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Passion with a Purpose Alumna social worker shows compassion, resolve during especially hard times By Annie Rhoades he COVID-19 pandemic continues to deeply affect lives around the world. Particularly challenged are those who work on the front lines. For social workers, their days and nights are filled with the difficulties of trying to help their clients meet the basic necessities of everyday life such as keeping food on the table, paying rent and making sure the lights are turned on. “I think the key thing with being a social worker is being empathetic and compassionate towards others,” says alumna Ashley Glover (BSW 11), social worker for Travis County Health and Human Services in Pflugerville, Texas. “Most of the people I work with aren’t able to meet their most basic needs, and even though they work every day, they don’t make enough to provide for their household. “They also weren’t fortunate enough to receive an education. I was always told that education is the key. And working with my clients — I can really see that now.” Growing up, Glover had a deep desire to give back to children and families that were not as fortunate as she was. She was raised since infancy by her maternal grandmother, Laura Bell Glover-Anderson, who firmly instilled in her the importance of receiving an education. “She died when I was 22 years old,” Glover says. “Prior to her death, I completed my bachelor’s degree in social work. My grandmother was big on education because, Photos courtesy of Ashley Glover FA LL 2 0 20

Glover speaking at Texas A&M University

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unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get a high school diploma. She instilled in me the value of education at a very young age, which led me to further my education by getting a doctorate degree in social work.” A 2007 graduate of North Panola High School, Glover set her sights on Ole Miss and Oxford at an early age. After spending time at Northwest Mississippi Community College, she enrolled at Ole Miss in January 2010 with an interest in social work. “I chose Ole Miss because it was close to home, but I also had an aunt that went to Ole Miss prior to me so it was really familiar,” she says. “Northwest had the 2+2 degree program, and they encouraged us to go to Ole Miss because you could easily transfer your hours.”

A Perfect Fit

As a child, Glover didn’t know what a social worker was. As she learned more about the type of work the profession entails, she knew it was a perfect fit. “When I got older, I was very grateful that I had a grandmother that raised me well and wanted me to pursue a higher education,” Glover says. “Sometimes, people who are not raised by their birth parents don’t have fortunate upbringings. When I was researching social work, I noticed it involves a lot of abuse, neglect and working with underprivileged people. That was my passion.” After graduating from Ole Miss, she completed a paid internship at Youth Villages in Memphis. She then accepted a position with the Department of Family and Children’s Services in Tate County and later a position with Communicare before deciding to relocate to Austin, Texas, in 2014. With a desire to further her education, Glover received a Master of Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University and recently completed her Doctor of Social Work from Capella University. “Being a graduate of the University of Mississippi really helped expand my cultural competency and prepared me to deal with diversity and working with people from different backgrounds,” she says. “Even though I’m in Texas, I tell everybody I’ve never seen a campus like Ole Miss — it’s beautiful, and everyone there is so warm and welcoming. I really miss that.” While pursuing her master’s degree, Glover accepted a position with Gary Job Corps, working with children from underprivileged families who are 16-24 years old and pursuing a high school diploma or trade. “A lot of them come from underprivileged areas from all over Texas, and I was able to be their career and academic counselor,” she says. “I also completed an internship at the wellness center, which involved working with mental illness and people who have dealt with trauma early on.” After completing her master’s degree, she began working at Travis County Health and Human Services as a case worker. Nearly four years later, she is a social worker for HHS and is pursuing her clinical social worker hours under Ruth FaganWilen, retired field instructor at the University of Texas.

More Than a Mentor

Dual licensed as a social worker and chemical dependency counselor, Glover is also a mentor at Seedling Mentor Program, which supports children of incarcerated parents. Its mission is to mitigate the impact of parental incarceration on children in Central Texas through school-based mentoring. “At the time I saw the ad about Seedling, I was working with adults,” she says. “Children have always inspired me, and I always wanted to work with the youth. So, once a week I go to Maplewood Elementary School to have lunch with a student. This is my fourth school term mentoring there.” Recalling the pain she experienced from the loss of her grandmother, Glover felt called to work with children who are experiencing similar loss and trauma. “I remember feeling that sense of loss,” she says. “Imagine a child in kindergarten or even high school and suddenly having a parent removed, and they may not know exactly what happened. They just see that person gone. I know that feeling of a void and emptiness, so I wanted to make sure I assist children dealing with those issues. “I’ve had the same student [at Seedling] since kindergarten, and I’m not aware of which parent is incarcerated. I have lunch with her every week and just support her.” According to Tunisia Smith, Glover’s mentee at Travis County-Summer Youth Liaison, Glover fills the role of mentor effortlessly. Her determination and strong work ethic are inspiring to those around her. “I met Ashley while working as a temp employee with Travis County,” Smith says. “I informed her that I was pursuing my master’s degree in social work, and she helped guide me through my master’s program. She was always available when I needed help or guidance regarding a tough subject, and she continues to encourage me to pursue my licensure. Her drive and commitment make her successful. Once Ashley puts her mind to something, no one can stop her. She is the most determined person that I know and a role model for me.”

Giving Back

A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Glover volunteered to speak at Texas A&M in 2017 on “Beauty, Fashion and Hair for African American Women.” In 2018, she was one of two employees selected to aid in the relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey. Glover is also a field instructor at the University of Texas-Austin, where she is helping to develop and inspire future social workers. “I really enjoy doing that because I know firsthand what the students may be walking into,” she says. “It’s easy to get burned out in this field, and I like to come back and talk to students that are going into social work about burnout and the self-care we, as social workers, have to do. “I speak with my clinical supervisor, Dr. Fagan-Wilen, every week, as well as my co-workers. That’s a form of self-care. I also try to exercise Monday-Friday, or even just take a walk in FA LL 2 0 20

the park. When I first started out, I used to look at my phone Like many Americans, Glover’s clients are living paycheck and emails all the time. I thought I could help everybody, and to paycheck, a problem that has been compounded by the that’s my goal, but I had to learn boundaries. Now I make sure effects of COVID-19. And with even fewer job opportunities [the client] is not in immediate danger or suicidal, and when than they had before, their situation is oftentimes dire. I’m off from work, I really try to be off.” “One client said, ‘Ms. Glover, just to ride in my car, I have to Travis County has seven community centers, each staffed decide whether I’m going to have gas or pay my car insurance.’ with one social worker who assists underprivileged families And a lot of them are behind on their car payments.” that are under the poverty guidelines with rent and electricity. In accordance with federal policy guidelines, Travis County “If they want brief counseling or therapy, we deal with that, Health and Human Services is authorized to provide financial as well,” Glover says. “I have a session with them once a week assistance to those in need for a limited time. every two weeks, where we work on goals that are attainable for them. “I d o a s s e s s m e nt s f o r people that have mental illness and assist with finding affordable housing throughout Travis County and beyond. If they’re disabled, we try to link them up to resources like Meals on Wheels and other similar programs.” Not only has the pandemic increased the workload on an already lean-staffed profession, but it has also caused some social workers to choose a different career path. “ We re c e nt l y h a d t w o people leave our team because they had families and children and were not able to take on the stress of our clients plus their home stuff, so we’re working even more now,” Glover says. “I tell anybody, when you work in social work Glover and co-workers celebrating Social Workers Month declaration or any health care profession, home life does matter. It’s easy to take on our client’s [issues], “They have high anxiety levels because we can pay for only and sometimes it’s hard to really give ourselves and be empa- a certain amount of time,” Glover says. “We’re allowed to assist thetic towards them.” with rent for three months, and we provide a food pantry and clothing closet. “Many of them can’t think ahead because it causes so much anxiety, and during this pandemic, they don’t know when they’ll be able to go back to work. Sometimes they call us, furious, and we just have to know that they’re not mad at the While the work can be extremely challenging, it can be social worker or case worker —they’re scared. It comes from even more rewarding. Seeing clients attain their goals, or even a lot of fear.” get close to attaining them, produces a feeling of satisfaction While some days are more challenging than others, Glover that can’t be measured. says she wouldn’t have it any other way. With plans to continue “Some of our clients have never completed a lot of things in in her field, she also would like to expand on opportunities to life due to trauma, and they give up or they weren’t told they speak to students interested in her profession. could do it,” Glover says. “They get discouraged very easily, and “I want to speak to the young social workers that are about completing their goals inspires them to keep going. Sometimes to graduate and inform them on the importance of studying they have to take a step back because they’re so used to hearing for your license, practicing self-care and finding their niche as ‘no’ or ‘it’s not going to work.’ They get angry, and I have to help a young social worker,” she says. “I attribute my success to God, them with de-escalation skills because they’ve been through a my grandmother and my family. My life motto is that we are lot of trauma in life.” blessed to be a blessing to others.”

Facing the Challenges

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