Class Year: 2022
Program Major: Master of Social Work (MSW) with a Certificate in Trauma-Informed Practice
Katherine 鈥淩inn'' Ramcke had yet to earn her bachelor鈥檚 degree when she began graduate study at the Jack, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
As an undergraduate at Wittenberg University, she already knew she wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Because Wittenberg participated in the Mandel School鈥檚 3+2 Social Work program, she had the chance to start her master鈥檚 degree program while completing her final year of college.
Because no one from Wittenberg had yet participated in the 3+2 program, Ramcke worked with the university to create her own transition plan, which now can serve as a model for students who follow. The leadership skills she developed there came with her to Cleveland鈥攕he quickly engaged at the Mandel School and now serves as the executive director for the Mandel Council for Student Leadership. Through that position, she hosts guest lectures and seminars, creates and runs programs for fellow students, and brainstorms ideas with other CWRU Graduate Student Council leaders.
In her first-year field placement at , Ramcke assisted adolescents in their transitional-living residential program with group programming, links to resources and opportunities to develop general living skills.
Her second-year field placement is with , an addiction treatment center. That experience has given her the opportunity to train in dialectical behavioral therapy, become certified in therapeutic crisis intervention and serve on a trauma-informed committee.
鈥淚 feel compelled to change systems for the better,鈥 said Ramcke. 鈥淭he Mandel School challenges its students to play an active role in their communities and to continuously reevaluate their roles as times change and as we evolve. I鈥檓 really looking forward to continuing to grow as a social worker this semester.鈥