As the title explains, due to my misguided personal experiences and an idiotic sense of “save the world” mentality from a young age, a long time ago in a galaxy far away I got into significant student loan debt in order the join the ranks of a profession that is universally overlooked and misunderstood in America… Social Work. As SWs we were all slammed with increased stress, barriers to care, overall difficulties, and resulting burnout during COVID in dealing with all ills in society being exacerbated at all at once. And yet, I guess since we are not as warm and fuzzy as teachers and nurses, the way we as a profession stepped up was largely overlooked in the public eye. Believe me.. many of us are essential workers and unsung heroes. Hell, I dont think that many of us got raises, hazard pay or across the board better working conditions (as far as I am aware) at any point over the last few years. We don't have a union and the NASW is toothless and useless. We are told to be “in it for the outcome not the income” right out of the gates in grad school.
Over a year ago I applied for a job at a community agency around the onset of covid as an outpatient therapist. I was told at my interview I could apply for a student loan forgiveness through https://www.hrsa.gov/ by working there. I took the job, applied for the loan forgiveness program and was ultimately rejected because the agency office never completed the site application to be considered for the student loan program. I was assured by our HR team they would sign up to be considered for the following year.
I tried to apply for the following year ( 2022) and started off by reaching out the the HR department again to see if they ever followed up on their earlier promise. I got no response to my phone or email outreach attempts. I then asked my supervisor for guidance (and got none other than ” oh yeah..HR sucks at responding to anything”). Also reached out via email to the director of the center and got no response / crickets.
I then reached out to the loan forgiveness program directly to try to find out if I was eligible to apply for the coming year since “…I am not getting an answer from my agency”. The loan forgiveness program person responded immediately, informed me my office still was not eligible and cc'd the HR dipshit on the email in her response.
Monday morning roles around and I am called into a meeting and presented with a write up for “insubordination” and accused of “Skipping steps rather than communicating effectively with my agency ” due to my decision to email the HRSA by saying ” I dont know what to do since I am not getting a response from my own agency”.
I was so stunned in this meeting I mentally shut down. They talk to me about the write up but it isnt given to me to sign in that meeting. I'm so mad I practically disassociate. I leave without saying much and go in to my office, gather myself together and print out the paper trail of email correspondences about how I attempted to get the question answered and never got responses before I decided I was “going to go above their head”. I staple these and print a letter if resignation and submit all this to hr / dumbass weasel director.
They are completely stunned at my decision and encourage me to reconsider ( I decline), stating I am “blowing this out of proportion and need to think clearly”.
They then ask me to meet again to sign the write up ” so it will be in my record and we can complete the ppw and loose ends before I leave the agency “. I decline to meet with them, offering to leave immediately if that's the case rather than my 2 week notice period.
They back off but present me with a copy of the write up in my mailbox ” for review” of my so called insubordination ( ie – attempt to help myself). I consider wiping my ass with it at home but I have plenty of actual tp, so instead allow it to line my hamster's cage who happily shits all over it.
The silver lining of this story is that I ultimately got a job at a local for-profit program, a few months later, which not only pays better and has more benefits but also somehow is eligible for the same loan forgiveness program. And they actually , proactively assisted me in completing the application right when I started. I am talking about over the course of one day it was done.
It's not the grassroots place I always thought I was meant for. But that place broke my heart with their incompetence and willingness to throw me under the bus. I am learning it's ok to sell my soul to corporate in order to take care of myself; and in the end they actually have the brains and wherewithal to realize it's worth it to help at least a new employee start off on the right foot with them. They did more for me in a day than I got in over a year…