Meet Bill Anthes, MSW ’22

Bill Anthes, MSW ’22, is a Green Beret veteran who is in our 16-month accelerated pathway. Bill earned his BS in accounting from Montclair State University, where he was a First team All-America soccer player and the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Male Athlete of the Year. He spent two years as an Associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers before enlisting in the U.S. Army Special Forces, where he served for five years. Since his tour of duty ended, he has run a coaching practice focused on his clients’ overall fitness.

“I have a passion and a background in physical fitness,” said Bill, “and through my own healing, my interest in learning more about how psychology, philosophy, and physical fitness can mesh together, and a desire to have more clinical, professional, ethical, and therapeutic relationships with my clients, I realized NYU’s MSW program would align nicely.” Bill ultimately applied to Silver with encouragement from a longtime family friend who earned his MSW in our 16-month pathway after a long career in pharmaceuticals and is now finding fulfillment as a psychotherapist.

Asked his favorite class so far, Bill had a hard-time choosing. He loves Human Behavior, which he said he expected, but he has also really enjoyed Diversity, Race, Oppression, and Privilege (DROP). “I’ve never had a structured formal education on the DROP curriculum before,” he said. “It is a brave class and I appreciate Professor Cheryl Lopez’ trauma-informed approach.” He also cited his integrated Practice and Field class with Professor Kelsey Louie, saying “He is incredible and I’ve just learned so much from him.”

In his Field placement at Hudson County Community College’s Mental Health Counseling and Wellness Department, Bill does short-term counseling with a solution focus to help students maintain academic progress. “We also do some group services across a variety of different demographics,” he said. “One of the things I’m going to try to do is build a veteran program. That’s obviously near and dear to my heart and currently not being served at HCCC.” He expressed appreciation for the department’s climate and for the strong supervision he receives from Dr. Sheila Dynan, the Associate Dean of Student Success, Doreen Pontius, the Associate Director of Counseling & Wellness, who is an NYU Silver MSW alum, and Tom Larson, who is a Mental Health Counselor. “It’s the real world and it’s a very supportive place,” he said. “I’m incredibly thankful to have landed such a phenomenal Field placement.”

Bill added “the one thing that has surprised me at Silver is the genuine care and compassion of my instructors and classmates. I’ve never had that kind of compassion-connection in school before and it’s a testament to the culture that Silver cultivates. It matters because it’s an intense program and life is busy, so to have that connection with staff, faculty, and students is really rewarding.”