Skip to main content

High school students learn about social work careers at SWING event

By Ashley McMillan, Assistant Director of Recruitment, Admissions & Financial Aid

Students from across the country participated in the first Social Work Introduction for the Next Generation (SWING) program, June 13-14 at the UNC School of Social Work. Eighteen rising high school seniors spent two days on campus engaging in the following activities:

  • Strengths Quest Personality Assessment Inventory
  • College 101 Panel
  • Volunteering at Table (a non-profit in Carrboro that provides emergency food to local children)
  • Film screening and discussion of “A Place at the Table”
  • UNC Campus Tour led by a MSW and UNC undergraduate student
  • An overview and small group discussions on the field of social work

The program was made possible by support from the UNC School of Social Work and the Health Affairs Pipeline Partnership Initiative (HAPPI), a UNC collaboration aimed at increasing recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students at UNC-Chapel Hill in health careers.

The goal of the program was to establish and nurture strong linkages with academic programs across the state of North Carolina that promote access to higher education, diversity on college campuses, and educate students on health career options across various disciplines. Our participants represented 11 counties in North Carolina as well as the states of Texas and Maryland.

We were so excited to be able to have the opportunity to share our love for the field of social work with these talented and motivated high school students. We selected students who have already shown a passion for serving their communities, strong leadership skills and high academic achievement – the kind of students we aim to recruit into our MSW program.