Student Story

Larree Strickland

I want to share my personal journey as a practicum student at Soccer Without Borders Maryland in Baltimore. I’m a first generation queer Black non-binary student from poverty, who grew up out of state in the South. So there are a lot of ways in which I don’t, and never will, fit with academia. I’m not the sort of person who is ever going to pursue being published and my interest is just not in academic performance. What I wanted to get out of my time with the program was the deep work we do with ourselves. I wanted to find ways to be an anti-racist and anti-oppressive practitioner in the world. And my relationship with the Center for Restorative Change brought me this opportunity to connect with the community and gain valuable experience. 

At Soccer Without Borders, my role as a social worker leads me to support participants individually while also working with colleagues to deconstruct the concept of helping and empowering others. My experience with the Center for Restorative Change has led me to engage with my colleagues and participants in a meaningful and impactful way. 

The organization expressed a need for some social work support. Many of the people involved wanted to help and be of service. But a lot of them come from sports backgrounds, and they wanted my support integrating socio- and emotional learning components in an authentic way. We’re not here to make a “winning team” of young people, necessarily. We’re here to help them thrive in this environment. 

I’m very careful about the people I surround myself with, and the influences on my life. So I’m glad to say that I found people and training at the Center for Restorative Change that nourished me. I found it a place where I am comfortable being myself and asking the difficult questions about the work we do. We do deep grappling. We process and digest. We don’t have to hold it alone. We don’t always have to be nice, or gentle. We can be curious and pull things to light. And we can imagine what the world could be like. It’s a supportive and positive environment. 

Through various training opportunities, including the Undoing Racism Workshop with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, I gained valuable insights and tools. I’ve found the SHARP framework helpful as a lens to view issues of oppression impacting people. It helps me see my work with young people as part of a broader effort to unleash their power for change. 

The young people I work with are dealing with a wide range of challenges, from human trafficking to severe trauma experienced by refugee and asylum families. Through my training and experiences at the Center for Restorative Change, I have been able to provide clinical support, crisis response, and resources to help these individuals overcome their obstacles. I’ve also been able to use the skills and frameworks I have learned at CRC to gather the coaches and community in support, too. 

Working with Soccer Without Borders has been eye-opening, as I have been able to see firsthand the power dynamics at play. My time there has allowed me to grow both professionally and personally. I have learned to be a more reflective and expansive thinker, focusing on the next steps and finding solutions rather than dwelling too much on the problems at hand. This mindset has been instrumental in my work with participants and colleagues alike.

As a practicum student, I am aware that my time with Soccer Without Borders is limited. But I am dedicated to making a lasting impact by helping my colleagues examine their roles in service positions and what it means to truly help others. This includes understanding the importance of integrating trauma-informed perspectives and empowering participants to wield and grow their own power.