The winter semester graduate wants to make a global impact

Growing up in rural Siler City, Ashley Myles always longed to see more of the world, learn about other cultures and ultimately make a difference.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from UNC-Wilmington, Myles embarked on a journey to accomplish just that. She taught English classes in Thailand for a year. She later moved to Guatemala and worked with women artisans, giving them contacts in America so they could market their products and become breadwinners for their families. In between, Myles taught social studies at a high school in North Carolina.

All of these experiences opened Myles’ eyes to the world and made her realize the extent of inequalities in global health and the impact of colonization. Wanting to make an even greater impact, Myles turned to the School of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Myles attended the School of Social Work’s three-year MSW program, which allowed her to earn her master’s degree part-time while working for Operation Smile. This global nonprofit organization specializes in providing safe cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care services in middle- and low-income countries.

Myles will graduate in December after studying social work and specializing in disparities in global and maternal health.

“I was able to continue working in my role with Operation Smile while completing the program, which I am not sure I would have been able to do if not for the three-year program,” Myles said.

Ashley Myles along with her fellow partners from the non-profit organization Operation Smile. (Submitted photo)

“The School of Social Work has been really great at removing barriers for people who need to work while in school.”

Myles said her favorite part of the program was discovering the diverse experiences of her classmates. Some came straight out of college, while others, like Myles, had already embarked on two or three career paths. Social work is a broad field, and Myles made friends with classmates who were dealing with very different topics, such as substance abuse and eating disorders.

“I think the School of Social Work was probably the first formalized educational institution I ever attended where we really looked at equity and systemic barriers,” Myles said. “These are the things that I talked about all the time with my friends or in my workplace, but it had never been formalized for me in an academic setting.

“That aspect was really fun for me to look at in a more academic way, and it changed the way I think and the way I look at not just the things I work in, but my whole life.”

Myles had already worked for Operation Smile for three years before enrolling at Carolina, and she plans to continue working for the organization after graduation. Myles recently received a promotion at Operation Smile, where she will oversee comprehensive patient care services including nutrition, speech therapy, mental health care and oral health.

Last summer she also had the opportunity to combine her studies with her work.

“I actually did my second internship part-time,” said Myles. “There I created the beginnings of a program that would focus on supporting parents and caregivers, because that’s something we definitely do, but we needed a more formalized way to do it. When a parent takes a patient in, they also go through this whole experience.

“I really hope to use my social work degree to get this off the ground and work to improve the way we can support not only our patients but also their caregivers throughout the life cycle .”