Erin’s serendipitous journey began when she crossed paths with alumni and victims of violence during an eye-opening sociology course. Later on she would arrive to her internship interview and discover the role had shifted to a victim-centered program she was not familiar with. “What I heard intrigued me,” she says. Braving the unknown early on turned out quite well post-graduation when Erin only had one interview before the organization offered her a permanent position. “I like to think of myself as a little stepping stone to healing” is how she now describes the impact she’s most proud of.

Erin Washington (B.A., ’24) is a Family Case Manager for the Family Connections program at Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Larimer County. Erin facilitates supervised visitation between caregivers and children and supports CASA’s safe exchange program. Family Connections promotes resiliency for families by providing trauma-informed case management and connecting both caregivers and children to tools and resources that foster healing and strengthen their bonds. 

“I think the beauty of being a sociology major and doing social work is having the background knowledge of systems and the understanding that institutions can be traumatizing and triggering for a lot of people who utilize our services,” Erin describes. “Often parents show up for our program orientation with their arms crossed – they’re assuming we’re the enemy and that we want to see them fail, which is heartbreaking because that’s literally the opposite of what we do.” Building rapport through empathy, while offering the policies and procedures parents need to be successful in the program, often results in smiles and appreciation by the time orientation concludes. 

Erin attributes her ability to relate to victims to insight she first gained through Dr. Tara Opsal’s “Women, Crime, and Victimization” course. Productive discussions, challenging assignments, interesting research, and a panel of three women who had been involved in the systems Erin had learned about in sociology classes offered her the opportunity to hear firsthand powerful stories of hardship. “This course helped shape my career interest and motivated me to get involved with organizations that provide services for victims of violence,” she says. 

Sociology alumni also visited the class to share career experiences. Erin recognized one recent graduate as a former classmate she’d only known in passing. She was intrigued by Cleo Anderson’s work at a local safehouse, so Erin reached out to Cleo to find out how she could get involved. “You never know who you’re going to connect with and what opportunities will arise,” says Erin.  

She also credits Dr. Shawna Bendeck for the observational notetaking skills that Erin now uses every day. Little did I know how useful that assignment would be,” she says. “I’m really appreciative that I was able to get that exposure during my schooling.” In her policing class taught by Dr. Ian Greenwood, Erin learned about the court system’s challenges over time. She’s now putting that knowledge to use in helping the Family Connections program find ways to better connect with the court system and help make high-level improvements. 

“I use sociology every minute of every day,” Erin says as she describes her rewarding work. “I get to see so many beautiful moments as families reach points of safety and health where parents become who their children need them to be.” 

Erin’s journey has not been without its challenges. During her internship she supported family exchanges and helped with administrative tasks, but she was not exposed to full-time client interaction. Handling the many and intense emotions inherent to substance use, domestic violence, and histories of system-involvement was a big learning curve. Erin had to quickly figure out how to set healthy boundaries as she navigated how to meet caregivers and children where they are, gauge their needs, and support their healing.  

“You will find what you’re meant to do when it’s right,” Erin says. “Apart from an internship, volunteering is an awesome way to get experience in a field you’re interested in pursuing as a career. You can gain valuable experience and discover what you enjoy and what you do not enjoy. Also, be open with your internship choices as you may just end up loving what you do and work for the organization.”