For Dr. Stephanie Hamm, social work has never been just a career; it has been a calling shaped by compassion. From hospital rooms and delivery wards to online classrooms reaching students across the country, Dr. Hamm’s journey reflects a steady commitment to meeting people where they are and walking alongside them with purpose.
Dr. Hamm’s Journey with Social Work
Dr. Hamm graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. From there, she began practicing social work clinically in West Virginia. Early in her career, she worked primarily with children, including through organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters. But it was her work with women that shaped much of her professional identity.
“I really had a heart for women and women’s issues,” Hamm said. That heart led her into clinical settings serving pregnant women and children, including roles that supported high-risk infants and mothers navigating addiction and limited resources.
Dr. Hamm’s dedication to supporting pregnant women even allowed her to develop a unique skill. While working in counseling, she learned how to help deliver babies. “If a client didn’t have a support person, I would go with them,” she shared. Dr. Hamm joked that if she hadn’t pursued social work, she would’ve been a doula.
Stepping Into Education and Online Learning
In 2008, Dr. Hamm returned to ACU but this time as an educator. She began teaching graduate students across a wide range of courses, including research, statistics, spirituality, and micro and macro practice classes, while also supervising theses. In June of 2025, Dr. Hamm joined ACU Dallas as a full-time faculty member. “I like working with students. I love being with students. I think they’re fun.” Hamm said with a laugh.
Dr. Hamm’s path into online education was shaped both personally and professionally. Her husband had been working with online learning programs, and together they decided to pursue a joint research project that ultimately took them to a conference in Ireland. There, Dr. Hamm encountered online education on a global scale and realized how it can remove learning barriers to create opportunities for those wanting to pursue higher education.
“Online education is about accessibility,” she says. “Not everyone can pick up their lives and move to a campus.” For her, online learning isn’t a compromise; it’s an opportunity. Dr. Hamm continues to voice how her experience solidified her purpose as an educator. “It’s on us as educators to make programs as engaging and interactive as we can.”
In one introductory course, students are required to volunteer within their own communities, encouraging early engagement with the profession. The goal for Dr. Hamm is deeply human: helping students see themselves as social workers in the world, not just in a classroom.
Dr. Hamm’s Approach to Teaching
When asked about her approach to creating and teaching course material to students, Dr. Hamm said, “Teaching is the use of my own self.” She continued to emphasize that social work is more than the content being taught; it’s helping people at some of their lowest points in life.
Dr. Hamm’s goal when teaching a class is to bring her whole self to it. Another important aspect of Dr. Hamm’s work as an educator is to keep learning, something she does especially for online students. “I set out to learn how to teach classes in the most interactive way that I can,” She said. Her own experience as a student continues to shape how she teaches. She remembers professors who upheld rigid hierarchies, as well as those who chose collaboration instead. The latter of the two teaching approaches left the deepest impression on Hamm. “They were willing to listen,” she says. “ That’s the kind of professor I want to be,” she added.
The results from her approach have made a lasting impact on students. Two former students became actively involved in statewide politics, bringing a social work lens into policy conversations, even having a former student run for public office. Dr. Hamm also recalled a nursing student she mentored who later received recognition for a project they worked on together. “Anytime a student says, ‘Because of this course…,’” Dr. Hamm reflects, “moments like that tell me I’m doing something right.”
Continuing Her Passion For Social Work and Teaching
At the core of Dr. Hamm’s teaching is a deep respect for the profession itself. She believes students must understand that social work is built on skills, knowledge and research, not just good intentions. “We are working with other people’s lives,” she said. That responsibility is something she carries heavily and passes on to her students. “We need to know research and content to offer clients the best we can give.”
The online Bachelor of Science in Social Work program officially began this January, and Dr. Hamm is excited to see what the future holds for the new program. Dr. Hamm voiced an enthusiasm for doing what she can to ensure that the program is providing students with an interactive, enjoyable learning experience that prepares them for the real world. “I’m going to keep learning and doing whatever I can.”
Dr. Stephanie Hamm’s deep love and passion for social work and her respect for education have allowed her to teach and touch the lives of many students. Her work is a testament to what ACU wants to give students: affordable and accessible educational opportunities to make a difference in their communities.
If you want to pursue a career in social work and are interested in ACU, visit our website to learn more.