I Give because I'm Blessed--I'm Blessed because I| Give by Moji Taiwo

Author:Moji Taiwo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Canadian Immigration, Living in Canada, Immigration Canada, Alberta Canada, Chronicle of an immigrant journey, Canada immigration, Black Canadians, Moji Taiwo, Canada 150
Publisher: Moji Taiwo
Published: 2018-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

CAREER – INTERMEDIATE YEARS

In 1997, after I endured many interview rejections and second place placements (at least that’s what I was always told when I sought feedback), the Calgary Young Offender Centre hired a new, progressive Director at its helm. This Director was different. She was proactive in her dealings with staff concerns and offender issues. She was fair with everyone and did not condone the cliques in the Centre that existed under her predecessor. Instead, hard work, commitment, and individual strengths in relation to the betterment of all staff and the entire Centre were appreciated and acknowledged by this Director. Her name was Karen Ferguson.

Karen may have been petite in stature, but her confidence and demeanor made her a huge presence wherever she went. She was incredibly intelligent, audacious, and fun. She was also habitually late – she operated on an African time zone mentality. Her laugh was so deep, hearty, and vibrant that it travelled miles ahead of her. She filled the space with her care and dedication.

The clique culture of the Centre began to change under the leadership of Director Karen Ferguson. The offenders were being offered more meaningful programs, the quiet youth were given a voice through the Youth Advisory Committee that was formed, and staff provided direct access to her office. Despite her role and responsibilities, she was always approachable.

Being a fair-minded lady with high energy and even higher integrity, Karen inspired, challenged, and motivated those around her. She definitely did this for me, plus she exposed me to many learning opportunities before she returned to Edmonton, her home city, to take over as the Director of the Edmonton Young Offender Centre. Soon after her return to Edmonton, Karen joined Alberta Human Services as the Assistant Deputy Minister in charge of Early Childhood and Community Supports Division. She championed a “Policy-Practice Conversation Focusing on Children and Youth with Complex Needs and Access to the Mental Health System” before retiring in 2014 after almost four decades of public service. Her dedication and genuine heart for making a difference made a deep impression on me and fueled my own desire for living a life of service.

During Karen’s tenure as Director at CYOC, I applied and interviewed for yet another supervisory position at the Centre. I prepared intensely and diligently as always, leaving no stone unturned in my research and study for the position. As part of my preparation, I interviewed the young people we served as clients. My goal was to find out what they felt was missing or needed from their unit supervisor. In addition, I interviewed a select, cross-section of my colleagues to gauge what they looked for in a supervisor and what they thought was lacking at the time. I also interviewed current supervisors to find out the relationship and correlation between the duties of the supervisor to the total operations of the Centre and what impact this had. I wanted the big picture so that I would be ready for this new position interview.

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