Father of 4 takes unusual path to MSW

The first few times Patrick Clifford went back to Jamestown Middle School in Guilford County for his social work internship, he received puzzled looks from the teachers who had him in their classrooms 20 years ago.

They all remembered Clifford as an incessant troublemaker, the kid who started fights, the student with the 0.87 GPA who was eventually expelled from high school.

“They were all like, ‘Wait, you’re about to get your master’s degree? That doesn’t make sense,’” Clifford said. “The fact that I’m 33 and they still remember me from when I was in middle school says everything about the kind of kid I was.”

As UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2025 Spring Commencement nears, Clifford is set to graduate with a master’s degree from the UNC School of Social Work’s 12-month advanced standing program — an accomplishment even he didn’t see coming. His journey from a troubled youth to a master’s graduate has been anything but conventional.

Check out these 10 things you need to know before attending UNC-Chapel Hill’s Spring Commencement.

Clifford was born in the Dominican Republic but was adopted as an infant and has never met his biological family. As a young teen growing up in Greensboro, Clifford was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and his struggles with managing the condition can explain much of his teenage troublemaking.

At 19, Clifford had his first of four children and resigned himself to a life of working paycheck-to-paycheck jobs as a way of supporting his family. But with some encouragement from his father, Clifford earned his GED diploma at 23, and before long he started taking classes at Guilford Technical Community College and worked toward an associate of arts degree.

Clifford credits his fiancée and parents for their support as he pursued his master’s degree while raising four children. (Submitted photo)

As unrest spread throughout the country following the death of George Floyd, Clifford realized he had a passion for creating social change, which led him to explore a career in social work. He graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s social work program and, with encouragement from advisers, applied to the advanced standing master’s program at Carolina.

“Graduating is going to be surreal, to be honest with you, because I didn’t know what I was going to be,” Clifford said. “I thought, in some ways, I might be somebody that goes to jail — with being bipolar and having these different things going on. I didn’t know how I was going to take care of my family.”

Pursuing a social work career gave Clifford a special opportunity to come full circle by interning at his former middle school and mentoring children who often remind him of himself.

Recently one troubled student told him, “There’s no way I’m going to college.” Clifford told the student his own story and implored the student to ask his teacher about the kind of student Clifford was in middle school.

“He came back with the biggest smile on his face, and he was like, ‘My teacher said you were significantly worse than me,’ and I’m like — boom,” Clifford said, laughing. “I said, ‘Trust me. I didn’t figure it out until I was like 27. You’re 13. You shouldn’t have it figured out right now.’”

Pursuing his master’s degree as a father of four wasn’t easy for Clifford, and he credits his fiancée and parents for their support throughout the process. Now that he’s set to graduate, Clifford has visions of working with underserved communities.

“I want to eventually own my own practice,” Clifford said. “And I want to work in lower-income neighborhoods, giving them the mental health support that they might not have access to.”