LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky College of Social Work (CoSW) celebrated its graduating class of 2024 on Friday, May 3, honoring 384 graduates who walked across the stage at Rupp Arena.
The CoSW is committed to developing outstanding professionals — leaders who will serve individuals, families, and communities through innovative and effective practices that are guided by cultural competency, systematic ethical analysis, and a keen and pragmatic understanding of the human condition.
The class of 2024 join the ranks of CoSW alumni, poised to shape the future with integrity, passion, and unwavering commitment to excellence, reminding the world that Social Work is Everywhere.
“It’s very important,” Autumn Lautigar, first generation college student said on earning her Masters of Social Work on Friday. “A social worker told me I would be a good social worker five years ago and it inspired me to go back to school. Earning this degree from the University of Kentucky means a lot.”
To kick off the celebration on Friday, the College of Social Work hosted a Graduation Celebration at the Gatton Student Center, inviting all graduates and their loved ones to come together and meet their fellow graduates.
“We are excited to welcome all of our graduates and congratulate them on all their hard work paying off,” Dr. Kalea Benner, CoSW Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs said at the celebration. “We are so glad to call you our social work colleagues. Congratulations!”
Among those walking across the stage in Rupp Arena were doctors Jasmine Thomas and AJ Deloney, both graduates of the Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) program at the CoSW.
“To me, social work is the cultivation is doing something that we are passionate about. The recognition that comes with a doctoral level degree, that’s the part that completed the cycle. This has been special,” Deloney said.
When asked what graduation meant to her, Dr. Thomas described receiving her doctoral degree as “monumental.”
“My motto has always been ‘help me help you.’ Now being a doctor and able to help people at a different level, that’s inspirational,” Thomas said.
The College of Social Work congratulates the class of 2024 and looks forward to the impact CoSW graduates continue to make on the Commonwealth and beyond, improving the human condition always, in all ways.
