Jesenia Wright is a homegrown Utican through and through. Today, she serves as the Director of School-Based Mental Health at ICAN, a role that feels like a full-circle moment. She didn’t get to where she is, professionally or personally, by accident. She’ll tell you firsthand: it's taken grit.
"Kutokana na kuzaliwa na kukulia katika Utica kuwa mwanafunzi na sasa ninaingia katika Utica “Kukutana na wakuu wa shule, wasaidizi wa wakuu wa shule na wakati mwingine wafanyakazi wa kijamii au washauri wa mwongozo, ni jambo la kushangaza tu. Pia inashangaza kuona jinsi nilivyofikia hatua,” anasema Wright.
Hekima aliyoipata kupitia uzoefu wake wa maisha ni kitu ambacho sote tunaweza kujifunza kutokana nacho.
Today, Wright resides in South Utica with her husband and three children. She grew up in East Utica and now works about halfway between the two, in a one-of-a-kind building: the new Utica Children’s Museum. Behind the museum’s doors is the Family Resource Center, which houses several ICAN-centered programs in a first-of-its-kind model in the country.
“I realized I really wanted to be at an organization where they value their employees, and they also value innovation when it comes to meeting community needs. When ICAN sees a need, they try to build programming or develop something to bridge the gap,” Wright explains.
Akikumbuka utoto wake, Wright anakumbuka kuanza shule ya chekechea katika Shule ya Msingi ya Albany. Baadaye alihitimu shule ya msingi kutoka Columbus, ambapo mmoja wa walimu wake anaowapenda zaidi, Heather Galinski, kwa sasa ndiye mkuu wa shule ya msingi ya Roscoe Conkling.
“If I had to give advice to Utica students today, I would say: live in your purpose. Be your true, authentic self. I feel like by being your authentic self, everything else will fall into place,” she says. “Sometimes we show up in this world as somebody we are not because somebody else wants us to be that person. And
the whole time, you're living in misery because you're not truly being yourself. So when you show up as you, everything that's aligned with who you are will come to you. Obviously, you have to work hard for it and there are going to be obstacles, things outside of your control, but be your authentic self and be kind. I feel there's enough space in the room for everybody. If you know something, teach somebody else. The more the merrier, right?” Wright proclaims.
After graduating from JFK Middle School and then Thomas R. Proctor High School, Wright remembers teachers who were strong advocates for her and her potential.
“Today in my role at ICAN, I work with William Smith. He's now the principal at General Herkimer, but to me, he was always Mr. Smith, my advanced math teacher at Proctor. I started out in A.I.S. math, and he advocated to get me out,” Wright says.
Ingawa wasomi walimwendea kwa urahisi alipokuwa mwanafunzi katika Utica Wilaya ya Shule ya Jiji, chuo kikuu ilikuwa hadithi nyingine.
“I wanted to go to the University at Albany. I only applied to one school, and unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I got rejected. So I applied to University at Buffalo because my best friend was going there at the time. I wanted to experience life outside of Utica. I was there for about a year and a half. Then going into my sophomore year, I got pregnant with my son.”
Aliendelea: “Nilimaliza muhula wangu wa kwanza, lakini hatimaye nilirudi Utica na kumaliza shahada yangu katika Utica Chuo mwaka 2013,” alisema.
Motherhood only fueled her desire to finish her degree. She earned her bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She then returned to her original passion: social work. It was a field she had tried to pursue in Buffalo but struggled to enter at the time.
“I graduated from Proctor with high honors and with an advanced Regents diploma. So when I got into college, I'm like, well now I don’t have to study! I didn't have the study habits I needed, and I couldn't get my GPA high enough to get into the social work major at Buffalo,” Wright recalled.
Still, she persevered. In 2019, Wright went on to earn her master’s degree in social work online from Case Western Reserve University.
Academics weren’t the only hurdles she had to overcome to be who she is today. Growing up, she moved around often and didn’t have a picture-perfect childhood.
"Wakati mwingine watu hufikiri kwamba kwa sababu wanapitia mambo, hawastahili. Mama yangu alipambana na afya ya akili na matumizi mabaya ya dawa za kulevya, na ndiyo maana tulihama sana. Pia alipitia vurugu za nyumbani katika mahusiano. Hilo lilisababisha kiwewe na kutokuwa na utulivu katika maisha yangu. Lakini hata kwa kiwewe hicho, bado unaweza kuwa yeyote unayetaka kuwa. Bado unaweza kufanikiwa," Wright alishiriki.
Leo, anabaki karibu na wahitimu wenzake wengi wa Proctor na anathamini kumbukumbu na urafiki waliojenga wakiwa wanafunzi. Akiwa mwanafunzi wa maisha yake yote, Wright hajamaliza kugundua mambo mapya. Haogopi kushiriki heri na hasara za safari yake. Udhaifu wake unatia moyo kama vile azma yake.
“I would say be proud of who you are and where you're from. Sometimes Utica gets a bad rap, but there's so much good happening here, especially in the District. If you decide to go away to college, which I think everybody should if they can, then think about coming back and pouring into your community. I think it's important for people to see the folks who are here doing the work, and also those who came back.”
She certainly practices what she preaches. Wright has established a donation-based clothing closet called Giving Closet, where she transports clothing and shoes to those in need.
Wright is thankful to the UCSD for its partnership in her professional life, and for the foundation it gave her growing up, leaving us with these closing words: “Utica made amazing people.”