In 2013, Christine Igarta, GSS ’15, was living the computer scientist’s dream. After completing her undergraduate studies, she landed a job at Google coordinating high-profile events. Her days were filled with exciting projects and professional prestige. But despite the impressive resume bullets, something was missing.
Christine was a contract worker at Google, and she said the divide between contract workers and full-time employees began to loom large.
Once office identification badges became color-coded, “I felt like a second-class citizen,” she said. “I loved what I did and who I did it with. It was just a systems flaw, I guess, for it to feel like a caste system.”
Christine began to take on more responsibility managing Google’s North American mentorship program, helping onboard contract workers as they acclimated to the company culture. This was after Google acquired YouTube, DoubleClick, and Zagat, so the energy was red-hot and things moved quickly.
As she submerged herself into this role, however, Christine realized she found more passion in mentoring others than coordinating events. Listening to people’s stories and struggles as they navigated the culture and workplace relationships pulsed new meaning into her daily workload. Her job could be exciting, but she’d discovered a spark for something more. The time had come to make a change.
“It’s about to be my 10th anniversary [of graduating with my Master of Social Work degree]this May, and I still love it,” Christine said. “I have zero regrets. [Becoming a social worker] was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Taking the Leap From Tech to Social Work
Making such a significant career change wasn’t easy. Christine consulted with close friends and her own therapist about the back-and-forth playing out in her mind. She’d spent four years at Ithaca College learning computer science and worked at one of the most fun and largest tech companies in the world. How could she reconcile leaving that behind?
It took a lot of reflection. Christine recalled a school social worker who had a large impact on her adolescence, and her therapist was a licensed clinical social worker, too. The profession had found her in many subtle ways. This time, it was calling for more curiosity and attention. After matriculating two Master’s-level social work classes at Hunter College, Christine was convinced. She applied to multiple MSW programs in New York City, and when it was time to choose a path, she felt pulled toward Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus.
“The vibe at Fordham was different – they were very progressive, forward-thinking, and creative,” she said. “There is a banner that says, ‘New York is my campus, Fordham is my school.’ I loved that energy. Fordham embodied that with its Lincoln Center campus in the middle of Manhattan.”
Once enrolled, one of the most pivotal aspects of Christine’s MSW experience was field education internships. Her first internship at Young Adult Institute, serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, confirmed her passion for group work.
“We would provide psychoeducation training and help [the clients]learn certain life skills: adaptive skills, stress management, money management, conflict resolution, and social skills,” she said. “I fell in love with teaching in group settings.”
In year two, Christine was accepted into a prestigious trauma-focused internship program. However, after consulting with a trusted GSS professor, she changed course and pivoted to a field placement that was more closely aligned with her goals: school social work. While the experience had its challenges – navigating the New York City public school system, understanding the rights of parents and caregivers as stakeholders, and interdisciplinary work with teachers and related service providers proved to be a steep learning curve – Christine said the 30-minute counseling sessions she spent with students made everything worth it.
“I felt that I was in the right place at the right time, doing exactly what I wanted to be doing and what I needed to [learn how to do],” she said.
Celebrating 10 Years of Meaningful Work
As she crosses the threshold of a decade with her social work license, Christine currently works as a school social worker at the Peck Slip School in Manhattan. She sees working with educators as a blessing, and those educators – as well as hundreds of students – collaborate with her for support through their challenges. Christine said navigating the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly difficult, but it forced school communities to become even closer.
“We were basically building the plane as we flew it,” she said about pivoting to online education. “It was a matter of people supporting people and figuring out how to make something work that didn’t exist.”
Being a social worker comes with its own set of unknowns, Christine said, but the common thread is always the empowerment of others. Humanity overcomes all.
“Ultimately it’s humanity we buy into in addition to the career choice,” she said. “Do you want to help other humans?” If you said yes, Christine believes you would probably make a good social worker.
That help can come in many different forms – from clinical assessment and diagnosis to research, advocacy, or administration in schools, hospitals, the government, or private practice, for example – but Christine didn’t necessarily know that before entering the social work world. She thanks the mentorship she received from the faculty at GSS for showing her the breadth of the profession and the versatility of the MSW skillset.
“The portability of an MSW is undervalued, or maybe not understood [by those who aren’t in the field],” she said. “Professors at Fordham helped me reframe my own understanding of what social work could be.”
Advice for Career Changers
If Christine could travel back in time and tell her 2013 self anything about the profession, she’d say that it isn’t for the faint of heart – but if you can learn to appreciate the value of growing pains, it’s worth it every time.
“If you build a tolerance for discomfort, you will convert any type of pain into a light that shines bright for other people,” she said.
Like other professions, the passion can ebb and flow. There are days when you’re not going to want to get out of bed. Christine said in her ten years, she’s experienced it.
But her mission keeps her going. When a kid struggling with their big feelings becomes openly curious about changing their behavior or when Christine can make a family feel less alone with their adversity, those meaningful moments bring with them a wave of appreciation and clarity for why she does this work.
“Being in my tenth year, and having such appreciation for social work as a practice and a profession, and seeing where my graduate school classmates ended up and what they’ve become in their careers,” Christine said, “It’s still inspiring. It’s irreplaceable.”
