Author: Jerry Higgins, Communications Officer
Jacqueline Smith and LuKesha Wright are kept quite busy with their daily duties as social workers at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women and Johnston Correctional Institution, respectively. Add to that the daily stressors of life and you’d think they wouldn’t have enough hours for another time-consuming activity.
Both women are now pursuing master’s degrees in social work, both in-person and online. Wright is currently in her first year at Fayetteville State University, while Smith will begin this summer at North Carolina State University.
And NCDAC Director of Social Work Mary Grillo couldn’t be prouder.
“Each of them decided they wanted to go back to graduate school. That’s exactly what I hope for all of our employees, that they will get the skills they want and progress in the agency,” Grillo said. “They are both very passionate about their work. Social work is a passion, a calling. When you go back to school as an adult, it’s difficult. That they are doing this is incredible.”
Jacqueline Smith, North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
Smith, who started as a case manager supervisor at Johnston CI and came to NCCIW last August in her current position, has always trusted her strong faith and family to lead her in life. She saw how her stay-at-home mother was “a social worker without a title” in her neighborhood growing up. That drew her from an initial focus on a nursing career after high school (“I saw a whole bunch of blood come out of my brother’s nose and there’s no way in the world that I could do that.”) to receiving her bachelor’s in social work degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
But it was a long trip to that university degree. She started at UNCG and became pregnant after her first year. She left school, worked, eventually headed to Alamance Community College and then back to UNCG in 2009 and received her bachelor’s degree in 2011.
Education was important to Smith, and she took the opportunity to study management, ministry, case management and biblical students before she took a huge step in going after a master’s degree in criminal justice online from Liberty University.
“When (President) Obama was in office, I got my master’s in criminal justice,” Smith said. “I saw jobs in law enforcement … but I never, ever, ever thought I’d be working in security. I had worked in childcare. But I was encouraged by others and always felt I’d get my masters. People told me to go get my masters and the door was opened for me to get masters in one year.”
Starting in August, Smith will begin her second masters journey at NCSU with advanced standing in social work. She said as social work has become a profession, many jobs required a master’s degree. And, no matter which way she looked at her career path, she said it always came back to social work.
“I felt the need to be doing this at this time in my life,” Smith said. “God is the only one who will get me through, and I’m the vessel to be used by God.”
Smith has worked with her supervisors to adjust her weekly schedule to accommodate her career and schooling. Some of the schedule will require her to take late afternoon and night classes. In the fall, she will be required to fulfill an internship. She is hoping that her job will be accepted as an internship.
All the time Smith will still work on her daily duties of scheduling aftercare for offenders when they are released, as well as a continuum of care. That includes making sure they are set up with the same mental health care, medication management, substance abuse treatment and therapies the offenders received at NCCIW.
Smith has a simple message for anyone interested in becoming a social worker: Go for it.
“If it’s something you want to do and it’s something that will enhance your skills or enhance who you are, social work is it. People give people energy and sometimes who do not have the energy to move forward,” she said. IF you can help them in any way, go ahead and do that. Social work will allow you to do that.”
LuKesha Wright, Johnston Correctional Institution
Unlike Smith, Wright is already taking classes at Fayetteville State University. She is in her first year of a three-year program that has her attending classes both in-person and online on Saturdays. She will be finished with her first year on May 3.
“When I finished my undergrad (with a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Columbia College in Syracuse, N.Y.), I was torn between social work and education,” Wright said. “I was passionate about both. My individual side wanted me to pursue education and go farther and mold minds. My nurturing side wanted to help everybody, to get the vulnerable person over the hump or advocate for those who are unable to advocate for themselves.
“I’ve been doing mental health for years. I’ve worked within the prison system, with children who were a part of juvenile justice/foster care and I love what I do. Once I got this position (at Johnson CI), I figured I might as well go back and get my degree.”
Wright said it’s been very challenging to go back to school after about 10 years and get back into the routine of studying and writing papers. However, she said she has a great cohort of classmates for support, and she focuses on the end goal.
“I just felt like it was time. Sometimes life tends to take you in different directions. All it takes is one situation to bring you back full circle to what your purpose is. I felt like once I got in this position, I think that’s when it solidified what my purpose is,” Wright said.
Wright has been at Johnston CI since January 2024 and in the state system for about 8 years. She started at Murdock Developmental Center in Butner, a youth center that provides residential care, support and short-term respite admissions for persons with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities, as well as other developmental disabilities. She eventually worked in programs at Dan River Prison Work Farm and Central Prison before changing to social work at Johnston CI.
“This field chose me,” Wright said. “Growing up, I did not anticipate becoming a social worker. I have a passion for advocating for others. What I love about my role here is that it gives me an opportunity to meet one on one with individuals and really get to know them and support them through whatever they are going through.
“Even though our primary role is to prepare them for reentry and making sure their mental health treatment is taking place, there are times where you have to take off that hat and step outside of that role. You’ll have those moments where you are creating that safe space where someone can break down and say, ‘I’m not all right. I’m scared to go back out there.’ Then I can say, ‘Let’s take a moment and be silent … and you do what you have to do.’ Afterwards, I can assess the next steps and support them through it. That’s what social work is all about. That’s what drives me.”
Wright admits prison work is not for everybody and she is very passionate about working with offenders and her position. She said it’s important to be non-judgmental toward the offenders she works with and it’s important for her and others working in a prison not to degrade people for what they’ve done.
“I see our roles as being the go-between them dealing with correctional officers, programs staff, and dealing with external factors such as family issues. So, sometimes we have to create that balance for them.”
Wright said social work “is not a template and some people try to fit everyone into a template. That’s not me. I’m going to give everything I have to give and put as much work into it as they want to put into. I don’t mind going the extra mile if it’s what’s necessary for you to accomplish what you need to accomplish.”
Ultimately, Wright said it feels good when the offenders see her or, before they leave the facility, thank her.
“That makes a world of difference, and you know you are doing the right thing,” she said. “Sometimes that’s all the accolades you need. I don’t need the awards or people telling me you’re great. It’s about getting the response from that one individual that probably would not have sat in my office if I didn’t need to talk to them about something.
“It’s worth it in the end.”