Sanju Dhakal is a Master of Social Work student and a graduate assistant for the Social Innovation department. Sanju’s assistantship is primarily research focused, with the rest of her time dedicated to assisting Muhammad Hossain in curriculum and course design. She is currently involved in multiple research projects; one of which is titled, “Social Work Education and Practice in South Asia”. Sanju explained how there is no licensing process for social work in South Asia and that this research means a lot to her as she is from Nepal.

Sanju stated that their research “can help future social workers to understand that social work education and practice need to respond to local cultural, social, and institutional contexts. This research can contribute to social work education to be more accessible, inclusive, cultural[ly] responsive, and supportive”.

The team’s project was selected in the International Association of School of Social Work and Sanju had the opportunity to present the research at the International Graduate Student Conference located in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Prior to her time at Grand Valley, Sanju was involved in advocacy work in Nepal. She founded a non-profit in Nepal called Save a Child’s Future that provided education and life skills training to highly marginalized children in the Chepang community. Sanju pursued her assistantship because she wanted to gain research experience which is especially important for her plan to earn a Ph.D. She wanted to explore topics associated with social work and social work students. Sanju has a passion for making education more inclusive and accessible. She also hopes to publish her own articles in the future.

Sanju explained that when she first began advocacy work, she was looking to find an immediate solution to every problem. However, her assistantship has taught her to think through her decisions and find more evidence prior to making a conclusion. She explained that she is always asking questions and has learned not to rush her work. After graduation, she is hoping to be a professor, researcher, or policy advocate. She is passionate about advocacy work and expressed that research can help find conclusions to support effective advocacy. She believes that her graduate assistantship is setting her up for her Ph.D. and increasing her passion for furthering research in social work. She is currently a clinical social work intern and is appreciative to have both clinical and research experience in social work.

We wish you the best of luck in your future, Sanju!