UAF Department of Social Work

If any students are interested in being part of the largest social work education conference, consider volunteering!

Students: Serve and Save at ! We’re seeking enthusiastic volunteers to help make the 2026 Annual Conference in Atlanta our best ever!

Student volunteers receive: conference registration for only $50 (adjusted once the 4-hour assignment is completed), the official Volunteer t-shirt, networking opportunities, and more!

Select your preferred volunteer assignment as you sign up! Learn more here: https://ow.ly/BMnp50Z4gW6

Do you have a passion for helping people? Do you want to make a difference in your community?

The Interior Alaska Center For Non-Violent Living has positions available! Join their team at IAC: iacnvl.org/employment/

Class of 2026
UAF Commencement

Congratulations to all of our social work graduates! Your future is so bright! ✨✨

Two of our amazing graduates this year were honored at the Gold Ceremony.

Elizabeth Giudice, the Gray S. Tilly Memorial Award that recognizes an outstanding non-traditional graduate.

Paradise Porter is the UAF 2026 Commencement Student Speaker

We love to celebrate our social work graduates! Senior Celebration with some artistic self-care fun and celebrating the end of year!

Paint your grad (or classmates as we did) by Aurora Artistries and the wonderful Ashley!
Cake by Marlo’s Bakery.

Honors College capstone showcase and graduation.
Honors students are high achieving students who pursue a rigorous academic experience. They engage in either research or field-based learning in their last year.

Honors College graduates:

Paradise Porter- graduated with Highest Distinction
Capstone: Impacts of the current federal administration on Social Services in Alaska

Sophia Utterback, Climate Scholar
Capstone- Fostering the Future: The Importance of Fostering STEM Interest in Youth

First Generation Cording Ceremony!
The three words I’d use to describe our first-generation college students: tenacious,resilient, and courageous.

Social work and Japanese student, Paradise Porter was the student speaker, sharing her story of being the first in her family to graduate with a college degree.

First generation graduates honored at the cording ceremony:
August Michelle Abukasis
Paradise Porter
Gloria Shomer

It’s been a busy graduation week! Class of 2026 shined so bright ✨✨✨
First Generation Cording Ceremony ✅
Honors College Graduation ✅
Social Work Senior Celebration ✅
Gold Ceremony ✅
UAF 2026 Commencement ✅

Highlights coming…

Congratulations to our Social Work Outstanding Student of the Year, Paradise Porter!

🌟 Meet CLA’s 2026 Outstanding Students of the Year!! Each year, the UAF College of Liberal Arts recognizes a group of students who truly go above and beyond. These students represent the very best of CLA through their creativity, dedication, leadership, and commitment to their fields.

We are proud to introduce our 2026 Outstanding Students of the Year 🎉

Over the next month, we’ll be sharing individual stories, interviews, and videos that highlight who these students are, the paths they’ve taken, and the impact they’ve made across our college and community.

👉 Explore the full list and follow along here: https://www.uaf.edu/cla/osoty/index.php

Stay tuned and keep checking back as we continue to spotlight these incredible students and celebrate their achievements.

Social Work + Stories, Justice & Human Connection | Apply to the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival! How do we tell stories that move hearts and minds? How do narratives of marginalization, power, and resilience shape social change and human dignity?

This January, the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival (January 28–30, 2026) will bring together some of the world’s leading writers, thinkers, and cultural voices who confront inequality, identity, and justice through storytelling.

One of the festival’s featured authors is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — a globally renowned writer whose novels and essays explore race, gender, migration, power, identity, and voice. Her perspectives help us understand how stories shape social structures and who gets heard.
Rancho Mirage Writers Festival
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🔍 Why this matters to Social Work students
-Witness how storytelling can amplify marginalized voices and inform social justice
-Explore how narrative, empathy, and identity inform practice, policy, and advocacy
-Bring back frameworks for using story as a tool in community work, policy, and empowerment

✨ How to Participate
Thanks to the generosity of donor Gwen Ramras, the College of Liberal Arts is sponsoring 3 student spots (and 1 faculty spot) to attend the festival.

Apply now using this short form:
📝 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNE4l1qn-xaecN8iP_0B_dPETWWa6msJd7DBjqewze7VHzVA/viewform

🗓 Deadline: Monday, November 3, 2025

Learn more about what past participants experienced:
📖 https://www.uaf.edu/cla/news/2024/where-writers-meet.php

Don’t miss your chance to engage with storytellers whose work bridges art, justice, and human understanding.