Lillia Sammler
Lillia Sammler ’17 opted for the Practicum track in the Sociology Graduate Program and is glad she did.
She graduated with her B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology-Criminology in 2017 and started the Masters in Sociology program that fall semester.
She finished up all of her coursework between fall and spring semesters. During spring semester she also did her practicum.
Sammler spent about 10 hours a week at Hocking Valley Community Residential Center, a Community Correctional Facility (CCF) in Nelsonville that rehabilitates juvenile offenders as part of a felony diversion program.
Her Role
She helped the kids with schoolwork, supervised them during day to day activities, participated in recreation with them, co-facilitated a drug group, attended team meetings, and intakes and got to know the ins and outs of the facilities as well as everyone’s positions.
Making Connections
This practicum gave Sammler the opportunity to connect with University of Cincinnati’s researcher who does CCF evaluations as part of contract between the Department of Youth Services and the university.
She was a wonderful resource for Sammler as she worked on her policy paper on the topic of CCFs.
Finishing Up and Her New Job
She is enrolled in one summer credit hour to finish her policy paper, which is required in order to graduate with her Masters degree
“The skills I developed from working at this facility made me familiar with the criminal justice system,” Sammler says, “and gave me experience working with troubled and traumatized youth which is incredibly valuable for social work positions.”
The practicum had a direct impact on her landing a job at Job and Family Services in Fairfield County where she will be a case manager for Child Protection Services.
She began that job this week!
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