Her Story
About Keisha
I originally went to college to become a criminologist and earned my bachelor's in criminology, graduating in 2010. I worked at a homeless shelter for years, but the pay in social services wasn't always high, so I went into technology for the money. When the pandemic shut my job down in 2020, I was forced back into my field. During that time, I was working in technology and many of my coworkers and their families were really going through it. A lot of them had teenagers who were tired of being home doing remote education, and I found myself walking them through that process, encouraging them and their teenagers. Many were dealing with suicide ideation, and though I was working in technology, it pushed me back to where I belong. I worked as a juvenile probation officer, which opened up another opportunity to become a site lead over a youth program for at-risk youth at a middle school. Now I am currently a project manager over an infant mortality initiative to eliminate infant mortality and maternal morbidity here in the community. I've been able to spearhead it for the last 2 years, and we've grown so much with many partnerships. Most recently, the City of Lauderhill, the mayor and the Commission Chamber, highlighted Maternal Health Week here in the community, and our company was actually one of the organizations selected to receive this honorary proclamation from the city, and I was able to accept it on behalf of the company. My main area of expertise is being a community connector, especially for youth and families.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Keisha
01What do you attribute your success to?
Honestly, my faith is what I attribute my success to. My faith is what's kept me grounded and keeps me going daily. I am a Christian, and you never arrive - it's a constant journey. I'm just thankful for the journey because you're constantly learning and growing, and the more you learn and grow, the more you're able to attain certain levels of success and prosperity. The more you learn, the more you grow. The more you grow, the more you learn. It's really been a big part of everything I've accomplished.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Your education is important, that us something that no one can ever take away from you. You will also have something to fall back on.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that life is truly a gift, and I would tell her to fill your own cup first because you cannot pour from an empty glass. You can't pour into your family, you can't pour into your coworkers, your work, or whatever it is you want to do externally - you gotta make sure you're good internally first. It involves a lot of time for self-care, healing, constantly learning, and growing. Learn about yourself, and understand that being young, it's okay to put yourself first. Don't let society rush you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Honestly, one of the challenges within my field is the rising cost of living. It really affects the families that we serve and makes our job a lot harder because one thing leads to another - they don't have transportation to get to their appointment, and that creates another problem. I would also say that in the field of social services, it's very hard to keep people. It's almost like a revolving door - this person's here, then they're gone. That's why I'm really, really big on fostering great relationships with people, learning about people, and asking how can I help you? How can I help you be happy, regardless of what's going on around us? How can we get through this together?
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are social justice, service, family, compassion, and creativity. These values guide both my work and personal life and shape how I approach helping others and building connections in the community.
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