With a team of social workers and graduate students, Catholic Charities’ Compass program helps residents of Wards 7 and 8 transform their lives — while helping to fulfill graduate students’ dreams of becoming social workers.
The Pope Francis Scholarship was established in 2017 in collaboration with the National Catholic School of Social Work at The Catholic University of America (CUA) to continue to develop Compass while giving D.C. students hands-on experience in social work. Since its inception, 31 individuals have been named Pope Francis Scholars and received scholarships that cover graduate school tuition and provide career opportunities.
The application process begins each spring, with selected scholars beginning the two-year master’s degree program at CUA in the fall. In addition to their classes, students participate in community outreach events as interns twice a month and meet with Compass staff.
The Compass program is a neighborhood-based team that provides case management to adults in Wards 7 and 8. With the motto “Navigated by You,” the program provides clients opportunities to work with a Compass staff member to identify goals such as finding employment or a place to live and take steps toward reaching them.
After completing the master’s program, scholars become employees at Catholic Charities. While most scholars work with the Compass program, others have gone on to work in other Catholic Charities social-service programs, such as School Based Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Service, and Anchor Counseling.
Haley Drier heard about the scholarship program as she was completing a year of service in Ecuador.
“The Pope Francis Scholarship was an opportunity for me to explore what impact social work could have on the communities closer to home,” Drier says. “I was immediately drawn to the program because of its focus on long-term partnerships with individuals and communities.”
As part of the first group of scholars , Drier received hands-on experience working with the residents of Ward 7 and 8. Upon graduating, she continued with the Compass program and was recently promoted to clinical supervisor.
Ahmed Salimon was a scholar whose journey began with a happenstance encounter.
After speaking with a CUA professor at a seminar, Salimon decided to apply for a Pope Francis Scholarship. Once accepted, he embarked on a two-year journey that brought him face-to-face with residents in need of help.
“The scholarship gave me the opportunity to assess Ward 7 and 8 in a manner that I had not been able to. Placing me within the community, speaking with residents and allowing me to observe their strength and struggles helped widen my understanding of their needs,” he says.
After graduating with a master’s degree in 2020, Salimon worked full time with the Compass program for almost four years.
His career in social work has now taken him on a different path at Catholic Charities. As a data analyst, he uses the skills he learned from his graduate studies and experience in the Compass program.
“Direct practice allowed me to sharpen my observational, problem-solving and advocacy skills. All of which transfer directly into my current role,” he says. “Having a social work background allows me to maintain a firm and clear grasp on the ’why’ of the agency and helps me to continue learning, seeking and developing client-centered approaches that support improved engagement with our services, leading to salient data inputs.”
To learn more about the Pope Francis Scholarship, visit the Compass web page.