LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 21, 2026) — For many helping professionals, caring for others is part of the job. This summer, the University of Kentucky College of Social Work (CoSW) Alumni Association challenged its alumni to make caring for themselves a priority, too.
The College of Social Work Alumni Association (SWAA) recently wrapped up its annual Summer Self-Care Challenge, an initiative designed to encourage alumni to reflect honestly on their self-care habits, identify opportunities for growth and put sustainable practices into action.
Launched on July 24 on International Self-Care Day, the challenge provided participants with a self-care assessment, planning resources, regular check-ins and messages of encouragement from CoSW Dean Jay Miller and Summer Bryant, alumni engagement manager.
Rather than defining what self-care should look like, the challenge encouraged participants to consider what well-being means in their own lives and develop practices that fit their individual needs, responsibilities and goals.
For Kelly Cervenec Spears (MSW 2017), the regular reminders provided an opportunity to slow down during the summer and think intentionally about the habits she wanted to carry forward.
“The text messages helped remind me to take a moment and ground myself, or to put my worries into a different perspective,” Cervenec Spears said. “And the summer gave me an opportunity to set better habits for my health that I hope to bring into the fall!”
That emphasis on reflection is central to the challenge. Participants began by taking an honest look at their existing self-care practices before developing a plan for where they wanted to make changes. Throughout the summer, additional prompts and opportunities for connection helped keep those goals top of mind.
Shawn Hunter (BASW 2026) said the experience helped expand how he thinks about self-care.
“I thought this was a great opportunity. It made me reflect critically on what I was and wasn’t doing and how I could shift my mindset,” Hunter said. “The text messages were extremely helpful as a gentle reminder and check-in. It was encouraging and helped me think about self-care in a different sense.”
For E. Andrea Solheim (MSW 2025), those check-ins also helped turn reflection into action.
“The challenge made me more mindful of what self-care looks like,” Solheim said. “Being reminded of what is important and what to reflect on, being kept in check so to speak, was really helpful! I tightened up my practices and feel more aligned.”
The focus on self-care has longstanding roots at the College. CoSW’s research has examined self-care and well-being among helping professionals, who can encounter stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout through the demands of their work.
The SWAA Summer Self-Care Challenge translates that focus into an opportunity for alumni to pause, reflect and connect while reinforcing that self-care is not a one-time activity, but an ongoing practice.
For Shanice Jackson (BASW 2026), the value of the experience could be summarized simply: “This helped as a reminder to pause, reflect and take time for myself.”
Through initiatives like the Summer Self-Care Challenge, SWAA continues to create opportunities for graduates to remain connected to the College and to one another well beyond graduation.
And as participants head into the fall, the goal is not necessarily a completely new routine. It is something more sustainable: greater awareness of when they need to pause, what helps them recharge and how taking care of themselves can remain part of the work of caring for others.
