It’s not every academic year that a student walks up to a professor and notes her mother had him in class. It’s especially even more uncommon that that professor remembers this student’s mother from his first year teaching at The Ohio State University.
This story is told with smiles as Teresa Theohares, MSW ’98, and Sabrina Fitch, BSSW ’26, recount Sabrina’s first day in class with Dr. Tom Gregoire taking his Generalist Practice with Organizations & Communities course.
Dr. Gregoire reflects maybe he’s been teaching too long if he’s had two generations in his classroom. He joked that he won’t be around for Sabrina’s children.
Teresa notes this kind of interaction is indicative of the college – with the professors being warm, welcoming and deeply caring toward their students.
Teresa even recalls lessons she learned from Dr. Gregoire’s class that have stuck with her throughout her entire profession by always self-reflecting, being honest with yourself, learning from your mistakes and moving on.
Inevitable Passion for the Field
Teresa, who has a background in administrative social work in various clinical settings, remains excited about social work. What she loves most about being a social worker is having to constantly change with society.
“It requires you to be flexible. I am always a constant learner. This profession is not one and done in the learning realm. Going through so much growth helps us as we age. Being a good social worker means constantly learning and changing.”
Being a social worker was not Sabrina’s original plan. Like many teenagers, they find themselves wanting a different path from their parents’ footsteps and look for their own passion.
Sabrina originally majored in psychology but quickly realized social work was a better fit. “I would be lying if I did not say my mom” as her original inspiration but once taking social work courses, Sabrina quickly fell in love with the professors, the people and the positive influences around her.
Looking Forward
Teresa is eager for her daughter to step into the next level of social work by completing the Advanced Standing Accelerated Program (ASAP) in Spring 2027. They discussed Sabrina’s struggles with dyslexia throughout school growing up and worrying what Sabrina’s future would look like. However, once Sabrina got to OSU and began taking social work classes, it aligned much better with her learning style.
“I am so proud to see her graduate magna cum laude. Seeing her have this success when I think of her in third grade, I was not sure where the future would take her. I am so very proud and so very excited for her.”
Sabrina celebrated her achievement at Evening of Recognition, the annual pre-commencement ceremony for all BSSW, MSW and PhD graduates. Teresa notes how special it was for her family to see Sabrina walk across the stage and have her name called.
Teresa said she is most excited for her and Sabrina to share the same language and passion. “I really look forward to Sabrina feeling the way I feel about my work. Feeling passionate, feeling proud and really helping people, such an honor to be present with someone at the end of their life. It’s the biggest honor to be with people in the aging and dying process and knowing that being present is enough.”
Sabrina plans to graduate next spring with a select interest in the aging population, specifically focusing on veterans as Sabrina has an extensive personal experience with the veteran population.
