In honour of World Social Work Day, which is celebrated on the third Tuesday in March, we meet three Flinders University Social Work graduates and learn about their fulfilling careers helping others.

Port Augusta is the place for Larry

South Korean Master of Social Work graduate Larry Kim has made the town of Port Augusta his home, having completed a rural placement in the northern city with the Department for Child Protection. The international graduate has been able to fast-track his career through this opportunity and is now employed full-time as a Social Worker.

Larry (MSW ’21) says he was drawn to a career as a Social Worker to help a diverse range of communities.

“Being in the social work field means your values in life are more inclined to focus on helping others rather than financial reward, and that is the reason why I decided to go with this career – to be able to help others,” says Larry.

“I’m passionate about my role – especially to promote the safety of vulnerable children in the community and address the high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People involved with the child protection system.”

While studying at Flinders, Larry found plenty of support from staff when it came to forming a career path during his degree.

“Flinders University staff were particularly helpful in terms of doing my placement, and I would not have been able to decide to do my placement in the regional town without their assistance,” says Larry. “I am so grateful to be able to receive the support from them.”

Read more about Larry’s story at https://blogs.flinders.edu.au/international/2022/03/09/rural-placement-lead-social-work-graduate-larry-to-rewarding-career/

Profiling the work within the Department for Child Protection

Flinders alumni Liam Tang (BSportHlthPhysAct ’17, MSW ’21) and Humaira Yousaf (MSW ’15) have both been highlighted by the South Australian Department of Child Protection, in honour of World Social Work Day.

Liam Tang graduated with a Masters of Social Work in 2021 and is now a Social Worker with the Child Abuse Report Line in South Australia’s Department for Child Protection.

Starting out as a volunteer Youth Leader with his local church, Liam went on to become a Youth Worker and got his social work degree from Flinders University with the ultimate goal of wanting to help and support others in their time of need.

Liam says highlights of his job include “having the opportunity to talk to different members of the community that share in the same passion of keeping children and young people safe as I do, but also having a read through and having a look at when we’ve gotten involved and finding out there’s been good outcomes for children and young people.”

“Although this role is pretty difficult, I manage that through healthy self-care tactics [and] I feel as if I’m making a difference in the lives of children and young people,” he says.

Humaira Yousaf graduated from a Masters of Social Work in 2015 and now works as a Kinship Care Practitioner.

“I’ve been working with the Department for Child Protection for over seven years. The highlights and the rewards of this job are those little things you see and experience on a daily basis,” she says. “Just seeing a smile on a young person when they see you, building those relationships, which are meaningful.”

Humaira encourages others to consider social work, especially if they are a people person.

“Social Work is a wide field, there are lots of opportunities and lots of ways to work with people and make a difference in their life,” she says.

Read more about Liam and Humaira’s work at https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/news/dcp-news/celebrating-world-social-work-day