Our stories
Ted Susac
M.S.W. alumnus and field instructor
“Social work has so much variety and such opportunity for lifelong learning. It’s a vital and personally interesting profession.”
- Ted Susac
A good fit. That’s what Ted Susac, Guardianship Program Coordinator at the Jewish Family Services in Richmond, Va., found through the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work’s M.S.W. Program.
“I’m a career changer,” said Susac, who previously had more than 25 years experience in the for-profit arena, most recently doing management consulting in financial services. “I had a privileged opportunity to think about what I wanted to do with the next half of my career. I talked with many friends, and the idea of social work seemed very appropriate and a good fit.”
Susac said the big picture aspect of social work attracted him to the field and the ability to study the various elements of a system as they related to an individual was intriguing.
Once in the program, he said it was sometimes hard to see how the pieces fit together.
“There are times during the first year that the learning process felt uncomfortable, but you eventually see how the pieces fall into place,” Susac recalled. “And you learn to trust the process.”
He originally came to JFS through the school’s M.S.W. field placement, working for a program called Independence for Seniors. He explained his experience in the program’s food bank gave him one of many opportunities to witness the advantages of integrative services.
“I learned the food bank service wasn’t just about nutrition. It was about helping [the patrons] stretch their budget and providing them with a social situation,” he said. “As a practitioner, it allowed me to meet with people regularly and identify other services that might be beneficial for them.”
After earning his M.S.W., Susac stepped into his current role at JFS.
“Given my time and comfort with the agency and their comfort with me, it’s been a positive transition,” Susac said.
Now as a field instructor, he’s passing his experience along to the next generation of social workers. He provides current School of Social Work students with daily and weekly activities, and ensures they stay connected with the JFS team. In weekly meetings, he helps interns understand how their experiences fit together and discusses the various processes at work.
Susac said that internships benefit everyone involved: while the students gain experience, the clients receive additional resources and the field instructors become more conscious of the practice.
For Susac and other social work practitioners, professional development is an ongoing process, and working with interns and the fresh perspective they bring to the field has helped him continue to improve his craft. He also attributes his growth to strong supervision.
“When someone graduates, they don’t stop getting supervision. All of us continue to have supervision,” Susac said. “A good supervision relationship — and I’m grateful to enjoy that here — helps ensure that we continue to look at the big picture and consider important alternatives, and ultimately provide the highest quality of service for each client.”
Susac explained that supervision helps to maintain focus on the individual client in order to best meet his or her immediate needs and to determine which specific outcomes are most important for that individual.
“This program's staff and interns engage in some very complex, diverse issues as we serve as 'guardian of last resort' for individuals who are incapacitated, indigent and at-risk,” Susac said. “One big part of sustaining and improving our work over time comes from professional development: helping each other grow, honoring creativity and sharing our enthusiasm.”
Regarding his own continuum of lifelong learning, he added, “I still have so much to learn. Social work has so much variety and such opportunity for lifelong learning. It’s a vital and personally interesting profession — and that’s just cool!”