STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Leaving a legacy of service fulfills Kim Mack. How she does that and why it’s important will inform her keynote speech at Tarleton State University’s summer commencement exercises at 9 a.m. Friday, where she also will accept her master’s degree in social work.
“We all have a beginning and an ending,” she said. “What’s important is how we serve others during that time between the dash — how we help people who couldn’t help themselves.”
A graduate of Hillcrest High School in Dallas, Kim received her bachelor’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and began a case management career that spanned more than two decades. A changing employment landscape led her to research higher education. Tarleton’s accelerated time frame and low student-to-teacher ratio sealed the deal.
“My kiddos were making more than I was,” she said, laughing. “Something about that wasn’t right.
“Now with my master’s I have opportunities to be a coordinator or a director. I have experience with victim advocacy, as an eligibility specialist, making home visits, and I’ve taught and worked with stakeholders to get kids positions with hospitals.”
A Garland resident, Kim followed her husband during his 21 years in the Army. While also building her résumé, she put into practice her zeal for service work by volunteering in church and community efforts at each duty station.
She continued to work full time the first year of her master’s studies, but the rigors of class and associated activities pushed her energies completely to her education.
“That second year, my husband said, ‘You’re going to have to stop this madness.’ So the last year I focused on my MSW. I had to do an internship, field placement and volunteer work. I focused on the program to make sure I understood the competencies, the things I had been doing my whole career that now had a name.”
One of the lessons she learned became very clear during her internship at Fort Worth’s Center for Transforming Lives.
“So many people of color, minorities, have talents but don’t know how to grow those talents into a job. That’s what I want people to take from my speech. To see the importance of living a life of service in a marginalized community. It’s about service and taking the opportunity to give back.”
Kim wants to use her degree to land a social work position in a hospital or school district.
“The jobs I’m looking at call for a year in a healthcare setting,” she said, “but just get me in there and I’ll do what I need to do.
“I’m a smart cookie.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.