Mohawk College professor leading the way in mental health activism
Community Access and Engagement professor Calissa Ngozi Frans has dedicated more than two decades to the field of mental health, and her work has recently been recognized and celebrated.
In January, Ngozi earned second place in the qualifying round of Speaker Slam, North America's largest inspirational speaking competition. She delivered a bold personal speech about overcoming traumatic experiences as a black woman. Her performance secured her a spot in the finals taking place in November at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.
Then, in February, Ngozi received a prestigious RBC Black Diamond Ball Award, recognizing her as a leading figure in mental health advocacy and education.
Despite facing significant life challenges, Ngozi's story is one of resilience and triumph. Born to a mother who suffered from mental illness and a newly immigrated student father, Ngozi was placed in the foster care system at three months old and adopted at age one. Her adoptive mother also struggled with her mental health. Calissa has grown through childhood sexual abuse, divorce, ADHD, and poverty; experiences she boldly and courageously shared in her presentation in the Speaker Slam competition.
Ngozi took a gap year after high school, hoping to work on a cruise ship or become a flight attendant. Instead, she became a supervisor at a residential treatment group home, where she gained experience in mental health support.
“The biggest piece of who I am as a person is that I'm rooted in faith, so I always knew I had a purpose of working with people that had similar struggles,” Ngozi said. “I just didn't know how to make a path for myself. So, when I got that job and I was good at it, I knew that this is what I was supposed to do.”
In 2007, she went back to school without any outside support and obtained an advanced diploma in Child and Youth Care. After her college graduation, she worked with the Children's Aid Society and later joined Bartimaeus Inc. where she has been working full-time for the past 14 years, serving as a Family Services and Specialized Support Partner for the Hamilton, Halton, Haldimand, Brant, and Niagara areas.
Ngozi is passionate about her career and sees it as an opportunity to equip people with techniques and strategies to work through their life struggles. “I can be a change maker and I like that,” she said. “People look up to me, ask me questions, and can see themselves in me.” She aspires to be a world-renowned youth speaker on mental health issues, a face of the global youth mental health discourse.
As her recent achievements attest, Ngozi has already made a significant impact through her work, her teaching, and her public speaking engagements. She is bound to inspire many more people when she presents at the Speaker Slam finals in November.
- by Abigail Sarfo