2026 Social Work Month Voices: W. Winston Scott

As the NASW celebrates 70 years of advocacy and advancement, this upcoming Social Work Month we want to continue to collect stories from across the profession. Read Winston’s story and see how this year’s Social Work Month Theme, “Uplift. Defend. Transform.” resonates with them.

W. Winston Scott

(He / Him)

Where did you get your degree(s)?

• John A. Logan - A.A. 2025

• Southern Illinois University Carbondale - BSW. 2026

Current Occupation/Practice Area(s):

Student

In what ways are you involved with NASW-IL?

I currently serve as the Undergraduate Student Representative on the NASW-Illinois Chapter Board of Directors (2025–2026 term). In this role, I’ve helped engage students in policy advocacy, civic participation, and chapter events, including Advocacy Day. I also support NASW’s mission by uplifting student voices from Southern Illinois, especially those navigating non-traditional pathways into the profession. My involvement has been as much personal as professional. I came to social work as a lived-experience adult learner, father, and community member who believes in healing, advocacy, and reform at the policy level. NASW-IL has given me a platform to grow as a leader and to connect my experiences in mental health, fatherhood engagement, and rural community work with broader statewide efforts to strengthen the profession. Looking ahead, I’m interested in continuing my involvement with NASW-IL beyond my undergraduate term—particularly in policy, advocacy, and leadership development spaces that can support emerging professionals and students across the state.

How did you choose the social work path? What inspired you?

I didn’t take a traditional route into social work. After closing my landscaping business and selling my semi, I went back to school, mostly to pass time and to figure out what the next chapter of my life would look like. In that process, I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time — real support. My wife, my kids, and my small but committed circle believed I could do more, and their belief made me start believing it too. Once I had enough quiet space to take myself seriously, I asked what mattered to me. The answer kept pointing toward mental health, substance use, and the ways systems either help families stabilize or push them further off course. I’m a father, a lived experience adult learner, and someone who has seen both sides of instability. I chose social work because I wanted to make meaning out of what I lived through and use it to make a difference for someone else. The field’s commitment to dignity, advocacy, and policy-level change aligned with what I wanted to stand for.

What are some of the essential skills needed to be an effective social worker?

I’m still early in the profession, but cultural competency stands out as essential — not as a training box to check, but as a way of approaching people with curiosity and respect. Listening also feels core: listening to understand, not to fix. And social work requires systems awareness and advocacy, because individual challenges are often shaped by policy, access, and opportunity. I imagine my list will keep evolving, but those feel foundational so far.

What changes or innovations do you see coming to the social work profession?

Given the current political climate, I think we’re heading into a public-health crisis that will impact mental health, stigma, and whether people feel safe opening up. I expect social work to respond by expanding trauma-informed care, digital and remote access to services, and stronger policy advocacy to protect vulnerable populations. I also think lived experience voices and peer models will play a larger role in how we reach people who no longer trust traditional systems.

Does the 2026 Social Work Month theme, "Social Workers: Uplift. Defend. Transform." resonate to you? Is it already integrated in your work?

Yes, the theme speaks directly to the direction the profession is moving. Uplifting feels connected to storytelling, representation, and validating lived experience. Defending aligns with advocacy, equity, and ensuring people aren’t left behind by systems. Transforming reflects the policy and cultural work that creates long-term change. As an undergraduate NASW-IL board member and lived-experience father, I try to embody those values now, and I expect they’ll shape my future work in mental health and policy.

Words of wisdom for someone considering the social work profession?

Be curious, listen deeply, and don’t underestimate the power of lived experience. Social work is not about having all the answers, ... it’s about being willing to sit with complexity and work toward dignity, access, and change.