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School of Social Work welcomes two student success coaches for O-MSW program 

by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work welcomed its inaugural cohort for the online Master of Social Work program in January 2024. Since then, the program has quickly grown to include more than 110 students. 

The School of Social Work recently hired two student success coaches for the online MSW program to help students navigate their way through their academic journey. In June 2024, the School welcomed Carla Snow and Sara Rechnitzer, each of whom has extensive experience in higher education. 

We spoke with Snow and Rechnitzer to learn more about their prior experience, why they joined the School and more. The transcript has been edited for clarity. 

Carla Snow 

Can you tell me a little bit about your prior experience before coming to the School? 

I have my master’s from Appalachian State University in professional school counseling. I began my career as a school counselor and worked in that capacity for several years. I supported students in a variety of ways. I met with students individually to provide counseling. I also held small group experiences for counseling, and held classroom guidance lessons, which were focused on social, emotional learning. In that role, I also had the chance to work with and beside some amazing school social workers. I was really proud of the work that we were able to do together for our students and the school community. 

Before transitioning to the School of Social Work, I worked as an undergraduate advisor with Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences. In that role, I served the general undergraduate students and also worked with student athletes as part of my caseload. I helped students with course selection, with exploring majors at UNC, and helped them navigate the University in terms of finding resources and support.  

Also in the role as undergraduate advisor, I taught a couple sections of IDST 101, which is a first-year foundational course about thriving in college. The course helps students get acclimated to the University and make the most of their first year at Carolina. 

What made you decide to transition to the School in this role? 

I was really excited about the student success coach position for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, because it helped me continue my passion for serving and helping students. But also, I was really excited that it allowed me to leverage my skills as an advisor, a counselor, and an advocate for students. I was really excited about that aspect of the job. I think having the ability to serve a profession that I so deeply believe in and value was really compelling for me. Working for such a prestigious program was also something that was really thrilling. 

What do you feel you’ve learned so far in this role? 

One thing that I’ve learned that I’m super excited about is the enthusiasm for the online MSW program. We have so many students who are interested in the program. It’s really promising, because we need more good, quality, effective social workers in the world. To see the amount of interest for the online program, it’s really inspiring. The fact that the online program offers students more flexibility — these are working professionals who have family obligations and different obligations outside of academics — to give them the ability to have a more flexible path to earning their MSW is really exciting.  

How do you think your prior experience in higher education helps you in supporting students at the School? 

I think my background as a counselor and advisor has equipped me with the skills that I’m going to need to be successful in the coaching role. I’ve spent years supporting diverse student populations. I think my experience as a counselor and as an advisor has given me a deep understanding of the challenges that students face. I’m skillful at connecting students to the resources they need in order to help them set goals and achieve those goals and connect them to what they need to be successful. 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about you? 

I really enjoy making art. I paint, I work with ceramics. I’m really big on practicing self-care. Specifically, too, working in a helping profession you have to make sure that you practice self-care regularly. I enjoy the arts, I also enjoy trying new food and going to different kinds of restaurants. 

Sara Rechnitzer 

Can you tell me a little bit about your prior experience before coming to the School? 

The majority of my professional career has been working in student advising, specifically with Division I student athletes. I spent over a decade at the University of Michigan as an advisor for the student athletes there, which was a huge part of my career and work that I really enjoyed. I ended up going back and getting my MSW from the University of Michigan and then spent some time as a psychotherapist in the private practice setting. I have this combination of social work and higher education advising in my background. 

What made you decide to transition to the School in this current role? 

I was really excited about the opportunity to very directly bring together my passion and interest in social work and my passion and interest in advising. It felt like the perfect match of my experience and the things that I enjoy doing in my career and getting to work with people who want to enter a field that I am passionate about. Specifically working with students who have the same interests and career goals that I share.  

What do you feel like you’ve learned so far in this role? 

What I’ve learned so far is how much everyone at the School of Social Work cares about the students and cares about the field of social work and promoting all of the values that are associated with the field in the School and in the work they do with the students. I’m excited about the innovation of the online program, which is specifically the population of students I’ll be working with. I’m excited about the creativity and innovation and the excitement around this brand new program for the School. 

How do you feel like your prior experience, both in higher education and clinical social work, helps you in supporting students at the School? 

The unique thing that I bring to this role in working with students who are pursuing this career is I’ve lived and seen how social work can be applied to a variety of settings and a variety of different types of roles and careers and jobs. It’s not just this one track that you get into. The things that you learn in this program and the values that you can instill in the work that you do can be applied to different populations, different settings, different careers and I think having that background and experience of what an MSW can be used for will really help in the conversations that I have with students about their career goals.  

Is there anything else you would like people to know about you? 

From a personal perspective I’m a former student athlete (college basketball player). That’s a huge part of my identity, and I’m a big dog lover. I’ve gotten really into pickleball lately. I’m going to be out in the pickleball community in Chapel Hill, which I know is a growing sport. Those are just a few personal tidbits.  


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