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Velarde, third from left, and his fellow team members from Fundacion Nuestros Jovenes, who helped close the night club that was housing and exploiting girls and young women in Quito, Ecuador. (Photo and caption courtesy of Sergio Velarde.)
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Social Work Alum Found Focus and Future at WIU

December 10, 2008

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MACOMB, IL -- While at Western Illinois University, Sergio Velarde discovered his personal strengths. Velarde, a College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) graduate who received his bachelor of social work degree in 2007, noted it was also at WIU he strengthened his passion about serving as an advocate for underprivileged and oppressed individuals and socioeconomic groups.

Velarde is a first-generation U.S. citizen. His parents immigrated to Texas from Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico, and moved to northern Illinois when he was very young. Like many of the underserved people he wants to help, Velarde experienced a period during which he felt lost and unable to overcome the disadvantages of hailing from a low-income family trying to settle in a new country.

"In high school, I was not the greatest student," Velarde explained. "I was disruptive and getting into all sorts of trouble. In the middle of my junior year, I dropped out. But after a year of working horrible jobs, getting paid very little and putting my family through a lot of drama, I finally realized I needed to get my act together."

Velarde is grateful his parents and family members stuck by him during that difficult time. Through their encouragement and his own determination, Veldarde finished his high school degree.

Velarde then continued his education at Rock Valley College (Rockford, IL). While there, he began to work for the U.S. Department of Education's Upward Bound program, which according to the program's website, "provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits."

"When I started at Rock Valley, I was still completely lost and had no clue what I wanted to do. But I was hired as a tutor for math and Spanish, and the director of that program pushed me to tell my story," he said. "That was when I finally realized I wanted to share my ideas about ways to help people think positively and overcome personal obstacles and work to help youth in this country and others."

A Path to Discovery
Velarde found WIU's social work program via Discover Western, an open-house program offered through undergraduate admissions. The program enables students to tour the campus, meet with academic and student services staff and talk with current students.

"When I came to Macomb for Discover Western, President Goldfarb took the time to be there for the open house and speak to us. I was also impressed the head of the social work department attended, which, at the time, was Dr. David Iacono-Harris. He also spoke to us about WIU. Overall, I was impressed by Western, and I made my decision to attend WIU that semester," he said.

After arriving at Western, Velarde, in turn, made in impression in the social work department. Mike Fimmen, social work department chair at WIU, noted Velarde, a male -- in the female-dominated field of social work -- with an ethnic background, brought unique attributes to the classroom.

"Sergio was a pleasure in class, and he contributed to the discussion from a male and a Hispanic perspective," Fimmen said. "He also helped establish the outstanding relationship between Western and Dominican University. Now both schools are looking for another 'Sergio.' He certainly raised the bar," he added.

During his time at Western, Velarde completed an internship as a legislative aide for state Sen. John Sullivan (IL) and also made the decision to go on to graduate school.

"At first, I didn't know if I really wanted to go to grad school. But I was encouraged by my internship adviser, Sheila Miller," he said. "I was lucky to have such great support in WIU's social work department and from my internship adviser. That support helped me decide to pursue my master of social work (MSW) degree."

Action Abroad and at Home
Since he left Western, Velarde has completed his MSW at Dominican University (DU) in River Forest (IL), interned with Our Youth Foundation in Ecuador and was integral in the closing of a nightclub there that employed underage girls as nightclub workers and prostitutes, oftentimes forcing them into the work. Veldarde, along with a fellow DU grad student, Tracey O'Dowd, was profiled in the article "A Dark Window on Human Trafficking" in the July 2008 issue of "The Chronicle of Higher Education." The piece detailed how he and O'Dowd fought for the closing of the club during their time in Ecuador.

According to "The Chronicle of Higher Education" article's author, Mike Ceaser, it was "only in 2005 [that] Ecuador pass[ed] its first major law against human trafficking." In the piece, Ceaser also noted "in 2007 the United States' 'Trafficking in Persons Report,' said that Ecuador 'does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,' though the report also noted improvements in prosecutions, public education and support for victims."

"After going to Ecuador and gaining an understanding of how people are oppressed, misrepresented and left very vulnerable overall, my focus has been to help educate people about the injustice many people face all over the world," Velarde said.

Currently, Velarde is working in Virginia as a family counselor. He hopes to again work in an advocacy position for oppressed, underserved groups of people. But for now he noted he is getting to know more about people on an individual level.

"I cannot advocate for anyone if I don't know the people I'm advocating for," he said.

Velarde views his time at Western as a positive and formative time for him personally and professionally. "When I was at WIU, I thought all I wanted to do was counseling, but my professors helped me to open my eyes and understand that I can help the individual and the masses," he explained. "Having in internship with a state senator, too, was key for me. I began to look at things at the macro level, as well as the micro level. WIU definitely helped me discover my strengths and strengthened my passion for advocacy."

Visit WIU's department of social work online at wiu.edu/socialwork/.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing