We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Fields recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jacqueline, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
In 1972, Bethel Grove was a working-class neighborhood in the northeastern corner of South Memphis. We had a quintessential , “Leave It To Beaver” type of childhood, complete with bike brigades and street light curfews. Our biggest worry was running fast enough to catch the ice cream truck. Each summer morning, kids made their rounds to the Bethel-Labelle Community Center for a menu of crafts and games. The adult staff at the community center made us feel like every drawing was a Basquiat, the little Black girl hand games were Alvin Alley level choreography, and our squeaky plastic Recorder concerts were ready for Carnegie Hall. We were loved. When the sun was highest in the July sky, we’d walk three blocks to Bethel Grove Elem school for the free lunch. The march to BG grew larger with the passing of each house. It was as if an invisible magnetic force pulled children off the front porch and into the swelling crowd. Bethel Grove was the heartbeat of the neighborhood. It was our school, our place to belong, and we were proud to be Bethel Grove Bobcats. Mrs. Adams told me I could do anything and be anything. I believed her with my whole heart. Unfortunately, that sense of belonging would come to an abrupt end when bussing started the next year. I will never forget the worried looks on our parents’ faces as they shipped us across town. The love, the teaching and high expectations from the adults in my neighborhood were foundational. I am confident because they told us to hold our heads up high. We were Bobcats. As a lifelong educator I deeply lament the loss of a traditional neighborhood school. School leaders and teachers on the frontline are being swept away by a mighty tide of constant change. We see the problems, but we feel helpless to impact the multi-layered, complex issue.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have an amazing job. Technically my job title is ” Alumni Counselor”. This role marries all of my professional experience and passions. For many years I worked in higher education. During that time I had many job titles, but my ultimate goal was to see more students graduate from college as enlighten individuals eager to make the world better! As an Alumni Counselor I am charged with supporting young adults, graduates from Soulsville HS, reach their post-secondary goals. In many cases that means graduating from college or earning a certification…sometimes it means finding a good job, or a gap year opportunity. My goal is still the same. I want to see people find meaning in their lives. What is special about this work is the fact that more schools are starting to understand the importance of adding one more layer of support beyond graduation. As soon as students earn the diploma, we throw them into Lake Adulting 101. We say, sink or swim….while all the time we hope they can simply float. My job is to help them float until they can master the breaststroke or freestyle. Helping people to float takes a lot of energy. I look forward to re-energizing at the NPEA ( National Partnership for Educational Access) conference each year. The conference attendees are higher education leaders, faculty, non-profit youth serving organizations and K-12 educators. This year the conference will be in Baltimore. https://cdn.ymaws.com/educational-access.org/resource/resmgr/conference_pages/2024_conference/2024_Conference_One-Pager__1.pdfIf the conference is not do-able, check out the website for other resources.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My advice to folks early in their journey (OR to folks that are down road a ways)… is to be intentional. It is the overarching theme to developing any skill or capitalizing on any quality one might possess.
To be intentional about one’s life is to take a self-inventory. Determine your strengths and the areas in which you’d like to grow. My daughter taught me an important lesson about knowing what you bring to the table. Everyone brings something to the table. To be intentional means to balance the planning for tomorrow while being present for today.
In the famous words of Henry David Thoreau, ” go confidently in the direction of your dreams! live the life you imagine”. I’m not merely suggesting that we set goals for ourselves – although I am a big proponent of making a vision board- I am suggesting that we aim to be fully present in the present. We work so hard to plan for tomorrow, to be ready for tomorrow, focused on tomorrow…we fail to absorb the importance of today. My son is often heard saying, ‘get a receipt for the time you spend”. Memories, lessons learned, relationships are the receipts for the time we spend everyday. Intentionality is both pedagogy and theory for life. Being intentional requires one to decided where the boundary is and what is governing value.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Aging! It is hard to get old. The physical challenges are frustrating and uncomfortable. Equally stressful is the notion of becoming irrelevant. I do not want to become obsolete. These thoughts are fresh in my mind as we grapple with the age of the current president and his opponent. How can senior citizens contribute to a constantly moving, technologically charged life? In 2020, one of THE best teachers resigned because he didn’t want to navigate Zoom school. The prospect of dealing with the tech was too overwhelming. I feel so fortunate to work with young people who are willing to keep me “hip”. But everything changes so quickly. I would be lost if it were not for NPR’s Tiny Desk and TikTok…..now where did I leave my readers?
