Driven by a desire to help and effectively advocate for people, former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley and current Alberta NDP MLA Joe Ceci started their respective careers as a lawyer and as a social worker and, propelled by similar motivations to improve the lives of others, pursued careers in politics.
In recognition of Social Work Month and International Women’s Day, Provost Gillian Balfour hosted a free public event, Leadership and community: A conversation with Rachel Notley and Joe Ceci, with the two influential politicians talking about what anyone can do to make their communities better.
In addition to the event on March 4, the Faculty of Education and Social Work facilitated opportunities for connection between the politicians and student groups. Ceci and Notley met with students from the School of Social Work and Human Service, the Bob Gaglardi School of Business, and the Faculty of Arts. Their talks offered students a unique opportunity to meet with the leaders and gather insight into career paths they might take in politics and activism.
What can current TRU students — who are the leaders of tomorrow — learn from these two political leaders, and how can their mentors support them along the way?
Anyone can spark change
Ceci credits his mother with inspiring him to pursue social work as a profession.
“Around the kitchen table, my mother would help older Italians from the community fill out paperwork for programs they were eligible for and access services. She was like a lay social worker. She was not trained at all, but she was helping people. After I saw my mother helping out, I realized that’s what I wanted to do,” said Ceci.
While studying for her undergraduate degree, Notley was working as an assistant in an MLA’s constituency office. She met a lot of folks who were struggling during a recession, with Workers’ Compensation claims and with strikes and lockouts. This inspired her to pursue law to learn how to effectively advocate for people in situations like those.
“This is a similar story that a lot of lawyers, particularly activist types, will tell. Laws are irritating them and they know that things can be done better — that we can do better,” she said.
Be bold and take a stand
Ceci and Notley both encourage students interested in pursuing careers in helping fields such as education, social work, law and politics, to be honest and stand up for what they believe is right.
“Be bold, ruffle feathers and create a ruckus! Nothing changes unless you put things out there and stick to your guns. It might upset people, but that’s what social workers need to do, we need to ruffle feathers on behalf of the people we work for,” Ceci said.
Notley emphasized the importance of being honest with yourself and others about your stance on issues, because without honesty, progress can’t be made in terms of positive community change.
“I would argue that sometimes people who go into the helping professions get confused by the notion that they need to be non-partisan. By being non-partisan, you are actually being very partisan, because you’re supporting the status quo. We need to understand that partisanship is not a bad thing. It’s just an honest means of talking about whether or not you want to change the system,” said Notley.
Mentors should empower students
Post-secondary instructors and mentors play a critical role in preparing the leaders and public servants of tomorrow. According to Ceci and Notley, students must be supported, empowered and given the right tools at the right time to succeed.
“A good mentor enables the people around them to learn, experience and practice their profession or skills. Ultimately, that’s the job of social workers as well, to give the folks they are working with the tools to assert their best interests and that of their community,” said Notley.
“Mentees are going to make mistakes. Your job is to encourage and help shape them, so they make fewer mistakes of lesser significance in the future. Also, encourage them to challenge everything: you as the mentor and the systems they are in,” said Ceci.
