At a young age, Mrs. Abigail Hammond knew she wanted to work with people in a helping capacity. “I was always kind of drawn to it,” she states. “My mom was a social worker, so I grew up watching her play a very different role but within that same field.”
Subsequent to her high school education, Hammond went straight for her psychology major. Prior to Hammond going back to school to be a social worker, she was working as a special education teacher. Although she enjoyed her time in this field, she knew there was somewhere else she needed to be. She made a conscious decision to shift her schedule and take a leap towards something that she felt she belonged to. If it weren’t for that leap, chances are that Triton would’ve missed out on the unhesitating dedication, compassion and commitment she brings to our school in her role as a clinician in the LIFT program.
“I think Ms. Hammond seems to be settling in just fine and is a great addition to the Triton community,” said Mr. Victor Fidler, Triton High Schools LIFT academic coordinator as well as Hammonds mentor. “She brings a calm reassuring voice that is knowledgeable and understanding of the needs of the students in our school. Ms. Hammond has been a pleasure to work with to start the year, and I’m sure that will continue. On a personal note, Ms. Hammond is an avid Taylor Swift fan and really enjoys hang gliding.”
In college, Hammond was a psychology major. She had a strong passion for working people through their problems so she began teaching high schoolers. She found herself at middle school later on, only to find her way back to the older crowd, which she prefers. The problems, stressors and challenges brought by high schoolers’ lives differs greatly from middle school students and the obstacles they often encounter.
In the field of social work, people come to you with their problems and some of the conflicts brought to you may be heavy, said Hammond. Balancing your own emotions let alone can be difficult, so adding other people’s problems on top of that can be challenging or sometimes triggering. When Hammond finds herself feeling overwhelmed or in distress, she tries to do the same thing she helps others do, whether it be taking time to herself or having somebody to talk to.
“If I’m feeling anxiety, I’m going to try to use those same skills I’m preaching to those I’m working with,” she said.
Hammond explained that having supervisors in all of her internships, even when she’s at work, has been immensely helpful for her career. Walking away from a work day can sometimes be difficult because that means turning your mind off, which isn’t humanly possible, but luckily within the field of social work there are so many things built in to offer support.
In her internships, Hammond had to do process recordings where she’d have to take a situation and write about the various different perspectives on how people are feeling within those moments as well as how to adjust bias that may be incorporated. Supervisors helped by talking it through with her afterwards. Hammond remarked, “Youre learning how you think and also how to support those tendencies when doing your job.”
Hammond concluded that the favorite parts of her job “are getting to know students and then finding ways for small successes to create more successes and creating those building moments,” she said. “And the momentum that you get from that, that feels very rewarding for [her] to see and be a part of.”
