by Chloe Yopp
Student Spotlight: Joppa Penn (she/her)
Program: Online MSW
Current job title: Behavioral Health Care Specialist for Novant Health
Why did you decide to earn your MSW through an online program?: I became the sole caregiver for my mother who is 76 and lives with congestive heart failure. She means the world to me and a program with schedule flexibility was an absolute must!
How does an Online MSW help you balance other commitments?: I am able to continue providing for myself and my mother as I work full-time at the hospital. I am so grateful for this. I do not have to worry about traveling to campus and missing opportunities to spend time with her.
Why did you choose UNC School of Social Work?: Once I began working alongside the therapists on our geriatric crisis unit, I was exposed to the many facets of social work. This prompted me to research the field of social work online in further depth. I had no idea there were so many things I could do! I also knew that my life’s purpose was forever connected to helping others, so I was sold.
Favorite book: Tuck Everlasting
Favorite food: Shrimp scampi (before I became allergic). It’s still my favorite.
Student Spotlight: Daniela Marciano (she/her)
Program: Online MSW
Current job title: Content Delivery Lead at Heinemann
How will your Online MSW degree help you achieve your goals?: I have been interested in exploring psychotherapy as a career for years! Having the chance to pursue an online MSW means I can begin to take the necessary steps to make this goal a reality. This Online MSW removed the biggest obstacle for me around pursuing graduate school: being able to keep my job.
What is your “why”?: I come from a multi-racial and multi-cultural family. While the number of people who share a similar background as I do continues to grow in the United States, identity questioning and denial are still common experiences. There’s variability in what it means to be multi-racial and multicultural, and finding a clinical provider to support me in navigating my own obstacles was very challenging. I want to be able to give back to the spaces that assisted in identifying patterns that limited my quality of life.
Why did you choose UNC School of Social Work?: I knew that I wanted to pursue a degree in social work based on my understanding of how a social worker views an individual: Social workers consider systems, environment, culture, lived-experience, diagnosis, and much more when supporting a client. While I knew an Online MSW would be the best option for me, I was holding out hope that UNC would create an online option. I wanted to ensure that the program I entered would be able to provide a hands-on approach to learning online, be able to provide comprehensive practicum placements (especially in my local community of Durham), and approach social work practice from an evidence-informed perspective. UNC’s Online MSW has all of these.
Early bird or night owl?: Early bird
Beach or mountains?: Mountains
