Patricia Kelly Davies

I attribute my success mostly to having a really grounded idea about why I'm doing what I'm doing. It's not just a job for me. There are a lot of different ways to make money, but I don't get up every morning to just do a job. I actually want to help people, and that's why I'm doing this job. Having that awareness really keeps me grounded and kind of keeps me going. It helps me to navigate those rough moments, because even when things are difficult, I remember that this is making a difference. That sense of purpose is what drives me.

I feel that the experience of actually working in whatever part of human services you're in, having the actual experience of working with the people served, is important. It shouldn't just be theoretical. You need to actually know what it's like to spend time with the folks that we're helping and supporting. I also think that obtaining education is important as well, so it's both sides. There's the practical experience, but then also actually obtaining education, particularly in the business realm. I feel like in human services, we need more business people, which is why I went in that direction with my education. We are running businesses. I mean, we are here to help people, but we do need to be able to make sure we're breaking even and that we're utilizing the funding we receive from the government properly. We also need leadership skills. My education focused a lot on organizational leadership, and in human services, we serve people with people. That's pretty much what we do. We're not making or selling widgets. If we don't have good leadership skills with people, we're not going to be as effective at the purpose of whatever organization we're in.