Mr. R. Stephen Medel, LMSW

Professor of Instruction/ Field Director

Mr. R. Stephen Medel, LMSW, has a long career of working with schools to enrich the learning environment for students across developmental levels, in particularly his interest in addressing the needs of diverse youth. Mr. Medel has worked with school districts and Educational Service Centers across Texas for over 32 years implementing various prevention and intervention programs ranging from leadership, conflict resolution, experiential learning, diversity, children with incarcerated parents, and a multitude of issues. One of the hallmark programs implemented across the state of Texas is the PALS program which trains students to work with younger students in various settings.

Mr. Medel joined the Texas State University School of Social Work faculty from 1998 to 2002 as a Lecturer and rejoined the faculty in fall 2010 as a Senior Clinical Lecturer. Mr. Medel has taught courses in policy, practice, social services in the community, human behavior in the social environment, field and advanced field practicums for the BSW and MSW programs. He has over 138 hours toward a doctoral degree with his dissertation addressing the “Life experiences, academic achievement and social support of Mexican American males between 11 and 15 years-old.” Mr. Medel has collaborated with various departments on the Texas State University campus as he secured a three-year contract (2015-2017) with the Department of Family and Protective Services/Prevention Education & Intervention Department to provide an annual Community Youth Development Summit on the Texas State University campus. The summit housed over 150 youth and adults on campus to attend workshops, large group presentations, and experiential ropes exercises during the experience. Sessions offered content to youth on Cultural Competency, Teamwork, Communication, Professionalism, Project Management, and Personal Identity. An adult track offered CYD adults content on human trafficking, trauma-informed care, program development and maintenance, and activities to support local programming. The CYD Summit was attended by 18 different zip codes across the state of Texas including Amarillo, Lubbock, El Paso, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Galveston, Pasadena, Brownsville, Lyford, and McAllen. The goal of the CYD Summit is to introduce youth to university life and college readiness.

In 2006 Mr. Medel created Educational Insight (www.edinsight.org), an agency which provides training and education for schools and community agencies addressing the needs of children and families with an emphasis on vulnerable populations. Moreover, Mr. Medel has been involved in the implementation and facilitation of prosocial skill and psycho-educational groups addressing academic and environmental considerations of children with incarcerated parents. In addition, the agency provides services in areas such as leadership, diversity, experiential learning, parenting skills, conflict resolution, and numerous programs which address the academic achievement and social support of students and parents in schools and communities.

Mr. Medel continues to explore research, programs and services focusing on students from vulnerable populations strengthening their education, mental health, support systems and overall personal and academic success which includes college and career readiness.