ECSU Celebrates Its Volunteer Social Work Field Instructors

March is National Social Work Month – a time to recognize and honor the caring professional social workers who work in hospitals, mental health centers, schools, social service agencies, community centers, nursing homes and more.  ECSU offers a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree, and one of the main components of the program is Field Education that provides the opportunity for students to complete internships.  The Program recognized three field instructors with 32+ years combined service:  Kathleen Foreman (13 years), Lisa Giarmono (10 years), and Tammy Miller-White (9 years).

Foreman, Giarmono, and Miller-White provide internships at their organizations to lead students through the Field Education portion of their ECSU BSW degree.  Students integrate classroom knowledge with hands-on experience while working with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.  They are supervised by these experienced Field Instructors, and the field placement internship is vital to the professional development of these social work students.

“During your lifetime, a social worker will likely help you, a family member, or a friend with issues that can range from long-term care to substance abuse to finding community resources to support you and your family.  Social workers help us live and thrive,” said Dr. Kim Downing, Director of ECSU’s Social Work Program.  “Our dedicated field instructors provide supervision and training for our graduating seniors, and they are critical to our Social Work Program.”

Kathleen Foreman

Kathleen Foreman

Kathleen Foreman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1980. She graduated in 1993 from East Carolina University with a Criminal Justice degree, and in 1994, began her career as the first victim advocate for Hopeline, which offers crisis intervention and suicide prevention over the phone or by text.

Ms. Foreman was promoted to District Administrator of the Guardian ad Litem Program for the First Judicial District in 1995. In her role as an administrator, she recruits, trains, and supervises community volunteers to be advocates for abused and neglected children. She supervises more than 100 volunteers that advocate for about 125 children in the court district.

Ms. Foreman holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from UNC Pembroke.

Lisa Giarmono

Lisa Giarmono is an experienced School Counselor for the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public School System (ECPPS) who knows the importance of preparing 21st-century students for a global society. For the past 21 years, Ms. Giarmono has been an advocate, collaborator, and leader to promote equity and access for all students, families, and coworkers.

Lisa Giarmono

Since a young age, Lisa Giarmono has been driven to pursue her passion for helping people. She earned her BSW at Barton College, and completed her master’s degree in School Counseling. Ms. Giarmono was a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in Wilson, North Carolina, for three years before returning home to work for the ECPPS where she has taken on additional roles and responsibilities such as School Counselor Mentor, Regional Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Trainer, Field Instructor for ECSU’s Social Work Program, and a Field Instructor for School Counseling Graduate Interns.

Recently, she joined the ECP Backpack Board to help organize the weekend food program. Lisa loves spending time with her husband Anthony of 26 years and their two sons Joseph (22) and Thomas (17). She enjoys traveling, all things Disney, and relaxing by the ocean.

Tammy Miller-White

Tammy Miller-White

Tammy Miller-White is Dean of Students for Perquimans County Schools’ Accelerated Learning Center.

Ms. Miller-White has served in education for more than 25 years. During the past nine years, she has volunteered as a Field Instructor to supervise and prepare students to be competent, effective, and professional generalist social work practitioners through the student internship component of the ECSU BSW program.

She is a proud alum of ECSU, earning both a bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Social Work and a master’s in School Administration. Ms. Miller-White also earned a Master of Special Education (MSpED) degree.

Her philosophy for life is simple: be passionate, ethical, and knowledgeable about what you do.  Ms. Miller-White says an educational proverb to live by is, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will add to his learning.”