Left to right: Min Jae Kim and Annalise Von Sprecken (Photo courtesy Matt Bertram/Carolina Housing)
by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
Two Masters of Social Work students are partnering with Carolina Housing to serve as peer well-being coaches for undergraduates at Carolina and graduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work during the 2024—2025 academic year.
MSW students Annalise Von Sprecken and Min Jae Kim are working with undergraduate students in Hinton James Residence Hall, as well as MSW and Ph.D. students at the School of Social Work, to help provide resources for on-campus services and build positive strategies for improving their wellness.
“They complement each other in ways that I think are helpful to their learning and to extending, building on the foundation that was set by (former School Director of Wellness) Robin Sansing and the students who came before,” said Clinical Assistant Professor and Practicum Instructor Karon Johnson. “They have a really wonderful vision of how to support the students and are also mindful of how to support each other.”
Students can meet with the coaches both in person and virtually and will receive guidance on health and wellness. The coaches will also act as a bridge to connect students to mental health services like UNC Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and ensure that students receive all the necessary resources for care. This year marks the third installment of the paid practicum partnership for MSW students, which began in January 2022 between the School of Social Work and Carolina Housing.
Signing up
Von Sprecken, a first-year student in the 2-Year MSW program, initially wasn’t sure whether peer well-being coaching was the right fit for her, due to her interest in focusing on macro (community, management, and policy practice) work academically. But after an initial meeting with Sansing, she realized she had a unique perspective for helping undergraduate students.
As a graduate student working toward her masters in theological studies at Duke University while continuing her work with a local nonprofit organization, Von Sprecken dealt with many of the stresses of trying to find a balance between her workload and personal life. Following her first semester at Duke, Von Sprecken had achieved great grades, but hadn’t made as many connections with her peers as she would have liked. She made a New Year’s resolution to care a little bit less about school and more about other parts of her life. It’s that perspective of finding a balance that she hopes to share with students.
“I understand the stress of wanting to perform at a high-caliber level, knowing that you’re here because you really care about the work you will do one day and want to do your best [preparing for that],” Von Sprecken said. “There’s so many things you can say yes to all the time, but if you’re not also saying ‘yes’ to yourself as part of that, you’re not going to be able to show up to all the other parts of your life.”
Like Von Sprecken, Min Jae Kim is also in the midst of her second master’s program, having previously earned her master of divinity degree from Duke. She’s seen firsthand through her own educational journey that students need support in order to thrive.
After taking developmental courses during her first year at the School of Social Work, Kim, a second-year student in the 3-Year program, became interested in working with emerging adults aged 18-29 and soon signed up to help other students navigate through their academic career.
“The peer well-being coach role is to offer students different perspectives, offer students a non-judgmental space where they can bounce ideas, where if they need to see things from a different perspective, they’re not just sitting by themselves in their heads, but they actually have a conversation partner,” Kim said.
The Year Ahead
Von Sprecken and Kim have already engaged in various training exercises to ensure they were well equipped to help students during the academic year.
They underwent motivational interview training to help students clarify their values and understand their goals, and devoted various sessions to understanding what the coaching involves. Meetings with representatives from student wellness, student affairs and UNC CAPS helped clarify the role of peer well-being coaches in the context of wellness offerings provided by the University.
As they prepare to meet with students starting Tuesday, Oct. 8, the peer well-being coaches already have plans in mind for boosting wellness.
With the idea of community front-of-mind, Von Sprecken hopes to coordinate social outings for students to get together with one another. While she mentioned organizing workshops, she also would like to have lunch-and-laugh sessions for students to eat lunch and socialize with one another.
Kim would like to provide needs assessments, especially for first-generation students and individuals of the global majority. She hopes that others will consider becoming a peer well-being coach in the future and encourages students to take advantage of the wellness sessions available to them.
“Even if it’s only a 15-minute consult check-in conversation, I want people to know they aren’t alone,” Kim said. “You have people you can talk to and who understand your situation but aren’t directly involved in it. We’re here for them.”
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