改善她的社区

After moving to Cedar Rapids from Chicago in 2014, Angela McKinney ’19 went on to earn an associate’s degree from Kirkwood and a bachelor’s degree from Mount Mercy—while working for the Jane Boyd Community House in an after-school program.

“The after-school program was a safe place for children who lived in the Wellington Heights/Oakhill-Jackson Community to go after school,” said McKinney. “In 2017, five hours a week were cut from programming. That’s when I decided I would return to school to complete my bachelor’s degree.”

麦金尼想为自己打开更多的机会，所以她报名参加了Mount Mercy。 社会工作项目开始为她进入专业社区和研究生院做准备。 在考研面试时，她发现自己在皇冠体育完成的许多作业和项目都被提及和讨论。

Her two field placements—at Tanager Place and the Catherine McAuley Center—also connected her with local professionals, while challenging her to learn and do more.

“My children enjoy it here, and the opportunities are endless,” said McKinney. “I’ve developed connections to the community through my work with Jane Boyd and my 皇冠体育 education. 锡达拉皮兹是一个资源丰富的城市。 我觉得地方机构有一个共同的目标：帮助人们建立更牢固的基础。 This is why I want to give back to the Cedar Rapids community.”

McKinney is now a case manager for Catherine McAuley Center’s Transitional Housing Program, which works with unaccompanied women who are homeless as a result of substance abuse, domestic violence, or mental illness. 在与项目经理交谈后，她获得了这个机会。 他们讨论了什么对她的职业目标最有利，麦金尼于2019年6月开始全职工作。