by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
A student ambassador in the advanced standing cohort at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work was recognized for his commitment to promoting equity and inclusion on Monday, April 8.
Master of Social Work student Jacob Hoyt was among five recipients who received a 2024 Equity and Inclusion Student Award from the National Association of Social Workers North Carolina Chapter (NASW-NC). The award is given annually to MSW and Bachelor of Social Work students who incorporate equity and inclusion into their leadership, academic achievement and social work practice. The other four recipients included Rose Amburose (North Carolina State University), Evangeline Eure (Johnson C. Smith University), Nylia Jeffreys (East Carolina University) and Amaria Rankins (UNC Wilmington).
“I am beyond grateful to be given this award,” Hoyt said. “From my perspective, equity and inclusion refer to providing a standard of living that people inherently deserve, and also those who have been disenfranchised and/or oppressed against their better interest. While it can be daunting to witness the variety of inequities and injustices present every day, these can also be viewed as opportunities for individuals to make profound changes on another person’s life, and change the outcomes of an entire community, given the scope of practice.”
Hoyt, who graduated with his BSW from North Carolina State University, showed a passion for helping others early on in his career, teaching life skills related to empowering students overlooked in the education system and financial aid literacy while interning at the Raleigh Boys Club and working as a North Carolina State College Advising Corps College Adviser.
As a manager for the College Ambassadors Club, Hoyt pursued initiatives toward higher education attainment and delivered leadership opportunities for historically underrepresented students in their local community and school.
Hoyt has continued to support others while at the School of Social Work, serving as a UNC Chapel Hill 1789 mentor for first-year students. In that role, he is helping to ensure emotional, social and academic needs are met for those students. He’s also a clinical social work intern with Bright Path Behavioral Health, a mental health clinic in Wake Forest, N.C.
Post-graduation he hopes to conduct research to dismantle obstacles to mental health services and work with mixed-status families.
“I have been very fortunate to interact with so many different students and professionals over the last few years; they have all inspired me to continue working towards a better future for everyone, with an emphasis on those who deserve better circumstances than what they have been given,” Hoyt said. “Additionally, this award has fueled my passion and re-emphasized my values surrounding why I went into this field, and it is reassuring to know that so many others will walk alongside, support, and help me grow in this field throughout my professional career. The zip code someone is born into, and the individual parts of our identities should not be able to be used as metrics that predict our future success and as long as this is still the case, I will continue to address the disparities in our society that our marginalized populations are subject to.”
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