I wasn’t always a kick-ass child welfare social worker. While my journey into this line of work doesn’t start with a tragedy or a run-in with a radioactive spider, I think it’s worth reflecting on.

In 2009 I was a fresh-faced graduate, with my Masters degree in hand and my sights on a career as an elementary school teacher. I taught for a few years in a rural school district that always seemed one budget decision away from insolvency. Unfortunately for me, that moment came sooner than I expected.

Due to budget issues, my district laid off every teacher on its payroll at the end of one school year. Once the budget crisis passed, most of those laid-off teachers were rehired. I was the new kid on the block and my school and when the budget forced them to cut positions, I was the one who got the axe. I hadn’t been there long and I was fairly expendable,

Thus began a few years of employment roulette. I spent a few years bouncing from one daycare center to the next, trying to earn enough income to pay my hefty student loans. My next-door neighbor, knowing my situation and my teaching background suggested that I submit applications to be a case manager for my state’s Department of Children’s Services.

Me? Work for the state? Help families navigate the child welfare system? Nope.

I decided not to apply for a job with such ENORMOUS responsibilities immediately after being laid-off. After all, I had a teaching degree and high hopes that I’d be able to get hired back to a teaching job. Alas, it was not to be.

After being laid off, I applied for more teaching jobs than I could count. One position I applied for was accompanied by a nice confirmation email that stated “We appreciate your application. 397 people have applied for this position and we will be interviewing a small number of candidates, blah blah blah…” Needless to say, the teaching job market was a dog eat dog business. I ended up being the dog that got eaten.

So, after spending a while making slightly above minimum wage working in a daycare and not making any headway with breaking back into teaching, I decided to bite the bullet and apply for a job in child welfare. Three months and two interviews later, I was hired on making more money as an entry-level case manager than I did as a Masters level teacher.

Seven years later and I’m a team leader of a group of 7 other foster care case manager. During my time at the department, I have worked 5 years as a front-line worker and two years as a supervisor. I have helped over 100 children find permanency with either their biological family or an adoptive family. I love what I do even on the hardest days.

I don’t have a social work degree but I have a heart for helping others and enough curiosity to never stop learning. I hope I get to continue this work for a long time.