Erica Liem

When I started out as a case manager, my managers were phenomenal. They were very passionate about what they did, and the way they engaged people and talked to people showed so much compassion and respect. When I have a hard time now, I go back and I'm like, what would Marcia or Rebecca do? Because they were so good, and they also encouraged research. They were constantly challenging me to do something harder. I would say that those individuals, two exceptionally strong women, completely established the foundation of my career. Not only did they know the programs backwards and forwards, they knew how to talk to people like people. They really believed that everybody has the right to have a dream for their future, and they would remind me that the person you're sitting across from has probably never been told you have a right to have what you want, so how do we get there. That's really what it is, and it's not going above and beyond, it is true case management.

I actually got asked this by the University of Florida when they asked me to come back right after I graduated. I had been in the workplace for a couple years, and I went back and they were like, so what will your classroom not teach you? And I said, you've got to start and then work your way through. A lot of people want to start in a management position, and that's not reality. You've learned theory, but you have to learn real-world application. And in my field, understanding that the person not just sitting across from you, like you have to sit with them, is the most critical thing. Even in training, the goal is that the person that's in the training or completing it understands that they're developing a relationship with someone. If you work hard and you believe in what you're doing, you will move forward.

Obviously, on the legislative level, there are always going to be challenges because programs have to be prioritized. I would say funding is always going to be a challenge, and making sure the people who are working on the front line get the services that they need is going to be not just the biggest challenge, but the biggest opportunity. Making sure that whatever a person does, I don't care if they're coding, I don't care if they're a nurse or a teacher, that they're passionate about it. And that they can find something that they like and enjoy and connect with, and if they do that, no matter what it is, that is going to propel them forward, but it's also going to sustain them.