Summer break often leaves students with free time. For some, this comes as a relief. For others, this abundance of time is spent overthinking, planning for the future, and asking questions like “What should my major be?” or “What do I want to do after college?”
The Bi-Co News recently sat down with Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research alumnae Amy Malkemes (‘01), who was recently appointed to Vice President of Philanthropy at Boston Arts Academy Foundation, to discuss her life after Bryn Mawr, the decisions that led to her career choice.
The following interview has been edited for concision and clarity.
How did you decide that you wanted to go to graduate school and how did you choose Bryn Mawr?
I would say just in terms of my process, I had just gotten a degree in social work from Gordon College. And I knew I wanted to help people. I thought that one of the problems in society was that if people needed some sort of legal help, people who are of low-income status wouldn’t understand the law. And I knew that Bryn Mawr was one of the few schools out there that had this double master program. I wasn’t ready to jump fully into law school, and so the program really allowed me to get my feet wet. Basically, they partner with Villanova Law School; we use their law library. Through that process, which was very good for me, I learned that I wasn’t a lawyer. And one of my professors said, “You don’t think like a lawyer.” I learned that I was really good at administration, and understood nonprofits. And so that’s kind of why I’m in my field today. One of the great things about Bryn Mawr was I experienced some amazing internships, both in the city because I wanted to be in Philadelphia. And so I worked in the prison systems with Deb Raddock, she was amazing. But then I worked at Frankford Group Ministry. My boss there, Daniel Lee, I don’t know how he got connected to Bryn Mawr, but he and my direct supervisor, Dionne Delgado, were amazing people. And they’re still friends of mine ‘til this day. I aspired to be like Daniel, I thought he was the most motivated, hilarious, great attitude kind of guy. The program is what drew me in and then how it all evolved. You know, with my skills and my talents, I started to get really good at administration. Actually, when I was at Frankford Group Ministry, I learned how to grant write. We actually applied for a grant to plan on making a charter school. We actually got the $10,000 grant, so I was really excited about the first grant I worked on with somebody in the office. We ended up not building the charter school; we ended up not getting that. But we did write a separate grant for a Beacon center. It was a federal million dollar grant over three years. Then I graduated and accepted a job at Philadelphia Community Court. When I was at the court, not even three months in, we had gotten the grant. Frankford Ministry hired me back to facilitate the management of that program.
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Being from Massachusetts, how do you feel personally connected to this particular job?
I think I’ve been connected to the inner city of Boston for a little more than two decades now. The different social work positions that I’ve had and the different nonprofits I’ve worked in have always focused on helping those who are in need. I personally have seen from two other educational institutions how education can be a game changer. The access that the Boston Arts Academy Foundation is providing for students– predominantly students of color– really helps them break out of the cycle of poverty. It doesn’t just impact them, it impacts their families. I feel like that’s really important in terms of providing access to this type of education. We know that in the Boston Public School System, a lot of kids fall through the cracks. They don’t have the same opportunities. The Boston Arts Academy provides that additional arts education that they wouldn’t find anywhere else, to those kids who are aspiring to be amazing musicians, producers, videographers, photographers, or dancers. I think the primary thing is that this school gives these kids access, whereas there are barriers in other educational institutions, or there just isn’t as much support.
What is your favorite part of this job?
People. Love people. So my job is to go around and meet the people and tell the story of Boston Arts Academy, who we are, what we do, how we’re changing lives. It’s all about the students– telling people about our mission, and that without the work that we do, kids wouldn’t have access to arts programming, whether it’s music, theater, dance. The nice thing is that I’ve come on at the tail-end of the campaign. There’s a whole brand new school building. When you go and see the facility, it’s unbelievable. The kids now have access to real soundboarding equipment and real dance studios, or real theaters. They have this one room called the black box, where kids can take a class in lighting. It gives them an immersive experience, which I think for students nowadays helps bring things to life, and helps fuel their creativity, so that they can excel and learn what their interests are. It can be turned into a profession rather than a hobby.
Once you build those relationships, you cultivate those relationships. And then it’s all about connecting the person to what they’re interested in giving, and what brings them fulfillment.
What is the most difficult part of your job?
I think raising money– the main part. Like I was saying before, it’s all about relationships. Once you build those relationships, you cultivate those relationships. And then it’s all about connecting the person to what they’re interested in giving, and what brings them fulfillment. Making that connection is my job. Sometimes it’s a challenge, because there are competing outside forces. Just last week, we found out that some of our regular city funding, state funding, is cut. And, and so because of that, we have to come up with a large gap. I don’t remember the exact number, but it’s a couple hundred thousand dollars. If we don’t raise the funds, we have to cut programs, and that’s the challenging thing about it.
I’m just wondering how your experiences at Bryn Mawr and working in the city prepared you for these challenges.
Well, I’ll tell you something. When I was at Frankford Group Ministry– during that internship, Daniel Lee, he just got budgets. It was the first time I was exposed to a nonprofit budget– what it is, how it works, and I had a hard time grappling with it. He and Dionne were like persistent. Over the years, I’ve been able to really learn budgets and really be good at finances. I really attribute it to my Bryn Mawr education. In order to run a nonprofit, you need to have financial acumen. I really believe that it all started when I was in graduate school, when they first exposed me to the budget of the Frankford Group Ministry and what that looked like. The other thing is that I first started learning how to be a good manager at Bryn Mawr by Daniel and Dionne being two amazing managers as an example for me. Also, because we got that grant, I was able to be put immediately into a managerial position, right after I graduated. I attribute a lot of that success to Bryn Mawr, to my professors. Those internship experiences are invaluable, so I still remember them to this day. So, and that was 24 years ago or whatever.
I feel like every job experience is a learning experience. Whether or not it’s a good experience or a challenging experience, you’re learning more about yourself.
Do you have any advice for Bryn Mawr Haverford students about choosing career paths?
I would say just keep an open mind– even for internship opportunities. I feel like every job experience is a learning experience. Whether or not it’s a good experience or a challenging experience, you’re learning more about yourself. I think it’s important to be reflective in that aspect of having an open mind. Listen to people from different perspectives from different backgrounds. I feel like today, people are so politically divided, and I feel like we can learn from everybody. We may not agree with everybody. But I really think that in order to be a success in this world, you have to be willing to be open and learn from different people from different backgrounds and different viewpoints. Boston is an extremely diverse community. I know Philadelphia is as well. People from all walks of life have come into my life. For example, my supervisor, Dionne… she really helped me in my journey, along with Daniel. We come from two very different worlds. She grew up in Jamaica. She was excellent and we just got along really well. The same thing with Daniel. Daniel is from Philly, and he’s a Black man, from the inner city. My mentor from my previous job at the Black Ministerial Alliance was Reverend David Wright. He’s amazing. He is another person who aspires me to greatness. One of the reasons why I came to Boston Arts Academy was because Denella– she’s amazing. She’s a Black woman, and Jamaican actually, also. She’s just a real go-getter, and I’ve already learned a lot from her. I feel like people really need to be open to that. In order to grow professionally, and personally.
Do you have any final comments?
I just think that you never know where God’s gonna take you. And so, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, and I feel like everything happens for a reason. So you might make a plan, but God’s the one that opens the door and shuts the door. And that might sound kind of quirky, but I applied for this position. He made this opportunity happen, but initially I wasn’t looking. I don’t know how to explain that. It’s helpful to be aware of that, because I feel like that’ll take you somewhere in life that you may never know. It’s important to be open to different opportunities, because they’ll continue to shape you– you never know who you’re going to be. I’ve met a whole bunch of cool, mostly women, here. We have predominantly women staff, and I’m just really excited to be here as a new person and learn from all of them. We have a very diverse team, which I love– and a diverse board of Board of Directors too. I feel like that’s really important in terms of how you grow professionally and can give back to society and the community at large.
CORRECTION: Previously, Reverend David Wright name was erroneously reported as Reverend David Ray. We have since rectified the error and apologize.
