The Many Parks of Denver

So even though graduate school is busy, Denver is a great city for going outside and taking a break.  There are several wonderful parks in the Denver area.  Also, with 300 days of sun a year, parks are the perfect getaway for a little self-care.  For a map of Denver parks, go here. Enjoy!

 

City Park (1700 N. York St.)

• Facilities: 

  Benches, Drinking Fountain, Picnic Tables, Playground, Flower Beds, Walking/Jogging Path, Interactive Fountain, Lake, Baseball / Softball Field, Handball Court, Soccer Field, Football Field, Tennis Court, Horseshoe Pits, Museum, Zoo, Pavilion, Historic

Cheesman Park (1599 E. 8th Ave.)

• Facilities: 

  Benches, Drinking Fountain, Pavilion, Picnic Tables, Playground, Flower Beds, Fountain, Walking/Jogging Path, Bike/Pedestrian Path, Shelter, Scenic Views

Washington Park (701 S. Franklin St.)

• Facilities: 

  Recreation Center, Flower Beds, Picnic Shelter, Benches, Drinking Fountain, Grills, Picnic Tables, Playground, Lake, Fishing, Paddle Boat Rentals, Restroom, Tennis Court, Basketball Court, Bike/pedestrian Path, Horseshoe Pits, Lawn Bowling, Jogging Path

For more information on Denver parks, go here. 

 

GSSW closed in celebration of the Holidays

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

The Graduate School of Social Work & the University of Denver will be closed from Tuesday, December 25, 2012 – Tuesday, January 1, 2013 in celebration of the Holiday Season!

Thank you to everyone for your continual support of GSSW. Our school could not be the amazing community it is without everyone’s support, and contributions.

See everyone in 2013!

GSSW Faculty, Staff, Students, and Supporters

Insight from a caseworker re Denver Post article from 11/4

Insight from a caseworker re Denver Post article from 11/4

GSSW Alumni Rebecca Meyers writes in response to recent discussions around Child Welfare. Thanks for being a great representative for GSSW Rebecca!

Denver Restaurant Week

Denver Restaurant Week is February 25-March 9 this year!  Restaurant week is a two-week celebration during which restaurants have unique multi-course meals for fixed prices.  Many local restaurants participate and it seems to be quite popular for Denver residents.  Not only is it great motivation to try new restaurants, but the unique courses are completely worth it.

Prices for Restaurant week:  $26.40 for 1, and $52.80 for 2.

See the complete list of participating restaurants here.

Make sure you make reservations ahead of time!  Popular restaurants like Linger and Root Down were booked through the entire restaurant week on the first night.

Free Events in Denver

So you’re a graduate student and you have no money. Why not take advantage of free events that happen every first weekend of the month in Denver?

First Fridays:

Art District on Santa Fe: Art Walk 6-9pm

Over 60 galleries participate in this free event. Stroll down Sante Fe with your friends and pop into art galleries for art, food, and drinks. The ArtDistrict is located on and near Santa Fe Drive and Kalamath Street between Alameda and 12th Ave.  There is also a shuttle that runs on First Fridays. Check out the website for more information.

First Saturdays:

Denver Art Museum: General admission is free! Open 10am-5pm

Head downtown to the Denver Art Museum, where even the building is a beauty in itself.  Visit the two sides of the building: the Frederic Hamilton building, and the North building. Honestly, you could spend all day here. Head to the website for details on the collections and exhibitions.

Summer Plans

I’m preparing to take my last final in just a few hours and could not be more excited!  I will be heading out afterwards to celebrate with friends and enjoy the first day of summer vacation.

The summer will prove not to be much of a vacation after all.  I’ll be nannying full-time for 3 kids, 10 and twin 6-year-olds.   In addition, I’ll be working 12 hours as a part-time staff member for my internship host from this year.  They have a had an increase in work and needed some additional hours and since I’m already trained, I’m a cheap new employee.  It is really nice to be asked to take the position and shows that my work during the year for them was worth it. 

Luckily, I’ll have a few weeks off throughout the summer to enjoy the Colorado sunshine and mountains.  I am excited to spend my summer away from school and have already created a summer leisure reading list!

Outdoorsy Self Care

One of the important things that they drill into us at GSSW is SELF CARE!  I’m sure you’ve read other blog posts where people mention some of the things they do to balance out their lives and take care of themselves.  Now that the weather is getting nice here in Denver, there are some really awesome ways to get some of that self care…

• Some friends and I have formed a volleyball team and we play four games a week at Wash Park.  We entered a league through Sports Monster which is a great adult recreation league that offers sports such as basketball, broomball, dodgeball, kickball, ultimate frisbee, soccer, and many others throughout the year.
• I recently entered in a 5K race benefiting a non-profit organization called Girls on the Run of the Rockies.  It’s an awesome agency that encourages healthy lifestyles for girls.  Denver and surrounding cities offer regular opportunities to participate in similar races (you can find a list of them at Running Guru).
• Going to a Rockies game on the weekend is a great way to get outside and enjoy Denver’s spring time.  You can either sit in the Rock Pile for only $4 or you can go on StubHub to get some great deals.
• Although I haven’t been there yet, I hear that Red Rocks Amphitheater is an amazing entertainment venue.  This summer they have some great bands coming to play including O.A.R., Dispatch, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Ray LaMontagne, Bassnectar, and many more.
• BBQ-ing with friends is also a big hit when the weather gets nice and it is a great way to relax (self care!) on a graduate student budget.

These are definitely just a few of the outdoorsy self care options to partake in here in Denver–make sure to check them out when you get here!

Denver Family Institute and GSSW

As many of you may have noticed, GSSW offers tons of ways for you to customize your MSW degree. These offerings are there in conjunction to the multitude of internship opportunities to give you specialized knowledge in areas that you are interested in practicing once you have graduated.

A list of certificates can be found at: http://www.du.edu/socialwork/programs/msw/concentration/certprograms/index.html

I specifically have been interested in the Animal Assisted Social Work Certificate. That is what I came to DU to pursue. Little did I know that I could also go after another certificate (not all will allow you to do two, so please check to see if your interest allows you to go after two certificates). After spending a lot of time in the classroom and time in the field I have decided that Families and Couples are my favorite population. They are who I want to work with in a clinical setting after graduation. DU’s joint program with Denver Family Institute (DFI)  is a great way to get additional specialized training and intense supervision in that particular area. This last weekend I spent 6 hours on Saturday interviewing for the few slots they hold open for GSSW students. Luckily, I got one!!

This means that during my concentration year I will be taking classes at DU and at DFI. I will have two sets of supervision each week and will be working directly with clients, honing my skills as a couples and family therapist. When I am done with my classes at DFI (one day a week for an additional year after GSSW graduation). I will have all the classes required to take the LMFT exam (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) along with hours clocked toward my LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). Talk about kill two birds with one stone. I am beyond thrilled!

If you have an interest in working with couples and families, I urge you to look into the DFI/DU program offered here at GSSW. It is a unique learning experience that adds focus and richness to your educational experience at GSSW!

Visit DFI’s Website here: http://www.denverfamilyinstitute.org/

Happy Trails!

Cori

Rockies Opening Weekend

Coors Field has an absolutely AMAZING view of the mountains!

Last weekend was Rockies opening weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors field and we couldn’t have asked for better weather!  I went to the Saturday evening game with some friends and it was a sunny 70 degrees–definite t-shirt weather even though it was only the beginning of April.

Rockie’s games are amazing for several reasons:

• The view from the stadium is absolutely stunning–I watched the sun set behind the snow-covered mountains while enjoying a great baseball game!
• Tickets are super cheap!  You can sit in the rock pile (which is in the outfield) for only $4 per person ($1 for kids and seniors).
• The fans are extremely excited to be there–the wave went around the entire stadium at least 5 or 6 times!

I definitely plan to go to as many Rockies games as I possibly can this season because it was a great way to spend a relaxing evening with my friends!  So if you’re looking for something fun to do when you’re visiting or once you move here, make sure to check out the Rockies!

Gooooooooooo Rockies!!!!

Beautiful backdrop for the game!

So happy to be at the game!

GSSW Associate Dean of Research Looks at Risk and Resilience

GSSW professor and scholar Jeff Jenson’s Aaron Rosen Lecture* was recently published in the journal, Research on Social Work Practice.¹ In the article, he summarizes the history of research on interventions to preventing childhood and adolescent problem behavior including the shifts in theoretical orientations across the decades. Beginning in the 1980s, he argues, school-based prevention programs began to integrate social learning theory  and focused more specifically on evidence about risk and protective factors.  In one study completed by Jenson, the Youth Matters curriculum was implemented in half of the sample schools and in those schools there was a significant decrease in bully victimization and relational victimization. In a second study examining the effects of the afterschool program, The Bridge Project – a collaboration between the Denver Public Housing Authority and the University of Denver – Jenson found significant reductions in targeted risks and increases in protection factors.

These and other advances in the practice of prevention are particularly encouraging and the research can help guide practitioners in developing and offering evidence-based interventions to support youth and young adults.

*The Aaron Rosen award is an honor established by the Society for Social Work and Research and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, honoring Dr. Rosen, with a lecture by a prominent social work researcher whose cumulative work has moved the field of social work forward in terms of integration of research and practice.

¹Jenson, J. M. (2010). Advances in prevention childhood and adolescent problem behavior. Research on Social Work Practice, 20, 701-713.