A trio of Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare (SSW) students were featured in the fall/winter 2025-26 issue of Currents, the official newsletter of the National Association of Social Workers’ New York chapter (NASW-NY).
Nicole Paterson, MSW '27, and Georgia Vourou, BSW '26, each co-authored articles with Clinical Associate Professor Leah Topek-Walker, DSW, LCSW-R, while Kamilah Pasha, BSW '26, penned a Student Voices piece.
Spotlight on Library Social Work
Paterson’s offering, "Finding Hope in the Public Library: Perspectives on Social Work Practice in the Current Context from Both Faculty Supervisor and a Social Work Student Interning in a Public Library," articulates the challenges and hope found in contemporary library social work.
“Publishing this piece alongside Dr. Topek-Walker has been deeply meaningful and reinforces the importance of library social work,” said Paterson, who recently completed her first practicum placement at the Smithtown Library.
“Deep appreciation is extended to the NASW-NY team for uplifting social work student voices and highlighting the essential role of libraries as hubs of community care,” she added.
Vourou’s article is titled "Compassionate Crisis Intervention: Trauma-Informed De-Escalation for Libraries from Student and Faculty Perspective," and discusses a practice research project she is participating in that provides applicable de-escalation training to librarians.
“Library staff often interact with vulnerable populations, and it is critical to use a trauma-informed approach to effectively engage with them,” said Vourou.
“Participating in this training and writing the article with my faculty supervisor, Dr. Topek-Walker, has given me important insight that I will carry with me throughout my social work career,” she added.
“Writing and publishing is an effective way to share information, and Currents is an opportune journal read by social workers across New York,” Dr. Topek-Walker added. “Both Georgia and Nicole have accomplished huge milestones for themselves as professionals and for library social work. Working with both of them on these projects was nothing short of a privilege.”
NASW-NY Unification and a Community of Social Workers
In Pasha’s Student Voices piece, “Chapter Unification in Action,” the BSW senior details the positive community impact that the NASW-NY unification has had.
“The unification of NASW-NY has offered a renewed sense of stability, solidarity, and shared purpose that continues to deepen my connection to the profession,” Pasha says.
“In these uncertain times, being part of a unified professional body offers reassurance that we are not alone in facing these challenges,” she added. “Through NASW-NY’s unified structure, I have found greater access to statewide initiatives, student forums, and mentorship networks that foster collaboration and connection.”
Pasha serves as the SSW’s NASW-NY student board representative and is a member of the Undergraduate Social Welfare Alliance (USWA) executive board.
