Her Story
About Clementina
I like to say that I kind of fell into my current role. My background is in psychology for my undergraduate degree, and then I pursued a master's in social work with a clinical focus. When I finished graduate school, I intended to just be a school social worker and mental health therapist in a school-based mental health setting. I originally started strictly in education, working as an assistant teacher at one point and as a program coordinator. As an educator, I really saw how there are a lot of disparities and gaps, and that the ways in which students would show up in the classroom was representative of their mental health. For me, I was like, okay, yes, being an educator is extremely important, but in order for students to thrive, they really do need someone who can hear them out and see them, and make space for the things that they're going through. That's why I really pursued that clinical focus in my studies, so that I could really help students navigate their mental health and wellness. I started out originally as an assistant teacher, which led into different roles of being an educational specialist, a program coordinator, a college and career advisor at one point, and then a school social worker after I finished my studies. Then I noticed an even bigger gap, which was after K-12 education, when students go into higher education or the workforce, oftentimes they're left without any type of support. That's why I later moved into the higher education space, to really make sure that students are not left without formal guidance. Particularly the population that I work with in higher education are students who have disabilities and students who are neurodivergent. We really connect them with pivotal resources and care, so we ensure that if they need mental health support, we're connecting them to mental health referrals on campus. We provide coaching to them, life skills coaching, so that they understand how to approach their studies but also the workforce in the future. We provide them with paid internships and academic support as well. It's a very holistic program. I didn't expect to go into higher education initially, but I just love what I do because I'm able to ensure that students don't walk into the higher education space feeling lost or without guidance, because you get such robust support and care in K-12, but higher education, you have to seek that out on your own, which can be hard for students. I love the role that I'm in now and the valuable work that I'm able to do.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Clementina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to God, firstly. I feel like God has helped me to figure out what my purpose was, because when I was younger, I was like, oh, I don't really know what I wanted to be. There were so many different options, of course. The mental health thing was something that I did want to pursue, but at the same time, there were so many other options that I had, because I was a high-achieving student, so I was doing so well that my parents always told me, you can do literally anything. So, in terms of direction, I didn't have that. However, I feel like God, particularly Jesus Christ, literally helped me to figure out what my purpose is, and I've been empowered to live that out. Alongside that, my mom is literally amazing, and I'm so grateful for her, and she has literally been my biggest cheerleader. She's really pushed me so much to do literally anything and become anything that I want to become, because she knows that I'm more than capable of it. I also have a wonderful and amazing family in general, but my mom particularly has been really a beacon of support for me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Do what you love, and you'll never feel like you're working. It's super cliche, but I definitely see how that's been applied to my life, because I genuinely wake up and I get excited to go to work. I look forward to going to work. It's not something that I dread by any means. I don't feel like I'm working, I feel like I'm engaging in great conversations, because I feel like I have a wonderful team, I'm a part of a very amazing team, and I get the privilege to serve amazing students. So yeah, it doesn't feel like work.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.