One of the opportunities presented to interns is the option to meet with a mentor while in DC. This seemed like a great opportunity to me, so I signed up. We met our mentors for the first time at a nice breakfast served at TFAS on September 15th. I was pleasantly surprised when I met Lakeya Cherry, MSSW, LGSW. Lakeya is the Executive Director at The Network for Social Work Management. The Network for Social Work Management is comprised of social workers, working at all levels of management, across a broad and diverse range of human services organizations. The Network is dedicated to equipping social work managers with management skills at our annual conference and through our management standards. These standards define the characteristics associated with quality management and describe the competencies needed by those working in management positions. Their mission is "Strengthening social work leadership in health and human services." https://socialworkmanager.org/
Lakeya and I hit it off from the start. She is an intelligent, energetic, and committed leader. Our first two visits were times where we got to know each other better. We got to tell each other our stories and our goals. We have so much in common. Lakeya made herself available to me for questions anytime that I wanted and we stayed in touch between our meetings through email. Lakeya encouraged me to network with other professionals and to engage in social life. Being intentional about nurturing and caring for myself takes intention, especially with a busy work and class schedule, but with Lakeya's encouragement, I made it a priority. By the time we met again just after Halloween, I had been in DC for two months. My unique experiences through my internship helped me to form several questions that I was excited to ask Lakeya's advice about. At brunch, we caught up and I was able to ask her my questions. One of the questions I asked was whether or not it would be best to go right into graduate school or to start working somewhere and then go to graduate school later. She shared her opinions on this from a social work viewpoint and was able to tell me what some of the best graduate school programs were. I came away with a list of practical to do's that would move me forward as I continue to think of life after graduation in May.
1 Comment
Bob Bourke
11/10/2015 08:09:37 pm
You hit the jackpot as far as who you mentor is ...
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Daphne ThompsonPursuing a Bachelor Degree in Public Services and Policy, Daphne is starting her senior year this fall. Archives
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