Episode Nine: From Waco to the World: Transforming Communities through Social Work
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Description
Have you ever wondered how social work can transform communities across the globe?
In this episode, Jennifer Dickey, PhD, LMSW, Director of the Global Mission Leadership program at The Garland School of Social Work, shares inspiring stories of alumni making a profound impact worldwide—from pioneering child protection laws in Myanmar to empowering farmers in Sierra Leone. Dr. Dickey highlights how faith, collective organizing, and a deep commitment to the common good shape Garland School graduates to lead and serve in diverse social work settings. Plus, hear about the power of alumni connections and how prospective students can engage with this vibrant community.
Join us to discover how to find your unique path and get involved with a global network of changemakers.
Transcript
SPEAKERS
Jennifer Dickey, Curtis Isozaki
Curtis Isozaki 00:01
Hello, Jennifer! Thank you so much for taking the time to be on The GSSW Podcast. Just we're so excited to get to know you.
Jennifer Dickey 00:10
Well, I am glad to be here today. Curtis, thanks for inviting me!
Curtis Isozaki 00:14
Fantastic! Well, we're hoping that in this podcast, we're talking about worldwide alumni, leading and serving in social work practice. And so we're excited to hear about the various diverse fields and locations from all around the world our students are serving and leading, and so would you? Would you be able to start off by you just introducing yourself, letting our friends know who you are and what you do here in The Garland School of Social Work
Jennifer Dickey 00:40
Yeah! I would be happy to! My name is Jennifer Dickey, and I serve as the Director of the program called Global Mission Leadership. We started this initiative back in 2008 on grant funding that came from the Henry Luce Foundation, with the dream and our hearts of coming alongside global leaders who are already doing really phenomenal work in their home countries. They have a passion and a commitment for their communities. They're already doing really valuable work, but somehow along the way, they've identified that a Master's in Social Work will either strengthen their skill sets or open doors for them to do their work even more effectively. And so We offer a full scholarship for students to come and study it with us, with a commitment to go back to their home countries, and in the process, we have been changed.
Curtis Isozaki 01:29
Oh man, your care and commitment and deep love for The Garland School of Social Work is both felt, it's heard, it's experienced by your students, and you're one of those faculty members who so deeply care about their students and even welcome them into their home! And So thank you for just your hospitality and just commitment to our school. And so Speaking of home, would you be able to share with our friends just one word to describe where you're living as a part of our rapid fire questions that we always ask in these podcasts.
Jennifer Dickey 02:03
I live in a pad of butter with black shutters, [Laughs]
Curtis Isozaki 02:07
Amazing! [Laughs] Okay, we gotta unpack it. Normally, we don't go all into it, but yes!
Jennifer Dickey 02:13
I live in this old home. It's probably 100 it's almost 100 years old, and when my daughter saw it, she said it looks like a little pat of butter. It's yellow and it has black shutters, but I think butter is like this- I hope that everybody has butter for their bread. It's like this semi-indulgent, really rich, supportive element to a meal that's delicious, and we care a lot about the shared table. We want people to be at home in our home and at home in our table. So it's fitting that it's a pad of butter with butter with black shutters.
Curtis Isozaki 02:48
Such a gift, such a gift! Just like my morning coffee. And so with that being said, what is your go-to favorite coffee shop and order here in our community?
Jennifer Dickey 03:01
You know what I've been choosing lately?
Curtis Isozaki 03:02
Mmm?
Jennifer Dickey 03:02
Its Be kind.
Curtis Isozaki 03:03
Okay, yeah.
Jennifer Dickey 03:05
I love the motto! Yeah! I love the lighting, and I love the sense of just wanting to foster more kindness. I just love all the things about it. So it's a good space for me.
Curtis Isozaki 03:18
Yeah, and, and where's your favorite spot on Baylor's campus, and why?
Jennifer Dickey 03:25
I would say there's this really big tree that's in what is that called? It's right outside of Pat Neff. And when I was an undergraduate, I used to study under that tree. And now when I walk past it, I just think about the way that these grounds have held me for so many years, like I am a three-peat here, not many people choose to do that: undergrad, graduate and doctoral degree. I didn't come in thinking that I'd be a three I didn't come in thinking, Oh, this is where I'm going to do all my education. It just has continued to unfold and open up. But that tree at different times has really been a meaningful place that has helped me so grateful.
Curtis Isozaki 04:05
Love that. Spaces are so important. So you've been a part of The Garland School of Social Work for some time now, and we're looking forward to hearing just more about your story and these alumni that have really just made an impact in our world, and you being absolutely one of them. And so starting off with our first question, we've asked everyone this question, how have you seen The Garland School of Social Work prepare social workers for worldwide service and leadership?
Jennifer Dickey 04:33
Oh, my goodness. Well, you know, I'll tell you a story about Paul Conte, he graduated in 2015 with his master's, and Paul came so eager, so eager to study. He always had such a deep commitment to his home country of Sierra Leone. And more particularly, he's always been aware of making collective spaces for people that, maybe, haven't had support or access. And specifically, he went back to start an initiative among young girls who didn't have access to education. They needed a safe place to study and to grow. And He went back to his home country after getting his master's, and served diligently in that field. But things began to start changing for him. And he looked up and he said, "Oh my gosh, our country is so blessed with beautiful land and an incredible like an incredible growing environment. What if we really harnessed and supported local farmers?" And he let his life kind of take a right-hand turn, and he began to study and learn more about farming in ways that his actually, his family had been a part of farming. And then he started these cooperatives with farmers to say, let's support local farmers, specifically in the production of peanut farming, because he's like, there's so much wealth in our land, and we want Sierra Leoneans to have that- to be the ones that are nurturing that natural resource. I tell you that story of Paul because I saw all of those ways way back when he was studying with us. He was always collaborative, always linking arms with people, [and] such a networker among his cohort. I just have seen him always be a weaver, and I think The GarlandSschool helped support that. I think there was parts of the curriculum that reminded him that together is better than separate, and his cultural expertise and collectivism has led the way. So, yeah, he's he's an amazing, amazing guy.
Curtis Isozaki 04:33
Oh, that's great.
Jennifer Dickey 04:38
You want more stories? Oh, we're definitely gonna get more stories in the future for more and more conversations like this. I know you have so many different just deeply impactful stories, and maybe you'll share some, some more later. How does The Garland School of Social Work equips students to address diverse social work challenges in various settings? I think some challenges are not actually addressed through really complicated, nuanced ways. They're actually addressed in really deeply human ways that are actually imprinted on us from our initial design. And I hope that The Garland school draws us back to some of those parts of us that we've always known to be there. Like, what does it look like to work within relationship? What does it look like to work for the collective good of others? What does it look like to join salt in solidarity with those that are suffering? And so many ways that we look at the model of Christ, we see these ways within Chris. [Pause] I think that The Garland School creates curriculum that supports people in in growing in those strengths and skills around good communication, collective organizing, letting research inform our practice and letting our practice inform research. Paying attention to who's benefiting from policies, and [ask] how else can more benefit? How can you bring poor people at the table? I mean, I'm a community practitioner at heart, and so I'm always thinking from that curriculum bent, and I just see almost like David and his five smooth stones. You know, he tried to put on Saul's armor, and it didn't quite fit, but he came back to these five smooth stones. I think there's some ways that The Garland School of Social Work curriculum empowers people to actually do really basic good work. That is, that really is the key to unlocking like the river underneath us, in some ways, I don't know,
Curtis Isozaki 09:05
Yeah, no, that's great. As you're sharing about the five stones I'm thinking of like for The Garland School's three stones, right? Like valuing humanity, promoting equity and engaging spirituality being some of our core values and vision for who we are.
Jennifer Dickey 09:21
Totally
Curtis Isozaki 09:21
And I think globally, we we hold those stones well amidst the Goliath that we face.
Jennifer Dickey 09:28
Yeah!
Curtis Isozaki 09:28
So yeah. So good.
Jennifer Dickey 09:31
I also think that, you know, a very important part of our programming is the deep volume belief of reciprocity, that there's like a sharing underneath the soil. I love Robin wall kimmers description of mycelium, where these rich tree roots, some are gathering more than enough, and some don't have enough, and there's a sharing of access and support and resources. And I can't tell you how many times I look to our graduates, specifically the international leaders that I have access to, to ask for input, to say, "Can you see how we could do this better? Can you see this from your perspective or framework? What can we do?" So there's a real mutuality of sharing, Yeah That I think, is a mark, hopefully, on our program.
Curtis Isozaki 10:25
Yeah, so kind of building upon that, what unique qualities or skills do our graduates bring to the field of social work?
Jennifer Dickey 10:33
I-I'm going to talk more specifically from the graduates in my in the program that I get a chance to serve, but I would say their depth of commitment to the common good is just moving, to me. How they're always looking to see how can all people have access and get support and grow. They're just [pause] they have such an expansive ability to see their communities, and I would say the depth of fuel of their faith, I think. Feeling where they end and the divine has to begin. It's like their own capacity will just go so far, but so many of them have tapped into their deep faith, flow and communion, and that's what fuels their work and fuels them and keeps them involved. Just the other day, we had a long conversation with one of our graduates, who graduated back in 2012 and she's back in her home country of Myanmar, and she just when she was a young child, her father had a school for kids that were living on the street, and she remembers her dad saying, "that's the school I'm going to raise you in. I want you to be exposed and no conditions of kids." She grew up her whole life around children. When she came and studied with us, she was just awake and always in wonder of children and wanted to support them. Here she is, you know, she graduated 12 [pause] What are we? You know, here we are 15 years later, and she went back to her home country of Myanmar, really quickly got employed by UNICEF, and has been continued to be promoted within the work of UNICEF and really shaping how UNICEF is working. In fact, she and three others wrote the first child protection law for Myanmar. Making sure that kids were had some protective forces legally around them. And when we were talking the other day on the phone, I was like, you know "what's what's still in your heart?" And she said, kids, I just care about children. I want them to have - Oh! And rural communities. So she really has a heart for the Chen population, and specifically in the northeastern part of our country, and she goes to these communities, and she helps them see, listen, you have what you need to grow your kids. You have connection. You have an ability to like, use farming techniques to teach them about principles. So she's trying to debunk the idea that kids have to go to a place for education. There's a way that education can be woven into that rural lifestyle, into that poverty lifestyle. She's really thinking about the intersection of parent and children, connection and education from a very nuanced way that is not dependent on a curriculum or a school building. And I love that about her. She's just thinking so differently, and I just want to lean in and borrow from her all the time. Yeah, man, we have so many alumni all over the world, locally, here in Waco, Texas, the greater county that we live in and across Texas. And these are just some of the so many stories of alumni making such a significant impact in their communities. As we think about our alumni community here at The Garland School of Social Work that you are so part of, have friends that you know have gone through with you, many that work here on faculty and those in the field practicing social work. How do alumni stay connected with The Garland School of Social Work and continue to influence the next generation of Social Workers? Or even just rephrasing that, what would be your advice to alumni when it comes to staying connected with our community, and how they could continue to to be a part of [pauses] of this community that's so dedicated to the next generation of social work practice? I- gosh, I care so much about this. Please reach out to the Teaching faculty that you knew, and tell us what you're doing so that we can have you be a guest interview. I try to pull practitioners all the time into my classroom teachings, because I find that students are sure they appreciate and can and can appreciate the faculty members years of experience or the research they're doing, but they're always looking for those practitioners that are doing the direct service right now. And I'm just like, Please circle back with us, and let's share ideas. Come back to us and say this is working, or isn't working, or I found this model, model that's super effective. Bring things back to us so that we're like growing learning together. I just- I want that reciprocal loop that alumni are circling back with us, so that we can really hear and learn from what you're seeing and what you're doing. Yeah, we have so many prospective students that tune in to get a glimpse of our community, and many of them are prospective students. And so what advice would you give to some prospective students who are exploring a career in Social Work here at The Garland School? I would I would encourage you to find a local think about what you're concerned about, what you care about, what you have vision for, find a social worker who's actually doing that work, and get a little time with them to say, "Why do you do it? Why do you stay in it? What do you care about?" I would say, draw near to us. Like if you ever reached out to me and said, "Can I visit a class?" I'd be like, "Come and visit a class!" I come out, get curious, and I think social work prepares students for such a broad ability to draw from different strengths and skill sets to do very particular, specific work in a context. So I think you can kind of, there's a lot to choose from. And so I think the more that students are getting a little bit clear about what makes them curious, what makes them interested, and let us get you connected with who's actually doing that. Observe it, witness it, or if you're interested in coming to a class, come and visit. Let us help you figure out what your kind of what's this next season of your life supposed to look like?
Curtis Isozaki 17:34
Love that! Well, thanks for the warming invitation
Jennifer Dickey 17:37
You bet!
Curtis Isozaki 17:38
To our friends who are looking to be a part of our community, and invitation to so many of our friends who have been like our alumni, making an impact in every sphere of society. And so thank you so much. Appreciate you, Professor Dickey, we're so excited for many students to get to meet you when they're here at Baylor University.
Jennifer Dickey 18:00
Thanks, Curtis.