Portia Agbo. Courtesy photo.
𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪: Macro
𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: Children, Youth, and Families
𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲: Clinical Residential Services Coordinator for North Suffolk Community Services
Portia Agbo leveraged her master's degree from the Boston College School of Social Work to build a career at North Suffolk Community Services, a behavioral health organization in Massachusetts that impacts the lives of more than 10,000 people per year.聽
She says that the supportive community and hands-on field experience at 天美传媒appSSW prepared her for success, adding that the best part of her job now as a residential services coordinator are the "little changes" that make a big difference in the lives of those she serves.
Agbo, MSW'19, recently joined 天美传媒appSSW's Alumni Board to mentor current students preparing to enter the helping profession, just as she did more than five years ago.
She advises them to work hard and stay reliable, since every job has the opportunity to open new doors.聽"Be hard working, reliable, and dependable, whether you're working your dream job or not," she says, "because you will never know where your next role will come from."
𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪?
My favorite class was Global Child Protection.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗦𝗦𝗪 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯?
The strong community support and the field experience really helped me to be where I am today.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲?
The flexibility it offers and the little changes I see in my clients are rewarding.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗦𝗪 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿?
Try to make an impact wherever you start working. Be hard working, reliable, and dependable, whether you're working your dream job or not, because you will never know where your next role will come from.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱?
I want to mentor new students looking into entering the field.
𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗱?
I am almost five years in my job and I鈥檝e changed positions in the same company five times. I also pursued a second master's degree in project management.