there's always
going to be a risk to tryingsomething new. And then I think
that's where it's like,understanding, okay, where are
my personal values that,personally and professionally?
How does it also match up withthat organization? What are they
thinking? What are their values?

(55:54):
And where are they at? And canit can can they mix? Can they
align, right? Can we collaboratetogether? Or are they very just,
and again, I won't say anyspecific agencies, but some can
be just stuck on their ways. Andthis is what they've been doing.
And this is how they're gonnacontinue on. Right. So with any
kind of change, there will berisks. With any kind of growth,

(56:16):
there's going to be risks, but Ithink it's also okay to reinvent
the wheel from time to time. AndI think that's the beautiful
thing of having new studentswith that new energy, new fresh
perspective. And even for me,like I shout out all the
students like I'm learning a lotfrom from y'all too, because
when I went to school, it wasdifferent from when students are

(56:36):
going to school now. So it'sreally cool that both our field
is constantly growing, theirapproaches, practices, it's
starting to change and adapt aswell. And I think to just
throwing the technology piecelike a lot more information is
being passed around at a quickerrate. So in a way, we're all
growing faster through ourdifferent resources, technology,

(57:01):
even to be able to do this.
Zoom, you know, web, podcasts,that view has been like a really
cool opportunity, and even justgetting to know you, Brad, I've
learned a lot from you, as youknow, a mature student like I
think it goes back to again, theeach one teach one piece, we can
always learn from one another,whether you're a student, Prof,
someone in the field, but ittakes that openness and that

(57:23):
that humility piece.

Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us today Bayani. I think
it's been a really awesomeopportunity to not just hear
about your perspectives in termsof your position as a practicum
placement co-ordinator, but alsoas well looking beyond that into
just what it's been like on thisjourney of social work. So thank
you.

Absolutely, Brad. Yeah, thanks again. And I
think yeah, it's been great justsharing ideas and hopefully the
the conversations that we havecan add value to a lot of
students or anyone who'slistening into this podcast. And
you know, I give you a lot ofprops to for having this
platform and inviting guestslike myself and everyone else to

(58:09):
just share their experiencesshare their stories, what
they've learned in theirprofessional career and personal
life experiences to I think it'sit's a huge value add so thank
you so much for inviting me andI'm looking forward to hearing
like other future episodes

This podcast is brought to you by the University
of Regina Faculty of SocialWork. Go to
www.uregina.ca/socialwork tofind out more about the program.
The views, Information andopinions expressed in this
podcast do not necessarilyrepresent the views of our
sponsors.

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Ep. 6 - Social Work Practicum Co-ordinator, Bayani Trinidad BA, BSW, RSW

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep. 6 - Social Work Practicum Co-ordinator, Bayani Trinidad BA, BSW, RSW