Regarding Gui Hua Henry Ye: Recipient of the 2003 NASW Student Award

By Ellyn Schiff Berman, DSW and Julie Pars Cadenhead, CSW, Hunter College School of Social Work

 

Henry Ye, who grew up in a poor peasant family in rural China, was this year’s recipient of the NASW student award for outstanding achievement in social work. Henry, also known as Gui Hua, was honored at a commencement ceremony in January at Hunter College School of Social Work. He is a 2003 graduate of the MSW One Year Residence Program at Hunter and a recipient of a scholarship sponsored by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  

The youngest of seven children, Henry’s family were farmers, barely eking out a living in mainland China. He was the only one in his family to go beyond primary school. In spite of many hardships, Henry made his way, at age 13, from China to Panama where he worked in his brother’s grocery store. At 19, he came to the United States and started studying and working in New York City. Henry says that his personal and work experiences during that time and afterwards have helped him understand about human suffering. “I want to be a North Star for those who are lost and sunshine for those freezing to death. I care about people who are living in pain and I want to help them find their way to happiness”, he said.  

Henry arrived in the United States in 1989. Fluent in Spanish and several Chinese dialects, he finished high school and continued to pursue his dream of higher education, graduating from City College of New York in 1996. During this time, he worked as a social work assistant at Hamilton Madison House, a case planner at The Chinatown YMCA Beacon Center, a bi-lingual caseworker at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and coordinator of the program for Asian minors at Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York. Henry later provided reunification and follow up services to unaccompanied minor children who enter the United States without parents or relatives and are in custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is married and now has two children.  

In 2000, Henry entered the work-study program at Hunter, which allowed him to continue his full time job while achieving an MSW degree over the course of two and one half years. He was also a recipient of a full tuition scholarship provided by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This scholarship is awarded to highly qualified staff members of mental health agencies who are sensitive to cultural differences and dedicated to providing services to underserved people in New York City. Henry was exceptionally well qualified for the scholarship and proved to be an outstanding student.  

While still a student, Henry submitted a proposal to the Lutheran Disaster Response of New York for a program to help Chinese immigrants (primarily Fujianese children and their families) in New York City seriously affected by the tragic events of September 11^th. The proposal was accepted and a grant of $100,000 was made to establish the program.