Alumni Spotlight: SJ Henderson, MSW/MPH '20

Reimaging the World

SJ Henderson MSW/MPH ’20 says she doesn’t have goals, but she does have dreams.

by Laurie Anderson

“I often feel like goals can be ceilings, they can make you limit your own capacity,” said the dual degree graduate student. “I do not have goals. I have dreams, desires, and plans.”

Henderson graduated in December 2020 with master’s degrees in social work and public health. The two disciplines have provided her with opportunities to see the impact of public policy, both first-hand and as part of a bigger picture.

First-hand exposure came with internships at Chess & Community as an outreach coordinator, and as a special project coordinator with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion for The Cottage, a sexual assault and children’s advocacy center. The broader view came through her public health capstone, for which she looked at how exclusionary housing policies and infrastructural violence resulted in long-term toxic exposure for Black communities. That research, “Environmental Racism and the Contamination of Black Lives: A Literature Review,” has been published in the Journal of African American Studies.

SJ Henderson

Submitted photo

In addition to carrying a full course load, when students were on campus Henderson worked 40 hours a week from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. at one of UGA’s dining halls. She also made time to volunteer—as an administrative assistant at the Department of Juvenile Justice, as a REACH mentor at Clarke Central High School, a group facilitator at People Living in Recovery, and as a motivational speaker at two public schools.

And she found time to tell the story of Kalief Browder, an unjustly incarcerated Black youth, in a docudrama she developed titled “Letters to Kalief.” Henderson said she intended the film to raise awareness of and instigate dialogue about mental illness, mass incarceration, systemic racism and other issues facing Black communities.

While Henderson’s workload would exhaust most people, she worried about missing opportunities to strengthen relationships.

“I always tended to feel like I was not doing enough,” she said. “Due to my hectic schedule, I often felt that I was not available enough to engage with my cohort or professors as much as I’d like.”

Rebecca Wells, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of the MSW/MPH program, disagrees.

“She is very motivated and consistently put forward great work,” said Wells. “She’s an allaround joy to work with, and she excelled in her courses, her MPH capstone, and in her internship at the Cottage.”

Henderson credits Wells, as well as Ron Walcott, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, and Debbie Kuppersmith of UGA’s Payroll Office, for helping her achieve her academic dream.

“Dean Walcott really made me feel ‘seen’ and for that I am grateful,” said Henderson. “I am also grateful for TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) and for Mrs. Debbie Kuppersmith, who explained how TAP works so I could utilize this resource more efficiently.”

Henderson is beginning to be ‘seen’ by the public as well. As a part of Shelter Projects, a microfellowship she was awarded by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, she created a spoken word performance reflecting on her experience during the “twin pandemics” of systemic racism and COVID-19. “Define Pandemic?” was published in Flagpole Magazine. She also presented the work as an invited speaker at UGA’s 2021 State of the Public’s Health Conference.

As for Henderson’s future plans, she recently accepted a position at Manchester University as the Director for the Center for Advocacy, Response, and Education. In this position she will be able to continue her work in sexual violence prevention and education.