From TCU to Capitol Hill

Fort Worth, TX

12/3/2009

By: Carla Falick, Schieffer School of Journalism

Our nation’s capitol is a really young town, run by many bright, passionate young people from all over the country who all want to change the world, or at least be a part of where the action is. Amy Randel is a social work major who decided to move to Capitol Hill after graduating from TCU in 1993 to pursue her career and join this group of people set on changing the world.

Randel transferred to TCU her sophomore year from Trinity University in San Antonio to pursue social work. She had never heard of a career called social work until she noticed a brochure in the TCU Registrar’s Office. She spent her adolescence and young adulthood convinced that she could best advocate for vulnerable populations and impact the social landscape through public service. After reading the brochure, she knew that a career in social work was exactly what her dreams entailed.

Randel recalls that her best memories from TCU and more important influences come from her professors. She still keeps in touch with them via Christmas cards and Facebook.

“I had the immense privilege of learning from social work professors Tracy Dietz, David Jenkins and Linda Moore,” Randel said, “They are highly skilled social workers—there’s no question—but their commitment to my personal well-being was transformative. I was challenged academically and inspired by their passions, but ultimately, it was their caring and support that gave me the confidence to my walk down a somewhat unconventional social work path to become a policy/macro-practitioner.”

Randel said, “Macro level social work is the type of practice that includes policy development, advocacy and focusing on change at the community and national or international level, compared to micro level social work that involves service to individuals and families.”

After her graduation 16 years ago, Randel started her life on the Hill working as an intern for Sen. Edward Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs. She was given a lot of advice about how to attain such a noble internship, but the most helpful suggestion she received was to make a list of her favorite members of Congress, regardless of state or personal connections and go for it.

She never thought she would be able to work for a Kennedy, but she decided to submit her resume to his office. It turned out that the Senator’s Chief of Staff on the Judiciary Committee at the time had a close friend who was a professor at TCU. They had a quick connection and the rest is history! Even though Randel considers herself a social worker first, she is a self-professed political junkie, so this was a perfect start to her life in D.C.

Her time with Kennedy was brief but her duties included conducting research and creating briefing book materials for committee hearings. She also responded to all constituent correspondence related to immigration and refugees. Randel was immersed into the fast-paced world of the Senate and the complex Committee and the authorizing process.

“I do recall attending a meeting in his office when he mentioned his brother—the ‘President’ as he called him—and motioned to a bust of President Kennedy on his mantel,” says Randel. “Being in his office and hearing him discuss people and issues of such significance made me feel like I had my own small, personal window into American history.”

After her brief internship with Kennedy she was quickly hired to work as a legislative assistant for two senators, Paul Sarbanes, D-MD, and John Kerry, D-Maine, on the housing subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Federal housing policy issues, such as public housing, rural housing, Indian housing and related mortgage and finance issues were her primary focus.

“This was, for me, a dream job in a fast-paced, high-profile environment,” Randel said, “It is one that continues to fascinate me.”

Her passion for Capitol Hill and the issues she dealt with while there are evident. After leaving D.C. for a short period to receive a master’s degree in social work with a focus in public policy and children’s and family services from Colombia University, she did not hesitate to return. As soon as she returned she worked in a housing policy as the director of government relations for Habitat for Humanity International. She then lobbied to promote affordable housing programs as the vice president of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks.

“Social work is my first love and the motivation that compels me to work in public policy. My professional and personal goals have been to help improve the lives of children and their families,” says Randel.

Her direct social work experience is with women and children and includes experience with Child Protective Services working with drug-addicted women and their newborns, a homeless women's shelter, an AIDS hospice and the New York City Public Advocate's Office working in foster care and children's advocacy.

“I believe that in addition to direct practice, social workers and their counterparts in human services need to be informed politically, armed with the skills and knowledge to influence the world of decision-makers and the policies that impact our clients,” says Randel.

Randel spent 12 years living in D.C. and now resides in Ashville, NC, teaching public policy development courses to students online at the University of Phoenix. She is a dedicated social worker, mother and teacher who hopes to serve as an example for those seeking to become macro-practitioners and lead the way for more social work seats at the policy table.