By Matthew Smith
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered to celebrate its Winston-Salem Program on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The three-year master of social work program announced its closure this spring after 20 years of operation, but joy and excitement filled the room as Tar Heels in the program reconnected — many for the first time in years.
Guests shared their thoughts on their future and what the Winston-Salem Program meant to them on an “impact wall,” highlighting the profound effect the program had on social workers across the state.
More than 120 guests honored some of the faculty and staff that made the program a resounding success for two decades, including Director of Digital Learning and Instruction Tina Souders, Winston-Salem Program Director Theresa Palmer, and UNC Cares Program Coordinator Annamae Giles. Guests also heard from Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson and from some of the current students and graduates who attended the afternoon’s events at the Salem Lake Marina Center. The event was catered by Mrs. Pumpkins Deli and Bakery, owned by School of Social Work alums Cody and Megan Hoyt, ’23 (MSW).
Opened in 2004, the program provided students in western North Carolina an opportunity to take generalist classes in-person. With the launch of its Online MSW Program, the School will be better suited to meet the needs of its distance education students. Read more about the history of the program online, including its expansion in 2009 and Palmer being named director in 2022.
Take a look at scenes from the event and hear what some of the program’s students and graduates had to say about their time in Winston-Salem.
I believe that we learned to connect with one another more deeply because we share such a special place together. Our cozy cohort model benefits the community at large.
— Lynn McGuire Raj, ’25 (MSW)
The program gives you the right combination of people to be around to be brave, vulnerable, uplifted and seen.
— Deb Marke, ’20 (MSW)
We have the capacity in our profession to have impacted millions, if not billions of people. I felt like the program met me exactly where I was and it gave me a deep sense of community.
— Alexis Overstreet, ’15 (MSW)
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