Sigler Aging Scholars Program continues to produce leaders in social work
The Sigler Aging Scholars Program at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare provides students with more than a purpose and a goal for the future.
For social work students, it’s a program that aims to develop a generation of leaders in a social welfare space that deserves their passion.
Olivia Sabal saw her career path shaping when she was a teenager. Her mom is a social worker and got her degree from KU, and Sabal followed in her mom’s footsteps.
But first came the long hours spent in nursing homes with her grandparents, providing them with extra care. For Sabal, spending time with aging adults is sometimes easy.
Sabal, who received her Master of Social Work from KU, found her perfect space within the Sigler Family Aging Scholars Program. She could already relate to professionals caring for older adults.
“I definitely understand how people's kids are feeling when they're trying to care for them,” Sabal said. “I know how hard it is. I became very familiar with the difficulties of hiring private duty care.”
Inspire and engage
The Sigler Family Aging Scholars Program is an opportunity for students like Sabal to learn more about the significant shortfalls in the gerontology-specific workforce and get hands-on experience in making a difference.
The program was founded in the 2021-2022 academic year, supported by an endowed scholarship fund donated by a KU alumni, Eric Sigler, and his wife Kristie.
Sigler, who currently works as a bereavement specialist in the Kansas City area, found a passion for serving older adults and their families during his time in the KU MSW program, where he learned that there is a shortfall of well-trained social workers prepared to work with this growing population across the U.S.
Hoping to inspire BSW and MSW students to pursue leadership in gerontological practice, Sigler continues to engage with and champion the efforts of each cohort of scholars.
KU School of Social Welfare graduates Lindsay Huddlestun and Kristin Nichols had the opportunity to interview Sigler. That was a standout moment for both as Huddlestun and Nichols were part of the same cohort in 2022-2023.
Huddlestun called the interview “eye-opening.”
“Just to be able to create a project that could shine a light on social work in general,” Huddlestun said, “but also how awesome working with older adults can be.”
The Sigler Family Aging Scholars Program’s benefits expand past the interview opportunities. It rewards a scholarship of $4,000, leadership and community networking opportunities and one-on-one mentorship.
Huddlestun, Sabal and Nichols praised program director Dr. Sarah Jen, an associate professor at the School of Social Welfare.
“I was really excited that someone cared enough to put together a program like the Sigler Aging Scholars Program to really help to motivate and encourage people to pursue this as a passion,” Nichols said.
These three students all transitioned from the School of Social Welfare and the Aging Scholars Program to careers within the field. Huddlestun is currently an eligibility and options specialist in Johnson County. Sabal is a hospice social worker at Good Shepherd Hospice. Nichols joined the KU Health System in June 2023 as a clinical social worker for the Movement Disorder Clinic.
Outgrowing expectations
Even in their professional careers, Jen keeps students from former cohorts involved.
Sabal’s favorite project from the program was helping build an art gallery with her cohort members, Kamri Wolverton and Tobi Barta.
The project was called Untold Stories of Aging. It has a website that describes the project as “an arts-based community-action project, seeking to illuminate the experiences of older adults through conversation, collaboration, art, and advocacy.”
Sabal said the idea began when her cohort received a large grant. They wanted to create a unique and in-person experience.
“We thought it would be nice to put on an art exhibition where the theme was aging,” Sabal said. “You get older adults' art in there, but also to get art made by kids or grandkids who are really close with their older adult family members.”
The project was popular enough that the cohort held an art competition in 2024 to build on the project’s digital archive, and it’s something that keeps giving each year. Jen called on Sabal to help again this year, and Sabal was pleased to return.
The Sigler Aging Scholars Program is already making an impact as it enters its third year. The goal to put more leaders in the workforce continues with it.
The cohorts’ various community action projects built collaborations with multiple community partners, brought in $20,000 in grant funding, provided CEU training to 75 social workers across the state of Kansas and engaged over 150 community members as audience members of the Untold Stories of Aging in-person exhibition.
“These projects have outgrown my expectations and taken on a life of their own,” Jen said. "The scholars program made that possible by providing students with meaningful recognition, financial support, and confidence to become leaders in their field.”