Alumni in their own words - Jacqueline Sookermany (CMU ‘15)
Reflections through the lens of an Arts and Science graduate and monthly donor
Jacqueline Sookermany: "CMU taught me to expect more from the world and gave me the tools to make more happen for the people I support and care for."
Where has life taken you since you left CMU?
During my studies at CMU, I developed a deep passion for prisoner justice and prisoner abolition while working for Correctional Service Canada at Stony Mountain Institution in their Programs department for my practicum. After I graduated with my four-year Arts and Sciences degree, I took a job at EPIC Opportunities, working at one of their day service locations. I hadn't previously considered working in the disability sector, but I found that I loved the work. I was able to support people in finding connections in their communities that were meaningful to them, expanding their hopes beyond employment. In this role, I was able to learn more about the world of disability justice and advocacy, which solidified my passion for the disability sector. After a few years, I took a position at Initiatives for Just Communities (IJC) in their disability outreach program, Touchstone, and it was at IJC that I began to think about pursuing a Master of Social Work. I moved to Victoria, BC, to complete my master's degree. My work in disability and corrections had left me skeptical of the social work profession. Over the course of my studies, I had the opportunity to see that social work is making bold strides toward becoming a field where people with lived experience are directly influencing the policies that shape their services, and that many social workers are actively working to decolonize the profession. My journey has led me back to the place where I decided social work was the correct path for me—IJC—as Director of Services for their Winnipeg programs. I am currently overseeing four programs that span work in disability support and advocacy, community education, and restorative justice. It is a bit dreamy to have a role that allows me to engage in many of the sectors I am passionate about.
What of your experience at CMU continues to influence your life and work?
One of the biggest lessons from CMU that I bring to both my academic and professional work is intersectional thinking. CMU let me do some wild things with my degree: double majoring in Psychology and Biochemistry, and double minoring in English and Biblical and Theological Studies. I was supported by professors to think across academic lines. Being challenged to think in this way has allowed me to be an efficient and creative systems thinker, and has also shown me how I can tie together the intersectional issues my participants face to see the big picture of what supports would benefit them most. CMU was also a space where I started to understand how I could translate my feelings of injustice into action. My personal philosophy of social work is that it is a lived profession. I don't leave my work at work because my work is about building a better community, city, and world for my program participants and for everyone in my life. I am always social working, because social work is community work, relationship work, and life work. CMU taught me the importance of living out my values, and I want to live out my values at my office, with my participants, with my friends, and with a stranger struggling on the street. While there wasn't necessarily a class on "being plucky and headstrong" at CMU, I do think the underlying emphasis on social justice and the pursuit of peace necessitates those qualities. CMU taught me to expect more from the world and gave me the tools to make more happen for the people I support and care for.
What are the reasons you continue to support CMU financially?
CMU was an incredibly special space for me, both educationally and personally. I have always loved academics, but CMU challenged me to rethink how I was approaching learning. Having had academic peers at a number of other universities, I am continually reminded of how unique the academic environment at CMU is. While I would love all academic institutions to follow the leading work CMU is doing in creating learning environments where curiosity and growth are fostered, I also want to continue to support the amazing space that we already have. I think that CMU has always been a place where people learn to make meaningful change in the world, and I think that will be even more true with the new social work program. CMU and social work are a natural fit, in my opinion, and I am thrilled to be able to help support the first generation of CMU social workers!
What advice would you give to a current student?
There are a few pieces of advice I would give to current CMU social work students. The first is to take every opportunity you have to learn and train outside the social work field. Expanding the breadth of your knowledge beyond the silo of social work will only strengthen your skills and the supports you are able to offer. My second piece of advice would be to listen to your participants, clients, and stakeholders. People are experts on their own lives, and they know how they want and need to be supported. Social work's colonial history is rooted in social workers taking on an expert role in others' lives. As emerging social workers, you don't have the ability to change the past, but you do have the power to change current social work practices that reinforce colonial power. We can step back as experts and allow service users to guide our research and work! And finally, my key piece of advice is to not be afraid to put your heart into your work. One of my social work professors, Dr. Billie Allen, taught me that, through her Indigenous lens, social work is "heart work"—work that is rooted in care, intentionality, and love. I'm extremely excited to have CMU's future social workers as colleague!