Skip to main content
Ruth Aguirre

Ruth Aguirre

Assistant Professor and Director of Field Education
Faculty & Staff

2168 JFSB

Orem, UT

Why did you choose to pursue an MSW degree?I completed my bachelor's of social work degree at BYU. I desired to work with individuals and families, helping them overcome vulnerable and difficult situations encountered in every day life. Especially being of Hispanic descent and seeing the growing need of social services, I wanted to be a resource to the Latino population and help facilitate language barriers and serve socioeconomic disadvantaged families. Obtaining a higher education in my life has become a tremendous achievement and accomplishment. With a master's degree in Social Work, I would be able to do much more, enabling me to expand my vision to help my community.

What are your thoughts on BYU's focus on a spiritually strengthening educational experience?BYU's focus on spiritually strengthening within our education goes hand in hand with our Social Work program. It has been a wonderful experience to learn about social work multi-disciplinary modalities and remember that everyone has individual worth and is a child of God. Many times, we are spiritually strengthened by the things we learn and our passion and love for social work grows even more.

What are your thoughts on the family experience at BYU?Our BYU Social Work cohort becomes one giant cohort. We are a blend of personalities, culture, traditions, and attitudes that form one great and lasting friendship. Every family needs your dominants, we need lots of expressive people to start the party, analyticals to help us maintain structure, and the loving and caring amiables that just

Why did you choose BYU's Social Work program?I most definitely bleed blue! My undergraduate was at BYU and have absolutely loved the environment and quality education that is offered at this university. In our graduate program, we have become much like a family, helping each other study for tests, working on projects, singing happy birthdays to each one, throwing baby showers for classmates, and celebrating life in general. Along with the social benefits, BYU's Social Work program along with it's quality professors prepare students to enter the job force with full potential and skills.

What are your career goals?I can see myself working within the public school district with my master’s degree in social work. Public schools are encountering a new dimension of difficulties with students as topics of drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy; gangs and self-mutilation are common struggles that adolescents face. Moreover, as the Latino population keeps growing, administrators are seeing a barrier between making available resources known for parents and students. Being of Latino heritage, speaking both English and Spanish fluently, and through my graduate work at BYU, I will be fully prepared to be an asset in the school and help struggling teens and families find the necessary resources that are available to them through the community.

Tell us about your BYU internship experience:I am currently at the Utah State Hospital in the Forensics Unit. It has been a wonderful experience to work at the hospital and get a first hand look at the many text book readings and lectures come to reality with mental illness. I have been able to witness what the DSM-IV calls "Social and occupational dysfunction and distress" about having a mental illness, since it is so overwhelming for many of these individuals to do everyday things and having a severe mental illness. It has really been an "eye-opening" experience.