Return to School (April 2, 1994, to May 24, 1996)

After visiting David in Mississauga, Sandra returned to Santa Cruz on April 2, 1994, and applied to San Jose State University for admission to its College of Social Work.  In her Application, Sandra wrote:  

I was born in Santiago, Chile, a half century ago — the year WWII ended. Since then, I have lived in Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Havana, Cuba; Ottawa, Canada; upper New York State; Puebla, Mexico; Madrid and Ibiza, Spain; Munich, Germany; Cuernavaca, Mexico; Florida; the Bahamas; California and India. I have driven across the United States twice. driven to Canada several times, and driven around much of Europe. I have visited any number of other places. I have attended schools in, Virginia, Washington, Cuba, Ottawa, Boston, New York, Spain, and California.…

I have worked in restaurants, in juvenile hall, in stores, in offices, in schools, in an orphanage, at home. I have been a waitress, a secretary, a wine stewardess, a child-care worker, a teacher, a health clerk, a student, a real estate agent, an artist, a dancer, a manager, an employee, an employer, a counselor, a CASA volunteer, a CPS worker, and been self-employed. I have read hundreds and hundreds of books and probably thousands of articles; I have seen hundreds of movies and documentaries; I have visited some of the major churches, temples, museums, art galleries, monuments and significant sites in the world. I have listened to countless hours of music from all parts of the world. I have met thousands of people of every description from many parts of the earth and communicated with them. I have tasted both indescribable peace and joy and an agony of pain and suffering.

I have lived so simply that my source of water was a stone-lined well from which I drew water one bucket at a time-for drinking, for washing, for cooking-and where there was no plumbing of any sort (not even an outhouse) and certainly no electricity. I have also lived in great comfort, with a maid, a cook, a boatman and a gardener and a beautiful house on a beach in the tropics.

I was married twice, first to Peter and then to Michael, neither of whom was American. I am still friends with both. Peter designed the house in which I live, years after my second divorce, a house built with money from my generous older brother.  Peter’s art is all over the house. Michael, now on his fourth marriage, continued to invite my son from my first marriage (Leif) to visit him every Christmas and summer for ten years after we were divorced. He also paid more child support than the court ordered until Leif turned eighteen, something he would never have done had we not been friends.  I was a step-mother for almost five years to Michael’s two sons from a previous marriage.

On August 25, 1994, San Jose State University notified Sandra that she had been selected to receive a Title IV-E Child Welfare Training stipend for the academic year 1994-95 at the University’s College of Social Work.  In order to receive the stipend of $15,000 for the academic year, she was required to enroll in the program that fall, which she did.    

From September 1994 to June 1995, (her first year of graduate school) Sandra worked as an intern as a Kids’ Korner Counsellor at Freedom Elementary School in Santa Cruz.  There, she provided initial screening and assessment of children with a wide range of complex emotional and psychological problems and needs.  She provided individual and group counselling with play-therapy techniques, referred families to community agencies and resources, and participated in Healthy Start collaborative case conferences with parents, teachers, and other professionals.

During the same period, having completed 10 required training units from various professionals, Sandra worked as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to a 5-6-year-old first grader in foster care.  She met with the child for one to four hours per week over a 15-month period to provide emotional support, identify and meet the child’s needs, and work toward reunification of the family.

Below is a photo of the child from CASA, taken in Sausalito, while Sandra was “bird-sitting” our sister Pat’s pet bird at her home in that City.  Sandra tried to make the child’s visits fun with trips to the local amusement park, bowling alley, beach, nature museum, etc., as well as plant seeds by visits to the University and the local library. She met with the child’s mother (initially in jail), her sibling, her foster family, teachers, social workers, therapists, and attorney to monitor the child’s and the family’s progress and presented information and recommendations in reports to the juvenile court. This child eventually grew up to graduate with a Master’s degree in social work, a result of an enormous amount of hard work and determination.

Luke completed his B.A. degree in Economics in 1995 at UCSC.  Bill then arranged for his investment firm, Rosenberg Capital Management (RCM) to give Luke summer employment.  He also told Luke of a training program in Europe, which Luke underwent before securing permanent employment at Deutsch Bank in New York City.  Eventually, he was able to transfer to the Bank’s San Francisco office.    

From September 1995 to May 1996, as part of her graduate work in the MSW program at San Jose State University, Sandra worked as a social work intern at Adult, Family, and Children’s Services (Child Protective Services, or CPS) at 1400 Emeline Avenue in Santa Cruz.  There, she provided case management services for court-ordered and voluntary family maintenance clients, accessed resources, referred parents and foster-parents to appropriate agencies, provided initial and ongoing risk assessment and placement of at-risk children in and Emergency Room Unit, wrote juvenile court reports and case notes and participated on a multidisciplinary team with foster parents.