How do you do? Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Kelvin Piazza, an educator and mental health advocate, living with dual-diagnosis.
A few months after I was revoked in 2019, I began to take stock and see how well I am really doing.
Now is the time to build a life I am proud of.
It’s not like I had acquiesced my own advice in the years before that. Following the trudge through the mud, in 2014 I was invited to perform Pupil Personnel Services within the second largest school district in the nation, then showing up creating comprehensive student support programs that elevated student achievement data closer to one hundred percent graduation - my final two years of Pupil Services and Attendance counseling in Los Angeles public schools, which I gaited in the thick of the reimagine education initiative, felt like wandering with a bucket full of rocks in each hand. It was nothing but groundwork with every little step.
In a smooth and efficient way, I am patient with myself and accept that positive changes take time.
In 2017, when the enrollment crisis trampled the district, it was as if one day out-of-classroom staff were grounded with layoffs, and the next day we were punted by the revised Parent Empowerment Act all because - California’s Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA) hurried the pomp and circumstance of a credible plan of action to improve schools through culture and climate coordination - a generation of certificated staffers stood still.
Looking forward, I was put on this earth to accomplish wonderful things with purpose, passion and performance.
One day we were marching in the humility of prevailing - collaborating with all stakeholders to support the development, planning, and implementation of services to increase attendance, academic achievement, graduation and overall work-life satisfaction - the next day school board elections seemingly weighed down student achievement efforts and pulled us deeper into insolvency.
I spent so many early mornings speaking truth-to-power in the principal’s conference room, trying to declutter our desks, that it felt like the CTC deliberately pulled my chair from the table.
Nevertheless I am a gift.
But many of my colleagues didn’t want to hear any of that. They just knew that I was arrogant and condescending in my approach with delivering best-practices on campuses, and that I was trippin’ with two left feet.
You can explain that educators teach progress not perfection - but the truth is, you get credit when you are a shining example of temperance even though we struggle too with addiction, it’s only fair that you get discredited by self-will. It just doesn’t feel right.
And in many ways I keep hope in my heart even on the toughest days.
Don’t get me mistaken. We achieved a lot. We saw ways to walk hand-to-hand with the system. We educated parents on California compulsory education law. We empowered students to participate in their learning. We coached teachers on how to use technology in the classroom. We collaborated with colleges and universities to provide student support resources. We nurtured the community in schools. We increased the confidence in educators one day at a time with intelligence, creativity and independent thinking.
In that way it’s my time.
I can hear my mentor say, “what did you learn?” I learned in those last years before the pandemic that you can facilitate some of the most comprehensive support services, new-age programs that district administrators have ever seen and you’ll still feel invalidated when a lead teacher says, “You are such a jerk. You are so stupid, that’s why no one likes you here”. Well, touché my friend.
When I see it coming I control my reactions so I stay peaceful.
This wasn’t my only experience with rejection, surprisingly. I didn’t fit in working as a Casual Longshoreman either. I was dismissed by the county as a Correctional Assistant Trainee. My transfer was denied when I attempted to transition to Los Angeles as a Retail Manager from Riverside. The psychological treatment center I worked at undervalued me. I had been ignored working as a Crime and Intelligence Analysis intern trying to gain recognition for my specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound ways to be of service. And the employment-related search engine company that contracted my business for content went out of service. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve had many jobs.
Anyways by 2019, although I had already begun to trip all over the city - falling here and there. I hadn’t departed from rock bottom yet.
And it wasn’t the district’s separation letter that brought me to my knees.
I did that to myself.
I became a burden to my family. No endeavor has ever felt more wrong than that.
You might be thinking, what happened to you? I won’t be walking you through - that wellness journey here - my story of trauma, resilience and healing. From 2019 to 2022 I shared in real-time on social media being more than a resume. I have since deleted those accounts because I no longer use social media as my personal diary. But feel free to read new blogs on my website.
While having a way of doing things I trust that everything I need comes to me at exactly the right place and time.
In many ways I created CareerGeek Organizational Behavior Management to make the best out of my lived-experiences, I was naive to think that I could continue to overachieve my way out of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reactive depression - a coping mechanism I developed as a child to ignore feelings established by experiencing domestic violence, suffering through abandonment and burdened by religiosity. And carrying resentment with me into adulthood contributed to my disease of addiction. Until I recognized the insanity of misdirected hostility, and decided to take contrary action towards wellness - which I describe as self-care, growth and balance - being fit inside and out.
What I will say is that by the end of 2022 I had lost the remainder of my free-will and decision-making skills. But today recovery has contributed so much to my reasonable and rational behavior.
You know, according to the results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health by SAMHSA, about 9.5 million Americans who have a substance use disorder also have a mental illness. And over 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, and only 10% of us receive treatment. Well, career loss was the beginning of treatment for my dual diagnosis.
In that way I have faith that everything always works out for the best.
After processing - through individualized therapy and admitting my character defects - I’m thoroughly working the steps of recovery with a sponsor and support network to redefine my confidence, ambition and vision. I am as collaborative as I am driven, and I am as passionate about causes that matter to me as I am about my work.
If you’ve ever read a performance review about me, though, you probably already know that I consider all that I must do, and all that I must carry, striding in the right direction - no matter what.
Sure some might know me to be stubborn, opinionated, and impatient but I have a strong sense of purpose and a desire to make a positive impact on the world. No matter how heavy things got I kept moving forward. In fact, I enjoy the road less traveled. It’s the obstacles along the way that makes success, when you achieve it, the crown is heavy. In this way I am a person who can handle great responsibility, and I have mastered how to sleep soundly, and journey in grace.
I struggle, but I grow. I fall, but I get up. Even amid adversity, I succeed and I prosper.
This next phase in my work-life is a mingling of all the previous visions of me, making me as insightful as any professional development expert. I continue my professional growth and personal learning by engaging with the thousand plus (and growing) work enthusiasts who have subscribed to my website. They look forward to my insight, and I enjoy sharing with them experience, strength and hope. My mental health advocacy work goes on in hospitals and institutions, where I get to serve on panels and motivate other people to act independently, freeing themselves from stagnation. Listen. I don’t know anything for sure, but taking the alternative route has worked for me.
Walking this way I focus on what I can control, and let go of the rest. I release anything that doesn’t serve me.
In fact, as an African American male, I take pride in my strength to withstand the stress of everyday life, and carry the burden of racism and other forms of oppression, including from my participation in the LGBTQ community in a society still learning to accept all ways of being.
I haven’t always been this strong. For sure I have experienced anger - which has manifested in drug abuse, promiscuity or alcoholism - exacerbated by shame and parental rejection. But I am a survivor, I will work harder at a sober lifestyle. Thy will be done, not mine. I just ask God to use me. So here I am. My life continues to get better by being useful.
Looking at different ways to improve my work, I am a career geek.
Getting to know myself better. Measuring to see if I am showing up. Measuring to see if I am actually spending time on the things that are important to me.
I understand that the experiences, concepts, and symbols around which I construct my personal and collective identity is useful.
I engage in mindsets, habits and lifestyles that keep me interested in making intentional day-to-day choices that serve all of us. Through my own efforts and resources to step into more work-life joy.
I have personal experiences with mental health and life challenges.
I enjoy work that keeps me posted on identifying, understanding, and providing language for our experiences with mental distress and pathways to emotional intelligence.
I can translate research and best practices into engaging and culturally competent workshops and training for one-on-one or group professional development.
While I’ve been taking my time, I think I have finally arrived but I am still getting better at putting it together.
Every day I try, I make progress.
It’s all relative though. My advice to you is, don’t wait until retirement to be happy.
Who would have thought that all of those careers, failures and redemption and reinvention, I’d become a self-help guy.
Now, coming into my own, people are paying me to show up and give motivational speeches to their clients and their workforces. People really seem to benefit from learning from me, the same way I benefit from my mentors' growth and learning. As a career geek, the most important issue in your life is coming to terms with the invalidating past; internalized shame, rejection and anger. All of that is a rocky road but be triumphant.
However, when you’re at the crossroads, stay on-track. Keep the prize in mind. It’s fantastic to see a bright future ahead.
At CareerGeek, we recognize you. We see who you truly are. The conscious image, and the very likeness of usefulness. You are a unique vision of ability, intelligence and versatility. You are a committed student of life. Brilliant. Unfolding genius. Today we get to acknowledge your insight. We get to celebrate your infinite potential. We appreciate you. And we applaud your service to humanity. Really, it’s nice to meet you, too.
You can always call me - your favorite work buddy. #peersupport
Comentarios