Finding My Purpose in the Nonprofit World

When I applied to college, I knew I wanted to help people but didn’t want to be a physician. Other than that — and an interest in business — I was like most students my age. I had no clear career path. It was Bentley’s Health Industries major that spoke to both desires. What I didn’t know at the time was how the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center (BSLCE) would lead me to the world of “good business.” 

Early on at Bentley, I heard a lot about the importance of exploring your innate strengths. I had always been naturally drawn to listening to and advocating for people. I was that friend everyone came to with their problems, like the “mom” of the group. I love understanding what makes people tick.  

When I first learned about BSLCE, it naturally called me. And the way I was introduced to it was so empowering. A lot of it had to do with the expectations of the staff — including Jonathan White, Brian Shea, Lynne Johanson and Bria Milbery. From the minute I walked into their office, they treated me like a young leader. Someone with the capabilities, knowledge and intelligence to make a positive change in the community. They already believed in me.   

It was the first time I had been in a space where all of these things were naturally expected of me. It felt so good that I later adopted the approach at Waltham Partnership for Youth, where I now work full time with high school student interns on a path toward mental health advocacy and career exploration in the health care field.

The Evolution of a Leader 

My first year at Bentley, I added a fourth-credit service-learning option to a Psychology course, Cross-Cultural Psychology (PSYCH 240). It allowed me to apply classroom concepts to service-learning in the community. I got to work for the English Language Learners program at Plympton Elementary School under my BSLCE program manager. 

Seeing my program manager [PM] Shanaya Theodore ’22 in action inspired me to become one. I asked her all kinds of questions about how she got to where she was. She encouraged me to apply. I was nervous but I applied. And I officially started as a PM sophomore year.  

I worked hard to be a strong connection with our community partners. I led a group of Bentley students serving as tutors for non-English speaking students at a local elementary school. I felt empowered, and it was upwards from there. I became a lead program manager that same year. Junior year I additionally worked as a lead program manager to facilitate a program for parents learning English.  

Serving in those roles taught me so much about being a leader and mentor and building relationships. Even more importantly, I learned that the impact you have on one person is so much bigger than just that one person. 

Charting My Purpose 

By senior year, I still had another item on my bucket list: landing a seat in the course Internship in Sociology (SO421), which includes an internship at a nonprofit organization. Given the limited number of students accepted into the course each semester, I knew competition was high. But on my third try, I got in. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would change the trajectory of my career to nonprofit and social justice work. 

I was assigned to a marketing internship at Friends and Mentors Inc., an organization that works with underprivileged or at-risk youth in the community. This is where I really got to see firsthand the difference between “charity” and “social justice.” Charity is more of a band-aid solution, coming in with food resources, clothing and shelter during a natural disaster, for example.   

Justice is more of a long-term impact. It’s getting to the policy level or talking with top stakeholders about how to intervene to make a long-lasting change. To be effective, both charity and justice require an understanding of the community and what will resonate with them.

Leading Change, Big and Small  

Understanding the difference between charity and justice was a cool lesson. It’s something I talk about with the student interns I work with at Waltham Partnership for Youth. And it’s one of their favorite topics.  

One of my goals is to empower students like others did for me at Bentley. In addition to creating a peer leader position, inspired by the PM role at the BSLCE, I developed a curriculum that dives into mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Interns review data from results shared in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, taken by students at local Waltham public schools. With that data, they lead a community project to improve youth’s wellbeing in Waltham.  

I always challenge them to be mindful of the kind of impact they want to have. Do they want to have something that’s more responsive to a problem, or are they more interested in starting to kick up dirt at a deeper-rooted level?  

Those kinds of conversations tie back to my experiences of becoming a leader at Bentley. During the final class of the nonprofit course, I remember discussing all the nonprofits that we were working with and addressing the social landscapes they were a part of. This made our work feel realized and impactful. It also helped me recognize that I could never see myself in a job where I didn’t feel fulfilled or good about the work that I was doing.  

Moving forward as a professional in nonprofits or service-based work, I will continue to seek ways in which I can challenge my knowledge. I will listen to different voices about social justice issues to create change as a leader. Change is possible as soon as someone decides to make it, in small and big ways.