Giving Back

Inspired by her instructors, FHSU grad now helping others as a social worker

It was not anything special that Michelle Daniel did for Devani Prieto at Riley Elementary School in Great Bend. It was the little things. Prieto, who did not know a word of English when she started kindergarten, was just comforted by Daniel’s presence.

“She was always involved,” Prieto said. “You could meet with her in the classroom. It was nice. I could have one-on-one time with her during lunch.”

That social worker at her school inspired Prieto. Now, the studentturned-social worker provides the inspiration.

“The first reason I wanted to go into social work was my elementary school social worker,” Prieto said. “She was kind of an inspiration. I want to do what she does one day. Really, trying to make a difference in people’s lives, whether it be just one person’s impact.”

Prieto, a 2018 Bachelor of Social Work graduate from Fort Hays State University, works as a social work specialist in the crisis stabilization unit at Larned State Hospital. The Great Bend resident commutes to work, much like she did in earning her degree at FHSU.

As a student, Prieto worked fulltime at a Great Bend bank and commuted to Hays for classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She graduated summa cum laude last spring with a 4.0 grade-point average. Prieto was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award in the Department of Social Work.

Not only did Prieto go the extra mile to earn her degree, she also worried in the back of her mind about finding a job and keeping one. As an undocumented immigrant who came into the United States as a child, Prieto is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA). Prieto’s family came to the United States from Juarez, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, when she was three years old. Program participants must renew their status every two years. However, Prieto, 22, still fears for her future if immigration policy changes to negatively impact her.

“I was a DACA student. That in itself was kind of stressful,” Prieto said. “That added stressors, trying to figure out if I would even graduate and find a job. Thankfully, I was able to stay on DACA and complete school. If (DACA) were to be rescinded now, I would basically lose my job.”

Prieto and other graduates like her from the social work program provide assistance to a part of FHSU’s service area that is in dire need of it. The Department of Social Work has had cohort programs for several years in Liberal, Dodge City and Garden City. Students can stay in those cities and earn an associate’s degree, then obtain a four-year degree from FHSU without studying at the Hays campus.

Dr. Tim Davis, chair of the Department of Social Work, said graduates can then stay in their communities, where they are needed.

“It’s great for these communities in filling needs for social workers,” Davis said. “We have a lot of people who couldn’t come to Hays because they have families. We’ve been working on reaching out to those communities. I think that’s one of the areas Fort Hays State excels in. We’re the only fouryear university in western Kansas. We know the area; we know what the need is.”

FHSU is expanding the cohort program to Colby and Norton in fall 2019. The expansion was made possible by a $95,000 grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Classes will be held at Colby Community College and Valley Hope in Norton.

“If there wasn’t a need, we wouldn’t have developed cohorts,” said Dr. Patricia Levy, professor in the Department of Social Work. “There are some counties where there are no – or only one – social worker.”

The Department of Social Work also is taking the necessary steps to add a master’s degree program that will focus on clinical work.

Levy, who has been teaching in the university’s social work program for 18 years, got to know Prieto inside and outside of class. Prieto, a 2014 graduate of Great Bend High School, talked to Levy about diversity issues in Great Bend. “Devani was aware of some of the problems Hispanic students have in the high school,” Levy said. “She made us aware of them.”

Prieto, who did her practicum at Larned State Hospital, was hired last July after graduation. She works with patients, families, and community providers to develop and implement appropriate discharge plans. She works with a treatment team to assist patients in reaching their treatment goals.

“We make sure they have the support when they go back out,” Prieto said.

Davis said Prieto has what it takes to make a difference.

“One of the things that is going to make her a great social worker is her determination,” Davis said.

“She was one of the best students in her group,” Levy said. “She was highly motivated and very committed.”

Davis said there is a misperception about what a social worker does, with people thinking it only concerns child welfare.

“You find social workers in all kinds of settings, essentially any place you find people helping other people in a psychosocial capacity,” Davis said. “Hospitals look at social workers to reduce admission rates, to curb the use of emergency rooms. Schools use social workers as an outreach to the families and communities.”

Davis said some social workers come from disadvantaged situations growing up.

“Our majors often experience adversity in their lives. They want to help other people who struggle, too,” Davis said.

“That’s one of the things that makes Devani’s character important,” he added. “She has those skills, she’s overcome adversity, and now she’s turning that around. She is an inspiration.”

Prieto handled the stress from working a full-time job and getting home in the early evening the two days a week she had classes in Hays. It was homework time – all the time. There was little time to have fun.

“It was very stressful,” Prieto said. “I never thought I was going to quit. I knew it was something I needed to do. I wanted to do it. I just kept pushing through.”

Prieto said she has more free time these days. But that might all change if the Department of Social Work does add a master’s program.

Prieto said she would get her master’s at Fort Hays State.

That would mean more miles on the highway from Great Bend to Hays, a road Prieto knows all too well.

“They’re not done with me yet,” she said.