John Stennett
Associate Professor of Social Work, MSW Program Director
Biography:John Sennett is the Director of the MSW Program and an Associate Professor of Social Work. He primarily teaches courses in the Integrated Clinical and Community Practice track. He feels very fortunate to have been married to his wife since 1988. They have two adult daughters, one son-in-law, and five grandchildren. One daughter lives in Tokyo, and the other is in New York City, which means that they travel often. John earned his MSW at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in 2003 and has been an LMSW since 2004. He started his social services career investigating child abuse for the State of Texas for two years. Subsequently, he worked in social service administration with The Salvation Army for 23 years in various locations and at various levels of responsibility. He also briefly worked for the International Rescue Committee as the Casework Supervisor for refugee resettlement in Boise. John began teaching for the MSW program at NNU in 2019. John was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. His parents were missionaries. He also lived in San Salvador, El Salvador, and did not move to the United States until he was almost 19 years old. Most of his years living in El Salvador were during the Civil War. When he arrived in the U.S., he promptly joined the United States Marine Corps and served in the infantry. This enabled him to use the GI Bill to attend Grand Canyon University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree (double-majoring in Psychology and Religion).
What is your favorite thing about working at NNU? Watching students get excited about their future careers.
Share a few facts about your specific area(s) of expertise that you bring to the classroom: Almost my entire social work career focused on social work administration. I started at Child Protective Services in Fort Worth, Texas, as a sexual abuse investigator. Then I began working for The Salvation Army. I had the opportunity to do practically every task you can imagine in social work administration. In these positions, I had the opportunity to run food pantries, emergency shelters, transitional shelters, Housing First programs, licensed childcare facilities, youth camps, a large athletic/family wellness center, and emergency disaster services. My final position was the Territorial Social Services Secretary, which included responsibility for all social service programs of The Salvation Army Western Territory. This area included the 13 Western States, Guam, and the Marshall Islands. My duties included assisting with program creation and implementation, conducting evaluations, and following up on required changes, among many other duties. I also worked in refugee resettlement in Boise, Idaho.
Share a few pieces of information that represent your teaching experience and why you love working with students: I have been teaching in the MSW program since the Fall of 2019. I became the MSW Program Director in May of 2020. I have enjoyed teaching MSW students because people who are called to social work want to help others. Social worker students are generally friendly, have a great deal of empathy, and have a sense of calling. I have the privilege of helping them hone their skills so that they can be as effective as possible in their careers. I also have the opportunity to continually improve the MSW program, expand our curriculum, and deploy additional ways to include more and more students in the program.