Sanjuanita De Luna Gained New Perspective Through the UK Doctorate of Social Work Program
| 5 Min Read
For Sanjuanita De Luna, the road to earning her Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) online with the University of Kentucky has been a journey of perseverance. A full-time medical social worker and part-time psychotherapist in Laredo, Texas, she was drawn to the field from a young age. “I have always been interested in social work,” she said. “By the time I was 10 years old, I knew I wanted to help people.”
Growing up near the U.S.-Mexico border, Sanjuanita learned about inequality and resilience firsthand. “Discovering my undocumented status transformed everything,” she recalled. “College seemed unreachable. I had the grades, drive, and passion, but not the necessary documentation.”
Instead of giving up in the face of adversity, Sanjuanita was steadfast in her desire to achieve her goals. “I didn’t give up. I found a community college that accepted me and provided financial aid,” she said. “I worked two jobs to cover tuition, but I remained determined.”
Years later, after building a career in social work, encouragement from her clients gave her the resolve to seek the highest degree in her field. “When I was having my sessions, my clients started addressing me as ‘Dr. De Luna,’” she said. “That’s what inspired me.”
Finding Belonging in an Online Community
While researching doctoral programs, Sanjuanita discovered that UK’s online DSW program offered the right balance of course work and diversity. “I looked at the curriculum to see what made this program stand out,” she shared. “Then I looked at the instructors, and one last name caught my attention: Escobar. I said, ‘this is a woman and a Hispanic person. I can relate to that.’”
Excited by the prospect of studying with a professor who understood her background, Sanjuanita began planning for her doctoral studies. The UK online format made her goals attainable. She stated, “There’s no way I could have left Texas and my full-time job to come to Lexington and be a typical student. The online program made it possible.”
Sanjuanita was pleased to discover that online learning felt deeply personal. Frequent collaboration and discussion created a sense of connection. “Community is very important. Get to know other people,” she said. “You’re going to find out that we all bleed the same, have the same fears, and those fears sometimes stop us from really coming together. Let’s stop that. We all live on the same planet.”
Connecting Justice to Real-World Change
One specific course in the online DSW program – Justice Informed Social Work Practice – helped change Sanjuanita’s perspective. “Justice had a tremendous impact on me because it allowed me to change a little bit of my mindset coming from clinical and medical.”
Her studies reminded Sanjuanita of the patterns of injustice she grew up with in Laredo. “We have a lot of marginalization, environmental injustice, and lack of access,” she observed. “It’s very easy to feel that this is the way it’s supposed to be, but UK has made me feel the pain of my town and want to do something about it.”
This new lens inspired Sanjuanita and her family to participate in local advocacy efforts. “My whole family is becoming more active in those causes,” she said. “I want to use social work to fight environmental injustice in my town.”
Using Education as Empowerment
Sanjuanita envisions a shift in the scope of her practice after earning her social work leadership degree. She noted, “Once I graduate, I plan to regroup, take some time off, and then be more active in other areas of social work. I want to help kids who feel invisible, like I once did. I want to be the person I needed when I was younger.”
Graduation will represent more than an academic milestone — it will symbolize personal growth and the opportunity to magnify her impact on others. Her message for future DSW students is simple but powerful: “Just do it. You’re going to have a lot of doubts and imposter syndrome, but don’t think about all the things that can go wrong. Take it one day at a time and see what happens.”
Through her story, Sanjuanita demonstrates that education is not merely an achievement, it’s an act of courage and community. “Education gave me hope when everything else seemed uncertain,” she said. “When I’m able to finish my degree and carry, with pride, the designation of Doctor of Social Work, it’s going to feel like one of the biggest accomplishments in my life. Not just because it’s something on paper, but because of the changes it made in me and the benefits for my community.”
About the Online Doctor of Social Work Program
Improve your ability to provide quality care for those in need with the online Doctorate of Social Work (DSW). This flexible program offers online course work and affordable tuition that enables you to achieve your academic goals on a schedule and budget that fits your life. Choose from concentrations in Administrative Leadership, Clinical Social Work, Military Behavioral Health, Social Work Education, and Sport Social Work to fully align your studies with your professional aspirations.
Learn from supportive faculty who draw on their experience in the field of social work to prepare you for advanced practice. The online DSW program features a capstone project that empowers you with the specialized expertise needed to thrive in a variety of social work settings and opportunities for 1:1 faculty mentorship.
At UK, our supportive staff can help connect you with options for funding your education so you can focus on your professional development. Upon graduation, you’ll gain access to an alumni network of social work graduates who can expand your professional connections, share their knowledge of industry trends, or help you discover opportunities for leadership roles in this rapidly growing field.
Explore Our DSW Concentrations
We’re proud to offer a variety of DSW concentrations that elevate your expertise as a professional social worker. Whatever your ultimate goals may be, our DSW concentrations support your future success.