Community colleges have long served as critical access points to higher education for first-generation and historically marginalized students. For human services students, field placement experiences often represent both an introduction to professional practice and a pivotal moment of identity formation. This oral presentation examines how experiential learning, mentorship, and reflective practice shape professional identity among community college students transitioning into BSW and MSW programs. Grounded in constructivist epistemology and informed by experiential and transformative learning theories, this presentation synthesizes empirical literature with reflective analysis to explore how students make meaning of academic and professional transitions. Prior research highlights persistent challenges, including financial and time constraints, limited institutional familiarity, and uncertainty about belonging in higher education spaces. Despite these barriers, supportive supervisory relationships and opportunities for structured reflection consistently emerge as central to building confidence, resilience, and commitment to the social work profession. Rather than framing resilience as an individual trait, this presentation conceptualizes resilience as a relational and contextual process, constructed through mentorship, validation, and access to supportive learning environments. By honoring the historical role of community colleges in expanding access to social work education, this work grounds present-day educational practice in student voice and lived experience. The presentation concludes with implications for social work education, emphasizing reflective supervision, mentorship-informed field learning, and institutional practices that intentionally support professional identity development during critical educational transitions.
- Professional Identity Formation Among Community College Students Transitioning into Social Work
- Melissa MericRoni Berger (Advisor) - Adelphi University, School of Social Work
- Scholarship and Creative Works Conference (Adelphi University, 04/28/2026)
- Adelphi University; School of Social Work
- Presentation
- 991004536399506266