When Emily Fernandez teaches students at Stepping Stones School about friendship, she zeroes in on three concepts: being a good listener, being kind, and being a “super friend.” So it’s fitting that she emulates all three traits as she goes about her day as the school social worker.
“It is a pleasure watching Emily work with our students,” says Stepping Stones Principal Cynthia Healy. “They respond to her gentle manner and truly enjoy their time together. Through games, song and literature the children strengthen their communication and social skills, while having fun!”
Emily grew up in Essex County and had always imagined that she would work with children, but realized a deeper calling when she was a camp counselor at the age of 14. “I always felt pulled to those campers who were there for the first time, who were having a hard time in a social setting, adjusting to mom and dad leaving,” she says. “I liked helping to guide them and helping them adapt.” She shared this experience with one of her cousins, who was a social worker, and discovered from her cousin that she could seek a career in a field that would allow her to do exactly that.
So Emily attended Rutgers University as an undergrad, completing the accelerated program to receive her Master of Social Work degree in 2019. Initially she practiced in-home therapy, primarily for children and adolescents who had been through traumatic experiences. But she always knew she wanted to work in a school, and in late 2023, as she was returning from maternity leave from her first child, the outgoing social worker at Stepping Stones called her to recommend she apply for the opening. She started the job in January. “It was something that just fell into my hands, and I couldn’t say no,” Emily says. “This just felt right, like a perfect fit. I feel like I’m meant to be here.”
Emily works with the toddlers in the Early Intervention program, and has weekly sessions with each of the students at Stepping Stones. She also visits the classrooms to complete broader play-based lessons with the full classes. She works within a monthly theme—for example, during July she used the Olympics as inspiration—and focuses on developing social skills and life skills, building friendships, being kind, checking on one another, and being part of a team.
“I love helping kids build fundamental skills so they can become their best selves,” she says. “And it means a lot to be a trusted adult who can help children overcome their fears.”
When asked to reflect on Emily’s work, Alexis Soled and Judy Bellina from the Early Intervention program said, “Emily’s smile, warmth, support, knowledge, helpfulness, empathy, kindness, reliability, integrity, caring and active listening are just some of the attributes that make her a dedicated part of our early intervention team. Her ability to communicate with our families and ‘work/play’ with our children is extraordinary. We are grateful for her devotion to Stepping Stones.”
As a bilingual speaker of both English and Spanish, Emily is able to fluently speak with the large number of Spanish-speaking parents and guardians who are part of the Stepping Stones community. “It’s nice to be that voice of familiarity, I think it brings families a lot of comfort and a deeper connection.”
She says she especially loves when she witnesses the children using her lessons and language with each other, or when they break into the welcome song she created to help build connections among the students. “It’s great to see them take something we’ve worked on together and then expand on it on their own.”
“I have fallen in love with all of the students,” she says. “I’m just so happy to be here.”