Sue Coleman will retire at the end of October after 28 years of service to BCSSW.
It was fall 2002, and Paula Coutinho was on the verge of withdrawing from the master鈥檚 program at the md传媒国产剧 College School of Social Work.聽
Her internship was so challenging, she recalls, that she wasn鈥檛 sure she could continue pursuing a career in the helping profession.
That鈥檚 when Sue Coleman, then a field education specialist at BCSSW, stepped in.
Coleman visited the agency where Coutinho was working, listened to her concerns, and then helped her find her footing again.聽
鈥淪ue was so incredibly supportive. I never forgot that, and now I understand how a not great field experience can shatter the confidence of a student and have a lasting impact in their journey in the field,鈥� says Coutinho, who graduated in 2003 and now serves as associate dean of enrollment management at BCSSW. 鈥淪he uplifted me in a way that allowed me to see that I had something to contribute and the agency I was placed in was just not a good fit.鈥�
Coleman鈥檚 dedication to Coutinho reflects a career-long commitment to accompaniment, which refers to the practice of walking alongside others in their journeys of growth, healing, or professional development.
Since joining BCSSW in 1997 as a student adviser, she鈥檚 walked beside tens of thousands of students, faculty, and staff, listening, guiding, and lifting them up when they were down.
As assistant dean of field education since 2011, she鈥檚 celebrated their successes as much as she鈥檚 guided them through difficult moments, helping them see their own potential and modeling the profession鈥檚 values of service, competence, and the importance of human relationships.聽
鈥淪ocial work is built on walking alongside someone鈥攊n a change effort, a growth effort, a recovery effort,鈥� says Coleman, who plans to retire from BCSSW at the end of October. 鈥淚 feel like we walk alongside students by setting up structures that support their learning and processes that support them if they鈥檙e struggling.鈥�
Teresa Schirmer, associate dean of student experience, says that Coleman鈥檚 鈥渆ntire career is a living embodiment of 鈥楢ccompaniment in Action,鈥欌�� quoting BCSSW鈥檚 theme for the 2025-2026 academic year.聽
鈥淪he listens, learns, and allows herself to be changed by the journey,鈥� says Schirmer, who鈥檚 worked alongside Coleman since 2006. 鈥淲hether guiding a student through a difficult moment or advocating for an agency鈥檚 needs, Sue practices accompaniment as a relational, transformative act.鈥�
Coleman has spent nearly 40 years practicing accompaniment across New England. She began her career in the early 1980s at the Gaebler Children鈥檚 Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, providing care for children with emotional disorders, before joining the Massachusetts Department of Social Services as a social worker addressing cases of abuse, neglect, and family trauma.
She later served as a clinical supervisor at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and as interim director and senior clinician for the Federal Employee Assistance Program in md传媒国产剧, overseeing services for dozens of federal agencies and leading workplace seminars on mental health and well-being.
Sue Coleman, fourth from the right, poses for a group photo at the 2025 incoming student retreat.
At BC, Coleman has directed placements for more than 500 graduate students each year, built partnerships with thousands of human service agencies, and helped shape the school鈥檚 field education curriculum, which includes reflective exercises that integrate principles of service, social justice, and trauma-informed care.聽
Along the way, she鈥檚 played an active role in the New England Consortium of Graduate Social Work Field Education Directors, a regional network of social work field directors who collaborate to support students, agencies, and high-quality experiential learning.
Dave Tack, who has known Coleman since 1987, when they began working together at the Department of Children and Families, highlights her ability to treat clients, colleagues, and students with dignity and respect, saying that she always takes the time to understand the unique needs of each person.
鈥淲hen I think of Sue, I think of her as the social work leader that we can all aspire to become,鈥� says Tack, who later worked with Coleman as a faculty advisor at BCSSW from 2016 to 2020. 鈥淪he leads through the ongoing and unyielding practice of her deeply held social work values that guide the way she listens, is attentive to the unique needs and situations impacting each person, formulates decisions, and supports those around her.鈥�
Marie Mathieu, a field adviser at BCSSW, recalls a moment that exemplifies Coleman鈥檚 commitment to accompaniment, a model of education built on listening, kinship, and mutual transformation.
After Mathieu鈥檚 first semester as a part-time professor ended with disappointing student evaluations, she went to Coleman鈥檚 office to apologize for letting her down. Rather than offering platitudes, Coleman listened carefully as Mathieu recounted the challenges she faced and helped her realize that her skills might be put to better use in another role.聽
鈥淔ast forward five years,鈥� Mathieu said, 鈥渁nd Sue was right. I love being a field advisor, and it鈥檚 been a much better fit.鈥澛�
Coleman鈥檚 devotion to individual growth wasn鈥檛 limited to students, faculty, and staff. As she packed up her office in McGuinn Hall one day in early October, her commitment to accompaniment was evident in the way she reflected on decades of her own work: sign-in sheets, grade lists, personal mementos, and diplomas from her time as a student at BC, where she earned a bachelor鈥檚 in psychology in 1982 and a master鈥檚 in social work in 1986.聽
Each item鈥攕ome nearly 40 years old鈥攖old a story of a student she had guided, a joyous moment she had experienced, a challenge she had helped navigate.聽
鈥淚t was really amazing to think鈥攚ith the longevity of this鈥攈ow many different students I鈥檝e engaged with and had as part of my life,鈥� says Coleman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a privilege to be in this role because I never would have imagined it. But looking back on it, I couldn鈥檛 imagine doing anything else.鈥�
Teresa Schirmer and Sue Coleman pose for a photo at the 2025 Mary Mason Breakfast.
Many of her longtime colleagues have a hard time imagining McGuinn Hall without Coleman, describing her as a 鈥済rounding force in social work education鈥� who walks alongside others with empathy, humor, and insight.
Kathleen Flinton, assistant professor of the practice, first met Coleman in the mid-2000s while supervising MSW interns and has long seen her as a mentor who helped shape her approach to training future generations of social workers.
鈥淪he has helped me to understand this phase of my career more deeply by teaching me about the stewardship we hold for the social work profession,鈥� says Flinton, who teamed up with Coleman and others to create the Trauma Integration Initiative at BCSSW, a strategic effort to integrate trauma-informed theory, principles, and practice into the curriculum, field education, and research. 鈥淪ue has had such a profound impact on the social worker that I am, and I can only hope to uphold a fraction of her immense legacy at BCSSW.鈥�
Cindy Gordon, Brian Gonsalves, and Ximena Soto, members of Coleman鈥檚 field education team, say that she has built an enduring legacy through her unwavering dedication to delivering high-quality hands-on learning experiences for countless students.聽
They praise her for consistently guiding social workers in training through complex challenges鈥攆or listening without judging, for meeting people where they are, and for helping them grow with a profound sense of empathy.聽
鈥淲hen people get heard, magic can happen,鈥� says Soto, who served as assistant director of field education from 2014 to 2019. 鈥淪he has always done her best at being present for students and having them feel understood.鈥�
Gonsalves, one of Coleman鈥檚 hires nearly 20 years ago, calls her impact on students 鈥渓asting and life-changing.鈥澛�
鈥淗er legacy is cemented at BCSSW for working with students and local agencies,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he is personal, professional, reliable, and extremely knowledgeable.鈥�
That dedication to students has been at the heart of Coleman鈥檚 28-year career at BCSSW. She鈥檚 thankful that she鈥檚 had the opportunity to work with so many 鈥渂rilliant and thoughtful鈥� students鈥攕tudents who have walked alongside her as much as she鈥檚 walked alongside them. After all, mutual transformation is one of the key tenets of accompaniment.聽
鈥淭hey hold up a mirror that makes me think more broadly and apply myself harder,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e helped me be more assertive on their behalf in curriculum and practice. They鈥檝e helped me become more confident and grateful.鈥�
Her gratefulness will be on full display at BCSSW鈥檚 Accompaniment in Action Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration on November 10 in 100 Gasson Hall, where she will be honored with the Alumni Association鈥檚 first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.聽
It鈥檚 validating, she says, humbling. She鈥檚 never worked for recognition鈥攕he鈥檚 done it for the students. Her job has gone on behind the scenes, and she鈥檚 had the patience to return to work day after day, offering presence and support without ever imposing an agenda.
鈥淚鈥檝e always championed that the student has to be the centerpiece of why we do everything,鈥� says Coleman. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the reason we get up and come in. That鈥檚 something I鈥檝e always been proud of.鈥�
She has two pieces of widom for her successor: Stay hydrated, she advises, with her particular brand of humor, and rely on your colleagues. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e inheriting a seasoned, committed field team,鈥� she says. 鈥淟ean into their strengths. They really care about students.鈥�