In sharing formative moments in her life, Yvette Colón, M.S.W. ’90, Ph.D., might say something happened “almost at random,” or by another turn of phrase suggest that it was just thanks to good fortune that things worked out a certain way. But obviously her fellow alums know there’s more to her story. They nominated her to be 2024's recipient of the Day-Garrett Award, which goes to “a distinguished alum,” an “enduring source of inspiration,” in honor of a lifetime of achievement.
In fact, both perseverance and great ability underlie Colón’s many accomplishments, which include developing innovative approaches to social work; teaching and mentoring students as a faculty member of Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work; publishing and lecturing widely on pain management, psychosocial oncology, end-of-life care, healthcare disparities and LGBTQ+ issues and serving on nonprofit boards. Her expertise and contributions have been singled out for an American Cancer Society Quality of Life in Cancer Care Award and a Leadership in Oncology Social Work Award from the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW), among others, and she was named an AOSW Fellow in 2020.
Her determination to make her own way is reflected in her multifaceted work in the area of pain management; in educating herself; in exploring the professional use of computers when they were boxy and their screens were small, and the Internet was in its infancy; and today, in being able to say that she is a 42-year cancer survivor.
“When I was 27 years old, I had cancer. In 1982, my treatment was pretty rudimentary— brutal—but I made it through,” Colón said.
Afterward, observing a social worker facilitating a cancer support group, she knew what she wanted to do. But first she had to finish her B.A. It took her 15 years altogether, being interrupted by her illness and having to work to support herself. She did her final year at what was then North Adams State College, now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
“I wanted to become an oncology social worker, and I was not in a position to move from Pittsfield. I had never heard of Smith until I came east, but because it was close, I looked at its social work program. When I read about its psychodynamic orientation and clinical focus, I knew it was the program for me. I thought, ‘I’ll just keep applying until they take me’—then I got in the first time! I still remember, it was snowing, and I went out to the front porch to get the mail, and there was the acceptance package. I was thrilled. Three weeks after getting my B.A., I started at Smith.”
“I had lived in very diverse cities,” she noted, “and there were only nine students of color in my cohort in the program. But the rigor of the education, the placement, writing the thesis, all that gave me a solid foundation.”
In 1993, she began working at CancerCare, in New York City, as program coordinator of online services. From her earliest days in social work, Colón has merged her passion for helping cancer patients with a penchant for technology—she’s the quintessential early adopter.
“I got my first computer in 1982. The internet was vastly different then, everything was menu based— you had to know where you were going. I signed up for email from one of the two ISPs back then,” Colón recalled. “It cost twenty-two dollars an hour, so I would log in, download my messages and read them off-line.”
In 1992, Colón joined Echo, “a bulletin-board-style virtual community …[and] a star of the early internet,” according to The Atlantic. (Instructions to new members were sent by postal mail.) Colón remembers it as “a good, low-cost way of connecting with people in a meaningful way.” She facilitated her first online psychotherapy group on Echo in 1992.
She has continued to bring tech and social work together. In the late nineties, she was one of the AOSW members who contributed to the creation of a set of free audiotapes for cancer survivors. In 2001, at CancerCare, she and colleague Amanda Sutton, LCSW created its award-winning End-of-Life Internet Forum. She oversaw a consumer focused website and online discussion community for the American Pain Foundation in the 2000s. And she is the board chair of The Pain Community, a nonprofit she describes as “100 percent virtual and all-volunteer.” Its online resources include forums and the TPC Pain College—expressive art and music programs.
Colón explained, “The programs are self-paced and the videos short because people with pain can’t necessarily sit for a long time.”
“The management of pain has been medication- focused,” she added, “but an integrative philosophy seeks a different avenue, managing pain through therapeutic interventions and activities—like expressive arts, music, and writing programs—that are pleasurable and meaningful.”
Reflecting on how connecting with patients has changed, Colón recalled that, decades ago, when she worked at Berkshire Medical Center, some patients didn’t even have a telephone. On the other hand, “the things patients need don’t change. Someone who gets a knee replacement needs very different support from someone with multiple sclerosis or cancer. Health systems tend to focus on technical repair, not so much on supporting patients and their families.”
While Colón was an early tech adopter, she was a relative latecomer to academia. In 1998, she began her doctoral studies at New York University, working full-time and attending classes at night, paying her way as she went. She graduated in 2007, and at a conference not long after, someone from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) asked if she’d thought about teaching.
“I had no plans or desire to go into academia, but I said yes. I didn’t expect anything to come of it.” A year later, EMU offered her a part-time teaching position in the School of Social Work; later she became a full professor. “I ended up teaching for 15 years. I absolutely loved it. I loved connecting with students who were enthusiastic about social work, had a commitment to promoting mental health in underserved communities, who were ready to do the work.”
During her tenure, she arranged for several social work students to provide needed mental health services at a local free medical clinic for two years. During the pandemic, she managed virtual internships with The Pain Community for B.S.W. students. Since retiring this year, she has arranged for two EMU students to intern at Amplify Colectivo, the multicultural private practice group she belongs to. “Social work schools,” Colón said, “tend to focus on training students to work in the community, not in private practice. But I believe it’s for them to decide. Private practice is just as legitimate a way to help people and invest in community.”
Colón is a longtime SSW supporter, having filled several roles over the years. Currently she’s on the Alumni Leadership Council. “About five years after graduation, I became a regional representative. Then I served as chair of the Alumni of Color Standing Committee. Now I serve as development rep and chair of the 1918 Fellowship Society. It was a very easy commitment to make. Not everyone is comfortable asking for money, but I am because I know that many who want to pursue a graduate degree can’t afford to. The School helped me, and I wanted to make it easier for others.” Colón reminisces,“My time at Smith was pivotal, and the degree I earned there has been incredibly important in my life. I’m honored to be given the Day-Garrett Award. I’m in very fine company.”
