Jackie Conwell: tapping into a new vision
Chris Pepple |
Jackie Conwell (’00) remembers the time in her life when she was unsure about the career options open to her. She worked for twenty-ones years with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, first as a school secretary then as an administrative assistant for two school officials responsible for receiving the disciplinary referrals. In both positions, she saw the needs and struggles of Nashville families as they coped with daily pressures of home, school and work. Conwell felt drawn to exploring new career options, but she could not envision a role that would be open to her.
“While I was sitting at my desk one day, I prayed to be in a better position to help redirect and support families and children in our community. As I prayed, I asked God where I should go next on my journey. The Spirit kept asking me, ‘What do you do best?’ I answered that I worked well with people. In facing that answer, I knew that I needed to continue to work face-to-face with members of the Nashville community.
“I had done extensive outreach in the community through the Nashville Missionary Gospel Ensemble. This work gave me the opportunity to go into new areas and explore the needs of people. I knew I needed to be better equipped to broaden my abilities to work with families and children, so I prayed for an opportunity to increase my knowledge and my credentials so I would truly be qualified to enter a new career,” said Conwell.
Conwell began to share her hopes with others. Her husband and her bosses agreed that going back to school would open many doors for her. They knew that redirecting and encouraging people were what she did best. Conwell chose Lipscomb to seek the degree she needed to open doors to a new career. She spoke with Hazel Arthur, associate professor and chair of the Department of Social Work and Sociology at Lipscomb University, and felt confident that Lipscomb offered the campus setting and social work opportunities that fit her needs.
Though Conwell seemed confident in her decisions, tragedy complicated her situation. Before entering Lipscomb, she lost one of her four sons in an auto accident. While a student, she had to face the loss of another son through tragedy.
“When my first son died, I did not think I could make it through. God sent love and encouragement through others, though. When my oldest son was murdered, I had even more difficulties facing his death. Not only did I have to face losing another child, but I had to question my career choices. I was doing prison ministry work through Millennium Focus: Community A.L.E.R.T. (Alliance for Learning, Educating, Recruiting and Training), an organization I founded. It was very challenging to do the prison work and not be judgmental. I realized I worked with people who committed crimes similar to the person who took my son away from me. When I was able to walk back into the prison, the men had heard the news and did not know what to say to me. I knew I had to forgive and move on. I eventually asked the judge to have mercy on the person who killed my child. I wrote the letter and read it in court. It was the right thing to do. Our walk is a testament of what God brings us through,” said Conwell.
Conwell graduated in 2000 after receiving the Jeanne Bowman Social Work Award. This award was established in 1997 and is given in the memory of former program director, Jeanne Bowman, who was responsible for the establishment and initial accreditation of Lipscomb's social work program prior to her retirement in January 1997 and death in February 1998. The award is given annually to recognize the graduating senior who most exhibits perseverance and determination in pursuit of professional social work education.
Conwell married young (age 15) and earned her G.E.D. so she could enter her first career in the school system. She has been married for 41 years. Together she and her husband have faced the loss of two sons and the illness of another. While one son battled with the diagnosis of kidney failure, his older brother stepped in to donate a kidney. Both are doing well. Conwell knows her strength to face the challenges comes from God.
Her strength and her faith motivate her as she pursues her career in social work. After graduation from Lipscomb, Conwell was placed as a family specialist at W. A. Bass Middle School through Vanderbilt’s Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) program. Vanderbilt and Metro school officials teamed up with the private sector to offer a program that guarantees college scholarship money and support to Nashville inner-city students who follow the specific requirements of the program. Conwell served for eight years in this role.
Conwell currently serves as the family specialist/social worker for the Wayne Reed Christian Child Care Center. This program is dedicated to the financial, social and spiritual development of Nashville’s low-income families through high-quality childcare, effective job and parenting skills training and urban-suburban friendships. The staff and volunteers at the center equip children for success in public schools through challenging educational opportunities. The center offers parents opportunities to strengthen their parenting skills, budgeting techniques, relationship skills and health skills. The center serves the entire family.
“In my role at the Wayne Reed Christian Child Care Center, I work to identify barriers to a brighter future. Then I can assist families in identifying resources to remove those barriers. Through accessing community resources and bringing those resources to our families in need, we can minister to the social, spiritual, emotional and physical needs of those we serve. It is very rewarding,” said Conwell.
“Through my current work, God affirms that He has molded me to do something at a new level. I understand the community I am serving. At Wayne Reed, I have the freedom to open the day with prayer and address the spiritual needs of our community. I have new challenges and responsibilities before me. God gave me the resources to tap into the vision of the leadership of the center. I am a living witness that God can take a young and tender dream and grant unto me the desire of my heart. He gets all the glory for the work I do.”
Through Millennium Focus: Community A.L.E.R.T., an agency Conwell founded and still leads, she also works with instructional volunteer staff members to rehabilitate, renew, restore and revitalize prisoners serving time at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The agency works to promote a successful transition from incarceration to a return to society. The agency volunteers meet with an average of 40 inmates a month in individual or group settings.
Through Millennium Focus: Community A.L.E.R.T., Conwell also offers youth awards for all public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade including special education students and honors all graduating seniors.
“I want to convey to each student that God loves them all and deems them worthy to be recognized. Our awards ceremony is not grade-based. Many of these students are the first generation in their families to complete school. The students need to be encouraged and applauded for completing the school year. More than 5,000 students have been honored by the program during its 13-year history. Lipscomb University hosted one of our awards programs,” said Conwell.
“God birthed something in me. He gave me a hope and the resources to tap into a new vision. I needed the extra tools, the knowledge, the skills to enter the field I am in at the level of work I do. I am thankful for the doors that opened for me to go forward.”