SOLAR Brings Employees' Dreams to Light
Through an educational partnership with Stony Brook University (SBU), a select group of Samaritan Daytop Village employees are within reach of their dream - a Master of Social Work degree.
The agency and SBU’s School of Social Welfare jointly tailored a part-time academic and internship curriculum that fit within the full-time employees’ work schedules. After completing the program, the students would add an MSW from SBU to their list of credentials.
The unique path to grad school began in 2022 when the New York Community Trust awarded $475,000 (over 3 years) to cover the tuition costs for 10 employees seeking an advanced degree in Social Work.
The New York Community Trust is a public grant-making foundation that supports nonprofits making a difference. To learn more, visit https://www.nycommunitytrust.org.
Creating an employee opportunity unlike any other, VP of Residential Programs & Recovery Services Jim Hollywood and Dr. Melissa J. Earle, LCSW, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Addictions and Online Education for SBU’S School of Social Welfare, worked together to create SOLAR (Social Work Opportunities for Leadership in Addiction and Recovery).
Dr. Earle and Hollywood curated a selection of SBU’s courses that met the employees’ career goals (clinician, researcher, administrator, etc.) while fulfilling the university’s rigorous academic requirements for an MSW.
SOLAR is the latest addition to our list of employee benefits and free professional development trainings. The program gives employees a rare opportunity to earn a master’s degree online – for free - while still working full-time at the agency.
The enrolled employees began their classes in the Fall 2022 semester. Since then, they have been taking SBU’s accredited online classes together and receiving academic advisement from Dr. Earle. To graduate, the students must also complete mandatory intern hours at programs within our network of programs.
Stony Brook University was named one of two flagship universities by Governor Kathy Hochel. To learn more, visit https://news.stonybrook.edu/university/governor-hochul-names-stony-brook-a-flagship-university-in-state-of-the-state-address/.
One student just completed SOLAR in two years. During the SOLAR students’ orientation, Miranda Lopez, a Senior Case Manager at 53rd Street Men’s Shelter, learned she was eligible for an Advanced Standing program. Dr. Earle and Hollywood customized a separate academic program for Miranda, forgoing the need for her to retake those classes. By shaving a year off her schedule, Miranda graduated with the SBU School of Social Welfare class on May 16.
You can read more about Miranda’s experience with the SOLAR Program in this issue of the Mosaic.
As the group celebrates Miranda’s graduation, they look forward to one more year in the SOLAR program and receiving their degrees in 2025.
To learn more about the benefits of employment at Samaritan Daytop Village, visit our Careers page or email hr@samaritanvillage.org.