Longtime Employee Bids Farewell to Crittenton and Looks Forward to Retirement
Working at Crittenton Services for more than 20 years is a milestone, but working for Crittenton for nearly 35 years deserves its own recognition. Priscilla Mack was one of our longest working employees at our agency. She began her journey with Crittenton in 1986 earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree along the way, and will soon be retiring from an impressive career within the human and social services field. She served as the Project Manager for Critttenton’s Family Preservation Program, where she has decided to retire from in September of 2020 and then start a blissful and family filled adventure into retirement. We will certainly miss Priscilla, her leadership, and the work she did on behalf of the children and families we serve. During these stressful times, Priscilla went above and beyond to provide the most essential services to families in crisis and has led her team during uncertain times. Thank you, Priscilla, for everything you’ve done for Crittenton and our mission – we will truly miss you. Enjoy your retirement…you’ve earned it!
Get to know Priscilla and her career journey at Crittenton read her “Fast 5” interview:
Priscilla Mack’s Farewell Interview
What originally brought you to Crittenton?
“Well I had a friend who worked at Crittenton and right after college I was looking for a job. I actually was looking somewhere else to work, but she told me Crittenton was fun. So that is how I originally got into Crittenton, and ended up staying here after all these years. I had told myself I was only going to give Crittenton 5 years and I ended up staying for nearly 35 years. Look at that.”
What exactly is your role here, and what has made you want to stay for so long?
“My role here is to make sure I am helping staff, encouraging them, giving them a sense of hope, and not only that, but letting them thrive. I try to show them that Crittenton is a great place to work, it is beneficial to them, and that they can grow in the agency. Not only that, it has helped me grow as a human being, as a person, as a whole. I think one of the things that has motivated me is the fact that Crittenton has scholarships for employees. So, going back to school and utilizing Crittenton’s scholarships helped me out an awful lot. That motivated me to stay here, to work with the families; I love working with the families, interacting with them, and really just giving them a sense of belonging with my help. That is what kept me here at Crittenton. They care for the people, I care for the people, and I love interacting with them. I just feel good when I am able to help someone.”
What is the most challenging aspect of your role here and how do overcome it?
“One of the most challenging things that I have had to face is when I first started here, I didn’t like conflict. I really just never wanted to engage in any conflict. I had the mentality of ‘this too shall pass’, but no. With this type of work, you have to go forward, and you have to push yourself. This was able to make me a better person in order to be stronger. I thank God for that. But not only that, my struggle here was also writing. I was able to take a couple courses to help me improve, and over the years I have gotten an awful lot better. Sometimes we struggle with our weaknesses, but I have overcome them. And like I said, I’ve been here almost 34 years, so I must be doing something right.”
If your time at Crittenton has taught you anything, what would it be?
“Crittenton has made me very humble, because I have been through a lot of supervisors, I even had our CEO as a direct supervisor. All through those structures of different leadership, it has made me humble. I have been able to see different degrees of how different leaders work, and what they meant at Crittenton, the things they care for, and the things they strive for. Ultimately, they have made me a better person. I was able to take all of that and make it humble for myself.”
What is your favorite memory from your time at Crittenton?
“Wow. I have so many good memories of Crittenton. My favorite memories are always the ones where I get to help a family overcome the obstacles they are facing. That always makes me feel good. When we go out in the community and we try to help others, when I was in a group home working as staff, or whether I’m here now with the Family Preservation program, you’re not going to see too much of the gratification right then and there. Later on, the former clients will call you and say, ‘well guess what, I’m in nursing school now and I’ve done this and that,’ and that right there was always the blessing for me. You can’t help all of them, but you try to do as much as possible.”
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Crittenton Services for Children and Families of Southern California (CSCF) is a non-profit social services agency whose mission is to heal the wounds of abuse and neglect; strengthen families; and help troubled adolescents reach their full potential. Established and incorporated in 1966 Crittenton has a highly trained workforce operating 24 hours a day / 7 days a week providing comprehensive mental health services, shelter care, and other support services to the clients in our care. We provide a full array continuum of care programming that includes short-term residential, family preservation, wraparound family services, outpatient mental health, school-linked mental health, transitional age youth programming, and foster care services with a service planning area throughout Southern California that covers Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.
Visit www.crittentonsocal.org to learn more about our programs and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Flickr