Faculty Profile: Colleen Kumiega, MS

When Colleen Kumiega was a student in human services doing her first internship at a hometown food pantry, she learned a lesson that shaped the rest of her career.

Serving lunch to families of teens who were displaced or homeless, she was overcome by emotion. “You could see the tears run from my eyes into the potatoes,” she recalled.

A supervisor pulled Kumiega aside, and after she regained her composure, she told her, “Colleen, they don’t want sympathy from you. They want empathy.”

For Kumiega, the message was that to help other people, she must first build relationships with them. This meant meeting with people and taking the time to understand and hear their stories. “They wanted someone who would give them a smile and ask them how they were doing as they were serving them lunch,” she recalled.

Today, as professor and chair of Behavioral Sciences at Hilbert College, her approach to social work is still about building relationships. She builds them with students and alumni, with service agencies and with her community at large. She brings those relationships into two degree programs she oversees: the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Associate of Arts in Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling.

Relationships Start at Home

For Kumiega, the importance of relationships began in her own family. Growing up in the Buffalo, New York, suburb of Hamburg, she was the oldest of seven children. All but one still live nearby.

“With a big family, we were just used to trying to make it work and be there for one another,” she said. “As a result, my nature is very nurturing and caring.”

Her mother had earned a business administration degree from Hilbert, and Kumiega set out to do the same. But as she worked a variety of extracurricular jobs, she found that she most enjoyed talking with people: like elderly customers at a Burger King who shared stories over morning coffee. She switched her major to human services.

Interning at an agency for adolescent girls with mental health issues, she discovered that her niche was in one-on-one counseling.

“I learned how to be a genuine listener, to empathize with the girls,” she said. “I loved it so much that I took the weekend shift, which was the worst shift.”

Counseling, Families, and Social Work

After getting a BA in Human Services from Hilbert, Kumiega’s interest in counseling led her to a nearby master’s program. There, her internships focused on families in need of services. She worked at a facility for teen mothers, then with parents trying to keep their children out of foster care. 

“I went into the houses, and I set them up with the resources that they might need, whether it was parenting classes, addiction counseling or family counseling,” she said. “We were strengthening the home to see that children weren’t taken from the home.”

Kumiega also got periodic calls from former professors at Hilbert. She would talk to their students about her graduate school experiences and mentor them on professional challenges. 

Once she got her master’s degree, Hilbert asked her to teach human services one night a week. The position allowed her to dip her toe into instruction while she deepened her clinical expertise with a variety of local agencies. 

Her community connections, in turn, helped her students find internships. “I knew all the resources here in Erie County,” she said. “I had already worked with those professionals.”

Behavioral Sciences: A Broad Umbrella

By the time Kumiega had her third child, she was ready for a more stable schedule. Hilbert had a full-time opening, and in 2005, she switched from case work to teaching. 

Even today, though, she spends a few hours a week counseling troubled families. “It's been a blessing to keep that connection,” she said. “Both places have a part of my heart.”

Since 2020, her chief job at Hilbert has been chairing the behavioral sciences department, which oversees human services, psychology and alcohol and substance abuse counseling.

Behavioral sciences cover interventions that help people, she said. “We’re looking at all the realms: social justice, criminal justice, mental health, developmental disabilities, addiction and health care.”

Her proudest achievement has been an associate of arts program in alcohol and substance abuse counseling, for which she helped create five courses. The field desperately needs new professionals, Kumiega said. “We’re not producing enough students who are certified to work facilities that run 24/7.”

She’s also proud that local agencies like BestSelf Behavioral Services pay for employees to take the program and become certified counselors, benefiting both the staffers and the agencies.

But behavioral science courses can be valuable for students going into other fields, she added. “No matter where you work, you need people skills, and you need to understand the populations that you work with.”

Personal Touch

A relatively small and socially conscious institution like Hilbert offers advantages for studying behavioral sciences, Kumiega said. One is the chance for in-depth personal connection.

“Students get to know one another in class, to have those hard and difficult conversations in a safe place,” she said. “I encourage everybody to share their perspective on addiction and how it may have affected them, personally or within their family.”

She personalizes online classes, as well. She holds Zoom office hours for students. She enlists alumni as mentors. She leaves space in every course outline to ask students what topics they’d like to know more about.

Such measures reflect her belief in the value of relationships, both for counselors and for their clients. “A lot of times we want to be able to take the hurt away,” she said. “Instead, we need to be the person who is just going to listen. Don’t feel sorry for them and try to problem-solve. Just take the journey.”

Explore the Variety of Careers in Behavioral Sciences

With the scope of today’s social problems, professional expertise in behavioral sciences is more important than ever. A degree program like Hilbert College’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology or Associate of Arts in Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling can prepare students for everything from helping clients with addictions and family counseling to managing employees in a business. Learn more about how these programs can lead to rewarding careers helping other people live more fulfilling lives.