Switching majors helped a Binghamton student find his passion in a new field

Matt Guerra '26, a Long Island native, began his college journey at the University of Delaware with dreams of becoming a teacher. When the global pandemic upended his plans, he discovered a different calling: helping others through social work. On May 15, Guerra will graduate from Binghamton University's College of Community and Public Affairs with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree.

“I started out in elementary ed, and then when I was a freshman, we got sent home for COVID-19, and I found myself giving therapy to my friends because it was just a rough time,” Guerra said. 

Uncertain about the future, Guerra began considering therapy and explored mental health counseling and social work. After COVID-19 restrictions lifted and he returned to Delaware, Guerra switched from elementary education to human development and family services. He completed his undergraduate degree and then decided to pursue a master’s in social work to continue nurturing his passion for helping others.

“Social work is very broad. You could work in a hospital, school, or a human service organization,” Guerra said. “There's a lot of opportunity, whereas with mental health counseling, I'm not saying that you don't have those same opportunities, but you're pretty much just limited to a counseling-type position. So, I chose social work because the opportunities are vast.”​

Guerra’s decision to pursue social work brought him to Binghamton University, where he arrived with a sense of purpose and a vision for the difference he wanted to make. The classes in his program not only guided him, but also reinforced that he was on the right path. Now, as he prepares to leave the MSW program, Guerra is confident in his direction and excited for a future dedicated to making a meaningful impact.

“I want to do micro-level work, which is more one-on-one family work. I feel like the courses that I've taken that have been more oriented to that have kind of reaffirmed what I want to do. I think I'm gonna start off in a counseling center, maybe like a family and children's type of position,” Guerra said. “I don't think I'm personally ready to just jump right into a school, and also, as part of the master's degree, it helps a lot to get a license. And a lot of the time, they don't hire you as a school social worker unless you have the clinical part of the license, which you have to work under supervision for two years.”​

While at Binghamton, Guerra interned with the Couper-Owens Center for Community Schools, gaining hands-on experience working in schools. He hopes to one day be a school social worker, and his involvement with Couper-Owens was a “great way to get that kind of experience,” he said.​

Through the Couper-Owens internship, Guerra helped at the Colesville Food Pantry, where he delivered groceries to families in the area. Doing this, along with his one-on-one caseloads and running lunch bunch groups that were both for fun and for social-emotional learning, has served him both professionally and personally, and he found it rewarding. He said he felt he was putting smiles on the faces of the people he was helping. 

While working at the food center, a New York state representative and his assistant visited, and Guerra said, “They were amazed by it, and by the amount of people within the community, and not just the school, that come to visit.”​

Although Gurrera’s journey at Binghamton is coming to an end, the community he found here and the experiences he had have shaped him personally and professionally. He is leaving with new opportunities and a plan for his future, one in which he is happy and helping people.

“I want to legitimately help people out that are within a community and within a school,” Guerra said. “Whether it's one-on-one work, families in the community, or doing something like a food center or delivery program, as long as I'm happy and I have a secure place of employment, and I'm helping people, that's all I care about.”