By Vincent Lim
George Caballero, MSW ’82, never expected to be in a position to help in the way he has over the course of his professional career.
“For someone who didn’t have any aspirations of even going to college, getting my master’s degree in social work was a major accomplishment,” Caballero said. “Everything that’s come after that has been a gift.”
Caballero’s career spans more than 30 years serving the Los Angeles community through direct practice, research, clinical supervision, consultation and executive-level leadership.
He has also given many years to the USC community, including his work with the USC School of Social Work’s Mano Amiga organization, Latino alumni community advisory committee and the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging’s community advisory board.
For his efforts, the USC Alumni Association honored Caballero in September with the Widney Alumni House Volunteer Award, which recognizes volunteers for their loyalty, support and dedication to USC. It joins his W. June Simmons Alumni Award from the school, which he received for bringing recognition to the school and the social work profession.
“He’s an example of what our best alumni contribute to the world,” said Marilyn Flynn, dean of the USC School of Social Work. “We have about 13,000 alumni from our school, and if they were all like George, the world would be a better place.”