NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Berkshire Community College graduate who went on to purse a doctorate in social work is this year's keynote speaker at the college's 63rd commencement ceremony at Tanglewood in Lenox on Friday, June 2, at 4 p.m. 

 

Edson Chipalo is a 2015 graduate of BCC who later earned his master of science in social work in 2018 from Columbia University. He recently defended his dissertation and is expected to be presented with his doctor of philosophy degree this May. 

 

He was born into poverty in Zambia and lost both of his parents when he was a young child. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, who were subsistence farmers.

 

Driven by Nelson Mandela's words, "Education is the power we can use to change the world," Chipalo finished high school in Zambia and volunteered with children with disabilities in South Africa and Scotland before he came to the United States.  

 

Chipalo came to BCC in 2013 to study human services. He was an active runner as well as serving as a BCC ambassador and student trustee. He was elected as Community College Segmental Advisor, representing students at the state Board of Higher Education. He graduated in 2015 with an associate degree and a 4.0 grade-point average. In 2017, he earned a bachelor of science in social work, summa cum laude, from the College of Saint Rose, where he received a Class of 2017 Academic Excellence award and was 2017 Scholar Athlete of the Year.

 

After graduating from Columbia, Chipalo worked for a year as a children's mental health clinician in Ketchikan, Alaska. There, he developed an interest in mental health that led him to pursue his PhD in social work with a focus on mental health. 

 

In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Graduate Council Fellowship at the University of Alabama, where he continues his fellowship until the end of April 2023, actively engaging in research and serving as a social work instructor. Chipalo defended his dissertation in January and will officially receive his PhD on May 5.  

 

Since last August, he has been working as a tenured assistant professor at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. He teaches several social work courses at both the undergraduate and master's level. His current primary research focuses on understanding the effects of adverse childhood experiences on later mental health outcomes for adolescents and youth in low-income countries. 

 

He is also committed to the mental health of those living in refugee camps and those who have resettled in other countries. Chipalo has presented his research at peer-reviewed local, national and international conferences, and his work has been published several academic journals.  

 

"Looking back, it was the strong foundation of education and the mentorship I received at BCC that created a road map to excel in my academic and current work activities," Chipalo said. "BCC will always be my home, and it is the place that has inspired me and helped me to rewrite my story for the better because of its emphasis on offering academic excellence. That has opened many doors of opportunity that have transformed my life and allowed me to be in the position to help others in our society." 

 

More information about BCC's commencement can be found here.