By Ada Kessler

Elizabeth White, better known by her students as Miss Liz, is one of three social workers at McCaskey High School. Miss Liz has worked at McCaskey for six years and in the social work field as a whole for twenty-five years. Throughout her time in this field, she has predominantly worked in alternative schools.

Her work at alternative schools, such as Buerhle, started when she was getting her master’s degree after college. She was doing an internship at an inpatient facility and recalls being “bored out of her mind.” However, she needed an internship for the second half of the year to finish her master’s degree. Coincidentally, the coach of the wrestling team, for whom she had been the manager of in college, ran an alternative school in York. So, she called him for a favor, and he hired her.

Between college and her master’s degree, Miss Liz did seven internships because Social Work is such a broad field. Through these internships, she eventually decided that she wanted to work with alternative education schools. After discovering this interest, she went on to work with three of these schools: Manito Academy, River Rock Academy, and, most recently, Buehrle Academy. She started as a school-based therapist at Buehrle before eventually becoming the Director of Student Services. She then came to McCaskey High School as a Social Worker, but she still works closely with Buehrle.  

Another reason Miss Liz was interested in alternative schools is the students.  She says that “the kids that often struggle the most, just need a person— need someone to believe in. They need to the light  at the end of the tunnel. So that’s why I’m drawn to those kids.”  She says her students are her favorite part of the job and that she has learned so much from them. 

“Students are so open and willing to just say whatever’s on their mind,” Miss Liz says. She learns all about “current lingo” and cultural parts of students’ lives, but also their resilience: “Some of the students here have faced more struggles than I ever have and ever will face in my life,” she says. This resilience and ability to navigate their struggles has taught her and inspired her immensely.

Even with all the things she loves about her job, Miss Liz acknowledges that there are definitely some struggles that come with it. She says the biggest challenge is “not being able facilitate the change that a student  needs to see happen because it’s out of our control or it’s out of their control.” She is able to manage her stress through the support of the Social Work and Counseling teams, who feel like family to her.

Miss Liz also makes sure to take downtime when she needs to. She specifically ensures her Friday nights are “very quiet.” Outside of school, Miss Liz frequently does hot yoga for fun and to help destress. Her favorite thing to do is travel and her favorite place she’s traveled to is South Africa. In South Africa she did a safari that was “magical.” She also loved visiting Spain as well as France and she wishes she could travel more.

Despite the stress that can come with her job, Miss Liz believes that her job is incredibly important. “If a student is not at their best mentally and emotionally, they are not able to learn at their highest capacity.” She holds a lot of love for her job, especially when she gets to see students grow and succeed over the years. At her core, Miss Liz loves helping students in any way she can, which sometimes means just being there for them, being their “champion.”