Aug. 30, 2010

"I like that it's geared for working adults," said Adrian Lopez of Gilroy, a member of the first class of CSU Monterey Bay's Master of Social Work program. Lopez and the other 40 members of the inaugural class were invited to an open house on Aug. 20 to get to know each other before school started three days later. Students mingled with faculty and staff, community partners and university administrators.According to Dr. Mayleen True (pictured at right), MSW program director, the "pioneer" students are a mix of working professionals, recent college graduates and career changers. A majority of them come from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. Their majors represent a wide range of related disciplines: social work, health and human services, criminology, global studies, health education, human communication, human development (including child development), kinesiology, liberal studies, social and behavioral sciences and psychology.

Approximately 40 percent are Hispanic and bilingual (English-Spanish). Students also reported proficiency in American Sign Language, French, Italian, Russian and Tagalog.