‘My colleague made me believe that people can change for the better’

For Community Care’s 50th anniversary, our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone who has inspired you in your career.

In this entry, social work assistant Rita Gibson has nominated her colleague, a social worker named Emma Tymon,  for inspiring her to believe that people can change for the better, with the right support and care.

My colleague, Emma, inspired me to believe in rehabilitation.

She often said that good people can sometimes go astray but, with proper care, even those who have made mistakes can change for the better. Her perspective challenged and ultimately dispelled the biases I held.

Emma is honest, caring and unstoppable in her belief in the potential for change. She never wavers in her faith in people and, as a result, she consistently sees positive transformations.

She is a fast and witty thinker, with a unique perspective on life that allows her to approach even the most difficult cases creatively and effectively.

When someone is trying to change for the better, she ensures they have the support they need and, when the difficult times come, she recognises that maintaining progress comes with challenges.

She has taught me not to fear change.

How to nominate a colleague

For our 50th anniversary, we’re expanding our series My Brilliant Colleague to include anyone who has inspired you in your career – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by either:

• Filling in our nominations form with a letter or a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.
• Or sending a voice note of up to 90 seconds to +447887865218, including your and the nominee’s names and roles.

Despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry.

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com.