For 14 years, social work has been a specialty for Kylie Waite.

Waite earned a Master’s degree in the profession from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She worked in the children’s division at the Missouri Department of Social Services for many years. Now, she’s employed as a social worker for the Montgomery County R-II School District.

Waite was hired as R-II social worker in August. She said her favorite part about the job is getting to build strong relationships with the students and faculty.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the children and the staff,” Waite said. “I think one of the best parts (of the job) is connecting with our communities and the families. Not only do I work with the kiddos, but I’m in the field working with the families as well to kind of make that holistic practice and make that holistic care for families in whatever their needs are. My best hope is that we can continue that strong partnership with all of our community partners and build stronger bonds of communication. We all are working towards the same goals and we’re not sending people in all different directions.”

Waite got to share her longtime social work experience at a Kiwanis Club meeting at the First United Methodist Presbyterian Church in Montgomery City on Dec. 21. She said one of the key roles of a social worker is to help students better understand themselves and improve their relationships with others.

“You have to have a heart full of empathy and understand that every individual is unique,” Waite said. “You have to see every positive that people have. I think it’s important that you practice self care because social work can be tough. It can be emotionally draining at times. It’s important to have a support system and I’m blessed to have that within my family.”

Waite has been living in Montgomery County for 18 years. She is originally from the St. Louis area.

“We love small town living,” Waite said. “We wanted to raise our kids here. It’s fantastic.”

Before starting her career in social work, Waite graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in education at Drury University in Springfield. After working at a Head Start center in Montgomery County for five years, Waite was hired in the children’s division at DSS. She started as an investigator for child abuse and neglect for three years before working as a supervisor for 10.

Waite said the experience at DSS helped prepare her for her new job at the R-II school district.

“Everything was a building block,” Waite said. “A lot of it was getting to know the community and making connections within the community. I love to problem solve and meet people where they’re at. It’s important to know that I respect everyone and where they’re living at the point that they’re at. We all have struggles in our lives. There’s no judgment in that. It’s about how we overcome that. The people I get the opportunity to work with are so ingenuitive of how they are able to overcome and still succeed in life and are able to put a meal on their table and pay their bills and provide for their kids.”