Lauro Zuniga, a graduate student in the Master of Social Work program at IU South Bend participated in the Office of Community Engagement’s ENGAGE IU South Bend internship program. The ENGAGE program supports students completing high-value, unpaid, off-campus internships that provide an important service to our community while developing students’ employment skills and ability to continue to serve the community in meaningful ways in the future.
Lauro worked with Nora Bautista-O’Neil, a licensed social worker and clinic lead at Health Plus Indiana, during the spring 2024 semester. As a Social Work Intern, Lauro shadowed and facilitated a weekly substance use recovery group for persons living with HIV and shadowing client meetings with case managers. He also helped with client intakes and assisted with other tasks as assigned. According to Lauro, the internship developed and reinforced several important skills including his active listening skills. He also learned a lot about care related to persons living with HIV. For Lauro the most meaningful and impactful part of the experience was getting to build relationships with clients and being an active and supportive presence when clients needed someone to listen. According to Lauro, “Learning about HIV has helped me understand the importance of destigmatizing the diagnosis and providing resources to those who live with HIV.”
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