By S. Jolene Hui, LCSW, Membership Coordinator
Things seem to perfectly fall into place for Frank Kingmansu. Although he wasn’t originally planning on social work when he first entered college, through luck and hard work, it’s where he rightfully ended up landing and excelling.
When Kingmansu began his college journey at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), he was a computer engineer major. He decided to switch his major to psychology in 2004 and then completed his education there in 2008, when he had earned his master’s degree in social work.
Truly, his life is consumed by social work, as he works two full-time jobs in the field. He’s been at Rancho San Antonio, a residential therapeutic placement that is part of the juvenile justice system, since 2001 where he started as a group leader. From that position, where he worked with a group of nine boys, he moved up the ladder and worked various positions until he became the campus supervisor (which he still is today) where he oversees the entire campus.
In 2009 he “officially” started his first social work position with Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City as a psychiatric social worker. He had interned there in 2007 (for his second year MSW internship) under the CEO where he learned the administrative side of things with a “systems approach.”
That internship and position gave him the experience and the knowledge he needed to be a leader at the hospital and he was recently announced as director of social services.
About this accomplishment he says, “The reason why this achievement was special is because it was a position that had yet to be established in the hospital… but I had envisioned it as a need that had nothing to do with me personally. I felt that it was a need for the Social Services Department, the hospital and community alike so I did my part to advocate for it, not just through my words, but also through the work. It is beautiful thing to be part of that change and growth.”
In 2012 he became licensed — which he did in an impressive whirlwind fashion. “I’ve always liked to think of myself as a man of action. I’m definitely a ‘doer.’ I look at everything as a problem and I have yet to come across one that could not be solved.”
He is humble and doesn’t like to expand on his achievements. In fact, he states, “I did not believe that I was going to make it to being 18 years old. That was huge and if I want to be completely honest, I have felt accomplished ever since.”
Growing up in a West LA neighborhood wrought with gang violence, Kingmansu recalls that the first dead body he saw was when he was three years old. Many of the friends he grew up with are either dead or incarcerated. His norm changed when he moved to the dorms at CSUN, as his mother wished for him to get a degree.
Always positive, he says, “I also make sure that if I am blessed to see another day, that I have put myself in a position to be able to wake up and continue this process tomorrow. My biggest achievement is definitely being able to actively and purposely enjoy my moments on a daily basis.”
Kingmansu states that NASW-CA’s presence during the time of CSUN’s MSW accreditation was helpful to him and that “the support was huge.”
Although he does not like advice, he does have some words of wisdom to impart on newbies:
“True social work is learning how not to exist so everyone and everything in front of us can. It’s about first learning how to push ourselves to the side to we can learn how to see and understand things for who and what they are, free from our own personal judgment. Understand who you want to be and what you want to look like in this field. I’ve learned that even with the worst supervisor — if you take an active part — you can learn.”
Jolene Hui, LCSW, is NASW-CA’s membership coordinator and can be reached at jhui@naswca.org.
