Students from the UW School of Social Work contribute to communities near home and afar, making this a better world for all children. Charles Sripranarapanakul visited Thailand, his father’s homeland, for the fist time when he was 16 years old, traveling with his father to remote towns and villages.

Charles had seen poverty before in his own neighborhood south of Seattle, and his family “had our own experience with it,” he remembers. But in Thailand, on the streets and in alleys, he saw “lots and lots of poor children, little children — young girls carrying their baby siblings, begging and asking for coins.” What he saw changed him forever.

Charles knew he wanted to make a difference in the lives of children growing up in tough circumstances. His parents had always taught him to “respect others and help when you can,” he says, and he began volunteering at Children’s Hospital. Later he became an AmeriCorps volunteer in an elementary school in White Center, working with immigrant children “from all over the world,” he recalls.

Charles recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work. His next stop? He has applied to the Peace Corps and hopes to be posted to Thailand. “I’d like to work in youth development,” he explains, “and create programs for kids.”

The School of Social Work asks you to consider lending your support to the education of tomorrow’s social workers.

Stella Chao
BASW '99, MSW '00
Executive Director - International District Housing Alliance

When Stella Chao was in her mid-thirties, she left a comfortable job and moved to Kenya. There she devoted her energies to a maternal and child health program, developing projects with elders and street kids. She stayed for two-and-a-half years. “It was an incredible place. I left a piece of my heart there,” she admits.

Stella eventually returned to Seattle and started back to school, this time at the UW School of Social Work. While working on her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Stella served as the executive director of the International District Housing Alliance (IDHA), a position she still holds. The IDHA is a community-building organization that offers housing services, a youth development program, and financial education for immigrants and refugees. As a returning student, Stella had a pretty clear idea about what she wanted to do. “I used the tools I was being taught in the classroom in a practical way. I used the opportunity to evaluate the agency’s policies and programs,” she remembers. “ The guidance from my professors was invaluable.”

Two of Stella’s professors now sit on her board, and she regularly welcomes UW graduate students from the School of Social Work to do their field work at her agency. Last year two interns successfully established a transitional housing program for women with limited English skills who are victims of domestic violence. The program is the only one of its kind in the Northwest.