Elmer Argueta, MSW

Elmer Argueta, MSW
Intervention Counselor, STRONG University (Nassau)

 "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." – Pele

Elmer Argueta was born in Freeport, NY,  where he experienced and witnessed  the racial disparities that exist on Long Island at an early age. Living on the less affluent side of Freeport, Elmer saw firsthand how gang impacted the lives of many in the neighborhood he lived in. In 2003, Elmer moved to Roosevelt where he was consistently lured into joining gangs and nearly joined three years later at sixteen. After disconnecting himself from any gang associations, Elmer felt he had no direction. It wasn't until the murder of his oldest nephew by the gang he was affiliated with, that he felt he had finally discovered his own path. The path he choose was social work.

With the encouragement of loved ones, Elmer joined a GED program at the age of twenty-three. After earning his GED, he enrolled at Nassau Community College where he earned his Associates in Human Services in 2015. He was accepted to Molloy College's Social Work program and earned his Undergrad in Social Work in 2019. Elmer continued his education in Stony Brook University's advance standing program for Social work and graduated with his  Masters in Social Work in May 2020.

Elmer joined STRONG as an intern in September 2019.   Elmer was excited to gain valuable social work experience working with STRONG's population because of his passion for helping youth discover their calling fueled by his own life experiences.  He was hired as an intervention counselor in January 2020. In this position he works to help the youth develop positive coping mechanisms through mentoring activities,  and individual, family and group sessions.

As a form of self-care. Elmer enjoys going to the gym and going to the park to play handball, basketball, and soccer.