Social Work

Fannie Belle Gaupp Outstanding Student Award

This award is named in honor of Fannie Belle Gaupp, the founding director of the social work program at UNT, who provided many years of professional leadership and service. The award recognizes scholarship, leadership and character, participation in social work activities, and the potential for future contributions to the field of social work. This award is given annually at the University Honors Day ceremony in April and includes a $500 cash award.

A faculty committee selects the awardee at the completion of the fall semester. Please note that there is no application for this award. All social work majors at UNT are eligible for consideration.

Jordan Holley

The Social Work faculty recognized Jordan Holley with a Fannie Belle Gaupp Outstanding Student Award at UNT Honors Day, an annual event that honors the most accomplished of students, faculty and staff. Holley has worked as a crisis intervention specialist with Denton County Friends of the Family; served as student representative on the national board member for the National Association of Social Workers; as vice president of UNT’s chapter of the Social Work Student Association and as president of Phi Alpha Honor Society for Social Work. Over the last two years, Holley has also organized a graduate career fair for social work students at UNT and TWU.

"Jordan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the field of social work,” said Brenda Sweeten, lecturer and social work field director in UNT’s social work program. “What sets her apart is that she is always encouraging to peers, and she stands as an excellent example of what service to others and the community is all about."

Holley received her bachelor of social work degree on May 10th and will pursue a master’s degree in social work at Texas Christian University starting Fall 2014. Holley said her teachers have inspired her to live in the present and be compassionate and competent in all areas of her life. “If you put your heart and mind into your passion, anything and everything is possible,” she said. “I get so much energy from encouraging others in life.”

The College of Public Affairs & Community Service recently awarded Jackie Davis the William A. Luker Award for Student Involvement for 2013-2014. Davis is actively engaged in the local community and state as an advocate for children and youth in foster care. He is a founding member and the president of Persevere UNTil Success Happens (PUSH), a student organization that provides support to foster care alumni seeking a college education.

A gifted speaker, Davis is frequently invited to speak to community groups and non-profit organizations about his experiences as a child in foster care and his journey to earn a college degree. He delivered the welcoming address and participated on a panel with fellow UNT students at the National CASA Conference in Grapevine in June. He has served as a HPS Ambassador for Social Work, has volunteers in the community at Child Protective Services (CPS) and at fundraisers for CASA of Denton County. He has, along with other members of PUSH, have trained child welfare workers and child advocates, staff at Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home and even UNT faculty and staff who serve as Campus Champions for the PUSH Initiative Program. Davis mentors youth in the community and is admired greatly by his peers.

Erin Poppenger, who graduated May 2013, is the recipient of theWilliam A. Luker Award for Student Involvement for 2012-2013.  She has worked tirelessly serving a number of local community organizations. Poppenger participated in service learning and volunteered for Child Protective Services, Communities and Schools of North Texas, Denton Kinship Fair and Adoption Day, CASA, Red Cross to Armed Forces Dallas Branch, and Denton Red Cross Disaster Action team. She has been recognized on the president's and dean's lists and is a member of several honor societies.  In 2012, she won theTexoma National Association of Social Workers Student of the Year Award and the Silver President's Volunteer Service Award from the Dallas Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.  Poppenger, a Lantana resident, was also awarded a scholarship stipend from the Title IV-E Child Welfare program.