{"id":2860,"date":"2025-01-09T14:08:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T20:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/social-work\/?p=2860"},"modified":"2025-07-24T09:30:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T09:30:04","slug":"eleni-kaldis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/eleni-kaldis\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleni Kaldis ’17"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hi, my name is Eleni Kaldis, and I\u2019m a proud Valparaiso University Social Work Department alumna, class of 2017. My time at Valpo was transformative, shaping both my professional identity and personal growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe main thing I learned was how to be a generalist Social Work practitioner, fully understanding what that role entails.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program prepared me to confidently approach any avenue of social work\u2014whether in hospitals, schools, policy, or community centers. I felt equipped to explore diverse roles and succeed in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department also had a profound impact on me professionally. I always felt supported by my professors, whether discussing academics, social work in general, or personal challenges as a social worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey taught me from day one that we\u2019re all working towards a common goal, and that I could advocate for myself and be a valued team member.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Valpo, I earned a master\u2019s degree in policy and social change. I worked in Chicago for a few years before moving to Greece, where I\u2019ve been a social worker at the Center for the Advancement of Noesis. We specialize in serving the gifted community and addressing the unique needs of neurodivergent populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt excites me to work with a population that is often misunderstood and overlooked, advocating for their needs on both micro and macro levels.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even now, I often return to the lessons I learned at Valpo. The textbooks, projects, and assignments continue to guide me. The program encouraged introspection, helping me understand myself\u2014a critical skill for supporting others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe department helped me grow as a person and as a professional, shaping the social worker I am today.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi, my name is Eleni Kaldis, and I\u2019m a proud Valparaiso University Social Work Department alumna, class of 2017. My time at Valpo was transformative, shaping both my professional identity and personal growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[60,53,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-work","category-alumni","category-social-work-alumni-spotlight"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"dev@eridesign.com","author_link":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/author\/deveridesign-com\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/07\/ValpoCampus7-Resized-300x192.webp","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Social Work<\/a>","Alumni Spotlight<\/a>","Social Work Alumni Spotlight<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Social Work<\/span>","Alumni Spotlight<\/span>","Social Work Alumni Spotlight<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 9 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on January 9, 2025","modified":"Updated on July 24, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on January 9, 2025 2:08 pm","modified":"Updated on July 24, 2025 9:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2860"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4126,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2860\/revisions\/4126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.valpo.edu\/college-of-arts-and-sciences\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}