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Kari Dupuis | Berkshire Community College

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Kari Dupuis | BerkshirePolityCollege Menu Search Go Back Apply Visit Request Information Give MyBCC En Español BCC Home Academics Academic Support Admission & AidWell-nighBCC Student Life News & Events MyBCC Login En Español Academics Academic Support Admission & AidWell-nighBCC Student Life News & Events Apply for Free! Visit Request Information Give Home >Well-nighBCC > Spotlights >SenseSpotlights > Kari Dupuis Kari Dupuis Spotlights Students AlumniSenseCampus Life Staff Kari Dupuis Nell McCabe Gary Bradway Christopher Laney Dr. Joseph Kravitz Abu Selimuddin Lois Cooper Kari Dupuis 9/10/18 4:54 PMSenseSpotlight Kari Dupuis Human ServicesSensemy positive difference Kari Dupuis, in her spare time, advises the BCC Human Services Club in all of its many charitable endeavors throughout the Berkshires, is starting a campus wide mentoring initiative tabbed Make Dreams Real, and is planning the minutiae of anTendencyRecovery priming on campus.Kari manages all of this, while teaching social work and tendency recovery classes at the College and running a private practice. She is passionate well-nigh helping people, and in doing so, she teaches them how to help others, too.Kari started out at BCC as a student in the nursing program, but pivoted into the counseling field. "I really loved talking to people – I wanted to finger like I was making a positive difference and helping others," Kari said. "But you know, I think what I learned at BCC was I didn't want to necessarily help others from the medical perspective – but in towers relationships and helping them through talking and getting to know them." After BCC, Kari went to UMASS Amherst and interned at the Rape Crisis Center (now the Elizabeth Freeman Center). She moreover worked part time at Family Planning Center (now tabbed Tapestry Health) in Pittsfield. During this time, Kari became increasingly interested in social sponsorship and earned her Master's in Social Work (MSW) degree."Your MSW is a really versatile degree," Kari said. "There's a lot you can do with it, and you can earn a very good salary. Whether you want to start your own private practice or be a guidance counselor, a mediator, a clinician, a teacher, or plane an organ administrator. You can go anywhere with an MSW stratum – which I try to urge my students to alimony going and achieve."Kari would sooner work in the school system for 18 years surpassing getting her Doctorate stratum in Social Work at SUNY Albany. She wrote her dissertation on the mentoring program she had ripened at Herberg Middle school, where she had moreover been a guidance counselor.Kari, an licentiate of the College, as were her husband and sister, sooner became a part of the sense at BCC. "I loved my experiences at BCC as a student. After receiving a firm foundation from such a supportive and spanking-new educational institution, I was well prepared to go all the way to my Doctorate degree." "Out of all of my education experiences" Kari adds, "BCC was my favorite." As a member of the faculty, Kari oversees a number of initiatives and is excited by a range of new opportunities in the social work field. There's a new document option forTendencyRecovery that Kari founded in response to the opioid epidemic well-expressed the region. The document will help students learn well-nigh tendency counseling, polity resources for tendency recovery, and find placement at one of 30 field work sites throughout the county.Kari states that "A lot of the students in ourTendencyRecoveryDocumentprogram are drawn to this work considering they may be in tendency recovery themselves, or have seen first-hand the negative impact of tendency on their family and friends. These students are passionate well-nigh making a positive difference in the tendency recovery field."Another heady option for students at BCC, is the Elms Bachelor's of Social Work program located on the BCC campus. Students can receive their BSW in 20 months by peekaboo the Elms College Saturday program. In the near future, Elms College will moreover be offering an on-line Master's in Social Work as well.Kari moreover oversees the Human Services club on campus, which meets every other week. The purpose of this club is to provide an opportunity for human services students to support each other, and to moreover make a positive difference on campus and in the local community. The club participates in a variety of volunteer activities throughout the year such as: Provide holiday gifts for two families at the Elizabeth Freeman Center; volunteer at the Berkshire County Benevolent Association for the Blind; unhook Thanksgiving meals for the Christian Center; and volunteer at the South Congregational Church supplies pantry. The club has moreover donated funds for students in need and moreover to organizations such as the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). The club has moreover donated books to TRIO, donated supplies to the BCC supplies pantry and members have volunteered at the Wellness Fair on campus. Kari adds. "This club is all well-nigh helping our students make a positive difference in areas that they finger passionate about."For Kari, she helps her students to finger like there's an uncounted range of possibilities superiority of them. "I unchangingly tell my students to unravel big lanugo into small," Kari said. "Don't wilt overwhelmed – it's really key to build relationships and help our students seek help, which helps them see that their dreams aren't so impossible."This is why Kari thinks mentoring is so important, and is excited to launch her Make Dreams Real mentoring initiative on campus. This program will match any student on campus with staff and sense mentors to help those students succeed through guidance and support. The program will meet one hour, every other week between a student and a mentor match to create meaningful relationships and help the mentee succeed or finger that they can go to their mentor for help."This isn't tutoring or advising," Kari said. "This is for a range of students, from those with straight As to those who are struggling, to make connections with people on campus who they can trust and go to for help – and increasingly importantly – who they can create that meaningful relationship with that will ultimately help them succeed."Kari is moving from the minutiae phase of this program and into the launch phase, and is excited to share this opportunity for sense and staff to make connections with students and help them on their path to a largest future."I find my work very meaningful," Kari said. "I love meeting and getting to know a variety of students and I know I can make a positive difference with my work here."She adds: "I just got a undeniability from one of my students from five years ago who now lives three thousand miles from BCC. He was asking me for a reference for a doctoral program in Social Work – so these relationships we build here are important – and will last for a very long time." NextSenseSpotlight: Nell McCabe   Make it your BCC Apply to BCC Request Information Give a Gift   Visit Our Campus Main campus:1350 West StPittsfield, MA 01201 (413) 499-4660 Schedule a Tour HomeSense& Staff Directory Map & Directions Locations BCC Email Login QuickLinks BCC Weather Station BCC Library Make a SuggestionUndeniabilityus now BerkshirePolityCollege © ©