The Connecticut ¡Adelante! Scholars Program offers MSW students bilingual Spanish/English clinical training to address the growing need for Spanish-speaking social workers in Connecticut.

In seventh grade, Nicole Vega ’26 MSW was often absent from school and struggled with behavioral challenges. At home, her mother was bedridden, and as the youngest child, Vega took on caregiving responsibilities.

Despite these challenges, she excelled academically. When a principal recommended transferring her to an alternative school, a counselor intervened—advocating for Vega to stay.

That moment would shape her future.

A lifelong resident of Waterbury, Connecticut, Vega grew up in a Spanish-speaking household. Her mother, a first-generation Puerto Rican who moved to the U.S., and her father, an immigrant from Colombia who recently became a U.S. citizen, instilled in her a strong sense of resilience.

Vega didn’t begin learning English until preschool. Now 31, Vega is a mother to a two-and-a-half-year-old son and works full time for the Department of Children and Families. On May 9, she will graduate with a Master of Social Work through the Connecticut ¡Adelante! Scholars Program—part of the program’s largest cohort to date. The program offers MSW students bilingual Spanish/English clinical training to address the growing need for Spanish-speaking social workers in Connecticut.

Read the full article on UConn Today.