Dr. Azzie Forbes ’10 is in her third year working at York College, a college in the City University of New York system, where she is a doctoral lecturer and director of social work practicum education. Her consulting business, A to Z Coaching & Consulting, is thriving. And most recently, she completed the testing necessary to become a licensed psychotherapist so she can see clients part time at the Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy.

Not too bad for a woman who came to college virtually homeless.

As a high school student in Chicago, Forbes never thought she would attend college. But Jason Woods, a Wartburg admissions counselor at the time, saw her potential and was adamant she consider something more for herself. The personal touches in his recruiting convinced Forbes to give Wartburg a try.

“He sent me a card for my birthday and a gift card at Thanksgiving to get a meal. I don’t think he understood how big that was for me,” she said. “He knew affording college would be tough, but he said we would figure it out. He said Wartburg would change my life, and he
was right.”

Though Woods left the college shortly after Forbes arrived, Krystal Madlock, associate dean for inclusive community, continued to push her toward graduation despite family hardships that included the loss of her youngest brother, Keith, and personal mental health struggles. She took some time off in her second year but came back and found her home in the social work department with the help of Drs. Tammy Faux and Susan Vallem.

“They could see that I liked to help people  and that I had a story that would help me empathize with others,” Forbes said. “I took my first social work class with Tammy, and she spoke life into me.”

Following graduation, Forbes went to work for Fox Family Christian Action, a nonprofit ministry that took her in during the college summer months when she didn’t have a steady home to return to. At just 21, she was managing the summer staff and volunteers; attending court dates, learning-plan meetings, and eviction meetings with clients; and connecting churches in nearby under-resourced communities with programming opportunities for their members.

“Krystal helped me prepare for the interview and encouraged me every step of the way. I remember she told me, ‘This is the kid you were growing up. Be who you wish someone would have been for you,’” Forbes said.

While on vacation in New York, Forbes connected with the president of Harlem Children’s Zone, an organization that works to increase high school and college graduation rates for Harlem students. He was impressed with her work and offered her a job in his organization. Forbes quickly moved on from the Children’s Zone to Good Shepherd Services, another nonprofit serving under-resourced students. But all these positions were just stepping stones to Queens Community House, where she would oversee two alternative high schools for students who had aged out of traditional schools but still didn’t have the credits they needed to graduate. During her time there, she transformed one of the lowest-performing schools into a top performer.

“These kids had grown up with the same kinds of issues I dealt with or saw in my neighborhood and family dynamic — issues with parents and life circumstances that kept them from succeeding. This work was right up my alley,” she said. “I saw so many of these young men as the little Keiths who didn’t get to make it. My school had a 76 percent male population. I took in the males that no one else would take in.”

Now, Forbes is focusing her efforts at York College and her consulting business on better training for individuals who are helping the kinds of children and young adults she’s been working with for years. She’s already dreaming up new ways she can improve the system for providers and clients.

“I always tell my students, ‘If you don’t know it or don’t have it, go find it. It may take you longer than the average person, but a setback is not denial. Keep pushing,’” she said. “And that is what I do every day.”