Longtime Practicum Supervisor Retires
The thank you cards came pouring in after Jan Schmidt announced her retirement from the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
As one of SESP’s longest and most beloved practicum supervisors, Schmidt served a mentor, leader, teacher, and friend to dozens of Northwestern University students.
Schmidt, a clinical educator for more than three decades, welcomed interns into the hospital’s psychiatric department, which cared for children with emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and other challenges. Well-known for her positivity and compassion, Schmidt taught students how to confidently navigate an often-stressful clinical setting.
“Observing you made me want to mirror your methods of being laid back and humorous with the kids,” one former student wrote to Schmidt. “I hope to be as kind, dedicated, and respectful to the people I work with as you are. I can’t thank you enough for the positive impact you’ve made on my life.”
Many students called their experiences one of their best quarters at Northwestern. In cards that Schmidt treasures, former students thanked her for “teaching things no psych book or grad program could have” and for the genuine interest she took in their lives.
The internships were flexible, but students had daily responsibilities and exposure to different therapies and direct hands on experience with the children. Schmidt would spend half the day with the students; the rest of the time they’d participate in group activities and/or clinical meetings conducted by other professionals in the field: social workers, medical/psychiatric nurses, milieu therapists, recreational therapists, social workers, other teachers, and psychiatrists.
"They’re all trying to figure out what they want to do. I took enough time to say ‘hey, what do you really want to do?” Schmidt says. “I tried to foster an environment that would allow them to explore, practice, question and learn not only about ‘the work’ but about themselves.”
A native Californian who made her career in Chicago after attending Mundelein College and Northeastern Illinois University, Schmidt began working with Northwestern students in the mid-1990s. Over the years, Lurie has hired more than 20 students from the program, including Hannah Davison (BS19), a professional soccer player for the Chicago Red Stars, who works at Lurie in the off season.
"The students just raved about Jan," said Nathan Frideries, senior practicum adviser who worked with Schmidt for almost a decade. "They also followed her lead. We've had former students whom she supervised take on SESP practicum students themselves once they get jobs, something I know Jan would love and appreciate."
In 2018, Schmidt was Davison’s supervisor in the Child & Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit where children have a variety of concerns, including anxiety disorders, psychoses, school problems, intellectual disabilities, autism, and a range of adjustment problems.
Davison hadn’t been planning on pursuing a career in child psychiatry. But seeing Schmidt’s work/life philosophy opened her eyes to a “new side of medicine and the importance of kindness,” she says.
Now, as a part time milieu therapist on the unit, she helps children navigate a daily schedule of different therapeutical activities designed to improve their social skills and equip them with effective coping strategies.
“She offered me the perfect balance of independence and support by giving me more responsibilities as she saw fit and challenging me to stumble outside my comfort zone,” Davison says.
“I felt this genuine kindness from Jan every single day when she would ask me about my personal life, carve out quality time to answer all the questions I had, or even make the drive up to Evanston to cheer me on at a Northwestern Women's Soccer game. That is something I will always hold close to my heart.”
“Jan is one of the most passionate, light-hearted individuals I have ever met,” Davison adds. “She puts her entire heart into her work and makes an impact on everyone around her by always going above and beyond with no expectation of recognition for these efforts.”
Throughout her career, Schmidt assumed responsibilities and leadership roles in both outpatient and inpatient psychiatry. She also supported other services in the hospital as an educator working with children and families.
She has designed training and research programs, served as a project investigator for teacher training grants, and advocated for parents, children and educators to help struggling students receive special education services in public and private schools.
She taught classes to Feinberg School of Medicine residents and fellows, winning teacher of the year in 2000, was recognized with the Outstanding Teacher Award by Chicago Archdiocese, and received the Julia Porter Award from Lurie’s for being an outstanding employee.
Schmidt spent about 30 hours a week with the students and treated them as if they were never leaving. “It’s real stuff and it’s not easy,” she says “The kind of work these kids were exposed to could be challenging because you’re dealing with people’s lives, every day. I learned much from each of them as well.”
The second of five children, she cites her younger brother Robert, who had difficulty learning in from traditional classroom instruction, with inspiring her work. “He excelled in math but was challenged by traditional teaching methods in language arts,” she says. “At that time, we didn’t know much about differentiated instruction to reach the individual learning styles of our students.”
Today Robert is a gifted and accomplished electrician, who owned his own businesses in Northern California for many years. He is currently the electrical/instrumentation technologist for Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District located close to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The 63-year-old Schmidt, an avid water skier, basketball player, and musician lived on a couple acres with her dogs near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for the last decade and commuted into the city for work. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she left the Midwest to rejoin her family in California and help care for her 89-year-old mother.
“Not a day that goes by I don’t think of someone or miss something from my work at Lurie’s,” Schmidt says. “We had good camaraderie, great professional rapport, and a friendly caring environment. But it was time to return home.”