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Carver alumna Caira Ward’s wondrous journey into social work

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Caira Ward is a graduate student studying social work at New York University. Talking with Caira about her daring and caring journey to date is like being out on the open road with all four windows down. You can feel the wind in your hair. No matter what cruel realities she might face in her studies and internships that seek to ease the pain of those who are suffering, she still feels the magnetic pull and joy of Carver memories and values.

Caira received a B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies from UConn in 2019. But that is simply the headline for what was a brave, driven and original undergraduate experience.

Caira was an honors student at UConn with a minor in Urban and Community Studies. She received the 2018 Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Research Experience Award; as part of the award she worked on a study designed to analyze the positive and negative experiences of African American women cancer survivors located in urban cities in Connecticut. As a student she volunteered at many service organizations, particularly those serving the poor and homeless, and was awarded the 2019 Cohen Student Leadership Scholarship Award for demonstrating an active commitment to eliminating bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination and the fostering of tolerance and understanding among the campus community.

Caira served as President of the Nu Mu Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (and received one of their scholarships). She was a member of the Storrs Church of Christ. She traveled to Detroit for the Urban Development, Education and Civic Development Alternative Break to learn about civic engagement through indirect and direct service with the community. She traveled to Boston to participate in the Understanding Homelessness Alternative Break. Caira was a Peer Mentor in UConn Connects and First Year Experience, and she served as a tutor for America Reads in Hartford. She served as secretary for Sisters Inspiring Sisters, an on-campus organization that provides a safe and engaging space for women of color on campus.

Meanwhile, she worked as a student research assistant for two years on a study and had the opportunity to design a research study of her own on the social influence of HIV testing among Black students as part of her honors thesis project. Caira also worked for two years as a receptionist for the UConn Foundation of Alumni Relations.

Today, Caira is on track to receive her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in Spring 2021.

She worked for seven months (until the pandemic hit) as an intern at Fudan International School in Shanghai, China. This is the only MSW program of an American university in China. Caira provided elementary students and the Fudan International School staff with counseling, workshops, and policy on Social and Emotional Learning as well as Child Protection. Along the way she conducted field work in the deepest way, reflecting on cultural, social, political, and economic similarities and differences.  

Caira with her colleagues in the NYU Silver’s MSW Program at Shanghai

Caira with her colleagues in the NYU Silver’s MSW Program at Shanghai

Presently, Caira is an intern at the Rowan Center in Stamford, an organization that provides counseling and support services to primary and secondary victims of sexual violence and strives to eliminate sexual violence through community-wide education programs. Her MSW program educates professionals for the pursuit of social justice with an emphasis on direct social work practice that aims to improve bio-psycho-social functioning through helping relationships.

Carver role models helped Caira choose and sustain her career path. “I thought about some of the positive influences and individuals who've helped me along the way. Carver played a huge role in how I grew as an individual and student. I’m especially grateful for the support and friendship of Sarah Molinelli, China Garcia, Benson Casimir, and Mo Tomlin.”

“I was a Carver after-school student for three years in high school. I was a Carver camp counselor and then supervisor over five summers. I attended Carver’s spring college tour in 2014, an experience which really inspired my path to college and choosing my undergraduate majors in the social science and the humanities. I was also a Carver college scholarship recipient for four consecutive years. With these Carver experiences in mind, I was inspired to serve communities and help individuals the same way Carver helped me.”

“I then decided to choose a focus in macro social work, where I'd work at the governmental and organizational levels with non-profits, and do work framed around programming, policy, and social justice - specifically for women of color.” Caira is a member of the Theta Alpha Sigma Graduate Chapter of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. 

Caira encourages Carver kids today to "be the author of your own story," and "if you can't enjoy the process, you should still definitely respect it." Her advice opens windows and finds the light switches.

“There are so many ups and downs in this journey called life, and I've had my fair share of obstacles, but that's to be expected. However, the last thing we should do is lose faith in ourselves. It's important to practice self-care and empowerment. Speak up in those scary moments, continue to brainstorm and create - even when you're feeling lazy, and embrace the art of ‘failing forward’ - believe me, it'll teach you a lot.”

Nothing can dim the incandescence of Caira’s example and career goals. She shares with us thoughts and experiences worth knowing. Her studies and work are of a piece — closely observed, not seeking recognition, and with the wellbeing of people always as her focus. The Carver community could not be any prouder of Caira as she continues to be such a bright light in our world.

Lucille Bridges, mother of activist Ruby Bridges, dies at 86

Read the entire article here.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lucille Bridges, the mother of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, who walked with her then-6-year-old daughter past crowds screaming racist slurs as she became the first Black student at her all-white New Orleans elementary school, has died at the age of 86.

On her Instagram account Tuesday evening, Ruby Bridges said, “Today our country lost a hero. Brave, progressive, a champion for change. She helped alter the course of so many lives by setting me out on my path as a six year old little girl. Our nation lost a Mother of the Civil Rights Movement today. And I lost my mom. I love you and am grateful for you. May you Rest In Peace.”

Bridges gave birth to Ruby in Tylertown, Mississippi, in 1954 — the same year as the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision that ended racial segregation in schools.

Her daughter went on to become an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, memorialized in Norman Rockwell’s famous painting “The Problem We All Live With” which depicts a tiny Ruby in a white dress carrying her notebooks and a ruler surrounded by much taller U.S. Marshals. But Ruby Bridges once credited her parents as the forces behind her history-making achievement….


Davanté Thomas lives Carver values

See all our alumni stories here.

Athletic victories are great, but the friendship of many is even greater. That is what Davanté  Thomas experienced growing up as a Carver kid, and that is the kind of life he leads today.

Since graduating from college about a year and a half ago, Davanté has been working as a Performance Specialist at BlueStreak Sports Training in Stamford. Using scientifically designed methods and sophisticated equipment, Davanté is one of the highly credentialed trainers there helping athletes ranging from elementary school students to professional level adults achieve their maximum athletic potential.

Davanté brought great credit to the Carver community through the years. For example, in this news article, Carver’s late and much beloved basketball coach, Mike McElveen, praised Davanté for playing a “…strong defense down the stretch to help Carver prevail.” The Carver 7th grade boys basketball team stopped Stamford, 67-63, to win the 2010 Fairfield County Basketball League tournament, finishing the season 12-0.

In the class of 2015 at Norwalk High School, Davanté played basketball; competed in the FCIAC Championship games in the Long Jump, Triple Jump and Relay; but mostly he played varsity cornerback for his school football team.  

“I was always a student first and an athlete second.” Davanté went on to graduate from Curry College in Massachusetts, with an undergraduate business management degree, with a concentration in sports management. “I believe that the traits I've gained from being a Business Management major at Curry College will truly help me succeed in any position and become a stronger person each day.”

Davanté played varsity football for Curry College each of the four years he studied there. He achieved many feats on the gridiron, such as his impressive number of tackles and his leading the conference in interception yards and interceptions returned for a touchdown.

Davanté continues to run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head, and he offers hard-earned and life-affirming advice to Carver kids today, as well as to his clients at BlueStreak, to strive for excellence.

In business, sport, entertainment and beyond an idea is worth only so much. The energy, effort, passion, talent, tenacity, strategy, resilience and resourcefulness to see it all through and make something of it is worth everything.

Carver alumna Kana Danzey reminds us why art matters

Photograph by Kyle Norton.

Photograph by Kyle Norton.

See all our alumni stories here.

Kana Danzey felt the restive call to creative work in elementary school. She gave it her all, as the loyalty of water to the force of gravity. In the wholeheartedness of her concentration and commitment, the world and her many gifts and skills have since cohered.

Today, Kana is an artist, teacher, and entrepreneur.

Kana recently moved back to Connecticut and works as a preschool teacher in Greenwich. She also hosts virtual and social-distanced paint parties, “to lift people’s spirits and help clients have fun, socialize, and gain artistic confidence.”

Kana graduated from Norwalk High School in 2014. She enrolled at Clark Atlanta University and joined the Psi Chi international honor society in psychology. Kana participated in showcases on and beyond the Clark campus. She taught art therapy sessions on campus for students in recovery and served as a volunteer tutor and mentor to middle school students nearby. 

In 2016, Kana transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts), first in the country as a public university art school, and second in the country overall. Kana was a member of Black Art Student Empowerment. She was awarded a U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study in Oaxaca, Mexico, in the summer of 2018, where she taught English in the small village of Teoticlan Del Valle in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. Kana graduated cum laude earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in December 2018, with a concentration in painting and printmaking. While still a VCUarts student, Kana was invited to contribute two murals in the James River Park.

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In 2019, while working as an assistant teacher in a child development center in Richmond, Virginia, Kana received the Opening Minds through Art (OMA) certification from Miami University. OMA is an intergenerational art program for people with dementia, improving their physical and psychological well-being through creative expression. Kana was also producing much of her own artwork in Richmond in 2019. She was featured in a Black Lives Matter showcase; PAIN-tings Art Gala; Intersectional Wonder Woman Vol. 2 Truthsayer at Studio Two-Three; the Richmond Night Market; and in the Gallery at First UU and in their 54th Annual Arts and Crafts Show. She worked as a server and artist instructor at Richmond’s Muse Paint Bar. Kana’s work was also featured in the Environment at Risk Art Exhibit, an all-media exhibit at Project Space Gallery in Richmond addressing the environmental risks and climate change impacts faced in Virginia.

“The majority of my work are depictions of women of color, and my views as a Black woman. I enjoy exploring my use of color within my pieces. I want people to experience my visions through the arts with me.” This dignity of self-possession against the status quo animates Kana’s work and the personal values from which she paints. 

In this Atlanta-based magazine, Kana speaks about her community in Norwalk.

I have to give a big thanks to my village in Norwalk, Connecticut. That includes my family, friends, teachers, mentors, community center (Carver Foundation of Norwalk) and people that made a way for themselves and always came back to share it with us.

She shares more about her entrepreneurial journey, art, and personal mission.

My entrepreneurial journey contains many different business ventures all connect by art! This includes maternity paintings, murals, logos, clothing art, and more. I love to indulge in different ways to create because there are no limits and always new mediums to explore in the process. When creating, it doesn’t feel like work but more as a therapy. It has helped me to see time in a different light and respect it. I am known for my exploration of color within my pieces. I specialize in creating depictions of women/women of color and my views as a black woman. It has become another way to tell my story and other stories that have not been heard. My goals and purpose are what sets me aside from others. I use my artistic abilities not only to create but heal and tell stories through testimonial works. I hope to keep the movement going by sharing and giving others an outlet to express and learn more about themselves. As another form of communication and rehabilitation.

Kana was a Carver kid growing-up in Norwalk. She attended our after-school and summer programs. Her college choices were inspired by participating in Carver’s spring 10-day college tours, often visiting HBCU schools. Kana also worked as a Carver summer camp counselor from 2013 to 2017. Kana received Carver college scholarship support.

Kana offers this advice to today’s Carver youth: “Do the things that scare you and if you fail, don’t be afraid to try again.”

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