Skip to main content

MSW student briefs

SoWoSO launches website, selects chairs

The Social Work Student Organization (SoWoSO) launched a new website this year to post information and activities.

Brye Balkum, Meghan Bond and Theresa Collosso were selected as the 2015-16 chairs for SoWoSO.

McKnight receives Yale fellowship

Final-year student Alexandra McKnight was awarded a Postgraduate Fellowship in Social Work from the Yale School of Medicine’s Psychiatry department. She will be working at their Cedarhurst School, grades 7-12, doing clinical social work with the students. The school is designed for children who are managing emotional disturbances and other health impaired disorders. This opportunity will enable her to start accruing clinical hours since she will be under supervision.

Macro Networking Night poster competition

The UNC School of Social Work hosted its annual networking night on March 24 for our Community, Management, and Policy Practice (CMPP) concentration. This event provides an opportunity for students to meet and talk informally and meet other social workers with a macro interest, as well as enjoy a catered meal. The evening included a Poster Presentation Competition for students. This optional activity was created as a way to let others in the School know about our students’ great work, while also giving the students a chance to learn how to make effective public presentations. Students did a 10-minute presentation to the judges. The winners selected were Teryn Smith (1st), Clara Sanders Marcus (2nd) and Jillian Stein-Seroussi (3rd).
Support for CMPP Networking Night was provided by Professors Gary Bowen and Gary Nelson.

Students participate in NASW Advocacy Day

On March 25, a number of UNC School of Social Work students joined social workers and others from across the state at the 2015 NASW Advocacy Day in Raleigh. The annual event, sponsored by the N.C. Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, brings social work students and professionals together each year to learn more about the legislative process and to engage with each other on how to better represent vulnerable families and individuals.

“Attending the NASW Advocacy Day really showed me the importance of taking what we learn in the classroom and putting it into practice outside the classroom, especially in a place that has so much power and influence over our lives and over our clients lives,” said student Ann Cotton. “It was very encouraging to realize that I have the power to influence policies, even if just in small ways, that can help increase protective factors for my clients and decrease their risk factors. I believe this is vital to our work and to our sense that, as social workers, we are not fighting an impossible battle. I left the experience feeling much more positive, enthusiastic, and confident than I had expected.”