School of Social Work alum Kaity Ellis (BSW ’17, MSW ’19) is using what she learned at WNMU to advocate for and assist fellow disabled New Mexicans.
Ellis, who has cerebral palsy and is legally blind, works for the State of New Mexico as a Social and Community Coordinator for the Office of Special Education.
Ellis is a certified coordinator for the Americans with Disabilities Act, and she previously worked with the Protection and Advocacy section of Disability Rights New Mexico, a state-wide nonprofit that works to protect, promote and expand the legal and civil rights of persons with disabilities.
Ellis said she felt called to become a social worker because of a desire to be of service. “I want to be a public servant to the people,” she explained. “My belief is that you serve the people and you do what you can for everybody—not just for yourself.”
On a broader scale, she would like to see a seismic shift in the disability rights landscape. “I want to work myself out of a job,” she said, “because when I work myself out of the job, I know that the system has improved.”
Her desire to serve also influences her long-term goal, which is to bring about policy change at the national level. “My goal is to one day run for Congress,” she said. “I want people to understand that no matter what their ability is, they too have a voice, and it can reach all the way to the halls of Congress.”
Ellis credits WNMU School of Social Work for preparing her for her professional path. The faculty, she said, “understood that I had disabilities, but they held me to the same standard.”
“They empowered my strengths and worked on my challenges,” Ellis elaborated. “They understood that as somebody with a disability who would become a social worker, I had something to contribute.”
Ellis said the WNMU School of Social Work prepared her for the realities of the working world in her field. “When I get challenges in my professional life—whether it be as a disability specialist or in my job with the State—I can feel confident that I went to one of the best schools in the country,” she said.
The faculty, she noted, “gave me hard assignments, and it wasn’t just to push me; it was to prepare me for the realities of social work. We tend to see people on their worst day—at their worst moment—so to be able to be level-headed and make those hard decisions and feel confident in those hard decisions—that makes me feel really good.”
Asked what advice she would give to current students, Ellis emphasized how important it is to seek help when needed. “It is okay to say ‘I need assistance.’ It is okay to say ‘I don’t get it.” And it is okay to say ‘I need to take one day at a time,’” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it takes you four years, ten years, or twenty years [to complete college], take one step at a time, and ask for help when you need it.”
