What could be better than embarking on a path to a fulfilling career and along the way finding your life partner? I recently met Michael and Alyssa Aguirre who were eager to tell me their story and to thank the Hartford Foundation for funding the Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Education, which helped bring these two social workers together. Here is what they shared:
Our story begins at the University of Michigan School of Social Work in Ann Arbor, where we were both students in the Geriatric Scholarship Program, originally funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation. The unique opportunities offered to Geriatric Scholars drew us to the master’s social work program at Michigan. Being a part of this small cohort, we quickly met at a scholars’ event and got to know each other through several classes during the first nine months of graduate school.
Being a Geriatric Scholar also required that students complete an internship in Detroit, and we decided to carpool together over the summer after finding out that our internships were nearby. As the weeks went on, we realized how much we looked forward to our conversations during our long drives together. We discovered that we were both passionate about the outdoors, our faith, music, biking and of course, older adults. These shared interests bonded us together as we started dating and fell in love.
We married in June 2011, and are currently living in Minneapolis and working hard to ensure that seniors in our community get the support and resources they need. Michael is working for the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging and serves as a board member on the Minnesota Board of Social Work. Alyssa has been a care consultant at the Alzheimer’s Association for three years and is a certified Caregiver Coach.
We believe it is critical to invest in students who are interested in pursuing careers in the aging field; and we are so grateful for the Hartford Foundation’s commitment to improve the lives of older Americans.
The Foundation is very proud of the success of our programs that help recruit students into geriatrics health professions. And we are also proud that one of our programs has resulted in a happy union of two geriatric social workers. The Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Education – abbreviated as HPPAE, but pronounced “happy” for short – supported the internships at aging services organizations that brought Michael and Alyssa together.
The HPPAE model, developed by the Social Work Leadership Institute led by Patricia Volland, MSW, MBA, gives master’s-level social work students field experience through rotational internships working with older adults, while providing instructions and supervision in gerontological social work competencies. There are currently 92 HPPAE programs in schools of social work. Over the next three years the Hartford Foundation, in partnership with the Council on Social Work Education and the Veteran’s Health Administration, will bring the HPPAE model to the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers of the VA.
Who knows how many other HPPAE unions will be inspired?