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Passion and Perseverance


Title:
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Clark Atlanta University

Age: 40

Education: B.S., social work, Plymouth State University; Master of Social Work (MSW), Simmons University; and Doctor of Social Work (DSW), University of Pennsylvania

Career mentors:
Gary Bailey, Simmons University; Anthony Hill, Winthrop University; and Shonda Lawrence, Clark Atlanta University

Words of wisdom/advice for new faculty members:
“Do you, at this level, through this lens. Whether it’s a dissertation, a program, a grant, whatever it is. I think too many times we lose our voice, and that’s the opposite of what needs to occur. And to recognize the level at which we’re performing is really helpful. And to adapt to whatever the scenario is. So to do you at this level through this lens I think is wildly helpful for people to do what they do and not to lose their voice.”

Dr. Nathaniel Currie said the drive to help other people has been with him since childhood. Dr. Nathaniel CurrieDr. Nathaniel Currie

Currie spent most of his early youth in foster care and was adopted by a child rights activist. He said he viewed the field as one essentially about humanity. Now, as a licensed clinical social worker and an assistant professor in the Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University (CAU), he has continued to pursue that passion.

“I can remember being in high school and not knowing the first thing about how to really help myself,” Currie said. “But I knew I wanted to help other people. ... Even before I knew what to do for me, I knew I wanted to help other people.”

When he is not teaching, Currie is at National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities (NAESM), working with queer minorities as a behavioral health clinician.

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