New Faculty Spotlight: Mastering the Art of Happiness and Life Enhancement

By the time Ellen Rondina was 10 years old, she said she knew she’d lead a life filled with music. Both her parents were music teachers and her grandparents were professional musicians playing piano, guitar, trumpet and clarinet. And, young Rondina, was already a professional musician working as a vocalist for wedding gigs.

As an undergraduate, with a passion for equality, she traveled to Ghana, West Africa, to study drumming and research traditional music in early elementary public schools. Rondina’s long lived desire to work towards a “more just and equitable community” began to take shape.

Combining her professional musical talents with her training in social work, Ellen Rondina set out on a journey to help people in their personal growth and wellness.

Rondina recently joined FAU as a visiting instructor at the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work in the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice. Previously, she taught at the University of New Hampshire, University of New England School of Social Work in Maine, Columbia University and Yeshiva University, both in New York, and University of La Verne in California.

Here’s a closer look at what Rondina said about her journey to FAU:

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: In addition to teaching core courses in the undergraduate social work program, I am focused on supporting the reaccreditation and reapproval process by actively engaging in collecting information for the self-study and moving programs, policies, and curricula in the needed direction to receive reaccreditation. Also, I am focused on the work we need to do in our inclusion and equity committee to promote anti-racism and anti-oppressive policies, curriculum, and practices. I am equally focused on promoting, teaching in, and supporting wellness and professional development through the Robin Rubin Center for Happiness and Life Enhancement and the professional development opportunities through the Sandler School of Social Work.

My focus is where social justice and wellness and social justice and arts overlap within practice. I am currently working on three manuscripts with a small independent publisher. Two are children’s picture books and one is a book supporting parents to work with a healing methodology called emotional freedom technique (EFT). EFT is a powerful tool for wellness. It was originally developed by Roger Callahan in the 1980s and then modified by Gary Craig who introduced it to the public in 1995. “EFT integrates the Chinese meridian system into the therapy process by tapping on meridian points with your fingertips. Properly done, it reduces the conventional therapy process from weeks, months, or years to a fraction of that time.” My public scholarship focuses on children and families and building social emotional capacity and inclusion and equity. 

Q: What do you want people to know about your public scholarship you are working on?

A: I am passionate about supporting people to help themselves and being confident in their own knowledge and decisions towards change and wellness. I am passionate about individuals and families finding what works for them to be empowered to be and feel their best. I have been sketching out children’s picture books for decades in preparation for publishing and in the process of learning to write a self-help book and self-publish in 2018, I took a course in children’s literature which has led to two children’s picture book contracts and a full-length book for parents. I have other manuscripts in the works and will continue to learn about the craft of writing children’s picture books with the hopes of continuing to publish in the areas of wellness, social-emotional intelligence, inclusion, and families. 

Q: Do you have any advice for becoming an instructor in your field?

A: My path to this role at FAU as a visiting instructor has not been linear. If one’s goal is to become an instructor or professor in social work, it is definitely best to continue to a terminal degree in the field and work within academia at many levels; teaching, service, and scholarship and being tenacious about continued professional development, self-care, networking, and going after your goals.

Q: Where do you see your project focus and public scholarships in the future?

A: My current public scholarship work is focused on supporting wellness, social emotional intelligence, inclusion, and families, through support of positive and transformational change. This has always been my work and I will continue on this path.

Q: What is an interesting fact that people at FAU may not know about you?

A: I am also a professional musician, have taught music in higher education, and have been running a small wellness and music business for more than two decades. I have never been able to choose just one career, so I have found a way to fulfill the many parts of myself.

Also, I am a metaphysical minister, and earned a master’s degree in metaphysics. This is considered a religious degree. I have a deep spiritual practice that began when I was a young child, traditionally through attending church and church choir, and soon after by beginning a meditation practice at the age of 16.