Alumni News

Kenyon Phillips ’25 MSW wanted to set an example for his two young children, but he was drained. After years in marketing and advertising, cooking up ideas to sell the next product, work now came with a sense of dread – and it impacted his home life. 

Phillips knew he wasn’t expressing his full potential in his career. And that feeling – when you know so much of you isn’t seeing the light of day – can wear on anyone. 

“I didn’t want my kids to have a dad who resented what he did for a living,” he said. “I didn’t want to model that. I knew I had so much more to offer.” 

Phillips had previously considered following his passion to become a therapist, but with life’s constant demands, it seemed out of reach. He had a comfortable job that, while he didn’t like it, paid the bills. Days carried on, as they do, into years. 

Then, however, COVID-19 hit – and Phillips, like many others, got his first taste of the “unprecedented times” we all would come to know so well. In the wake of the pandemic, Phillips lost his biggest client overnight. It forked a divide in his road ahead. 

“In that moment, I thought, ‘OK, I can scramble and try to get another client, or I can apply to graduate school and take one step closer to heeding this call to become a therapist,’” Phillips said. 

Phillips took my Zoom call from his home office in Sandy Hook, CT, where he works as a private therapist for Lumen Therapy Collective – a mental health practice that he cofounded with his mentor and fellow Fordham GSS alum Christopher Mooney ’10 MSW, and HIAAH, a mental health services provider with offices in multiple states. 

“I think my kids can see [that their] dad’s excited about what he’s doing,” he said. 

The First Day of School, After Three Decades

Phillips speaks with boundless energy that makes him ageless. So, I was surprised when he said that, upon entering the program, he was nervous about returning to school at almost 50 years old. 

“I graduated [undergraduate studies] back in 1998, so there was barely even an internet,” he said. “The idea of going back to school was totally intimidating. I just thought, ‘How am I going to keep up with all these kids?’”

The apprehension quickly dissipated when Phillips met his classmates. As a student in Fordham’s Online MSW program, he worried about his comfort level with the technology, and the possibility of being siloed from his peers – some of whom tune in from across the country. 

But he found the diversity of students – who ranged in a variety of factors like age and race – gave the program a feeling of inclusivity. Classmates connected through their shared experiences, no matter where they were from – exchanging chat messages in class and remaining in touch long after. 

“[Fordham’s program] felt super inclusive. I made some really good friends,” Phillips said. “And we still talk. Community is everything.” 

Meanwhile, Phillips said, the online program’s format made his packed schedule manageable. Taking all of his courses on one or two days of the week gave him more time to spread other responsibilities out. He finished the degree in just 16 months full-time. 

“There was flexibility,” he said. “[It] worked great for me, having two small children.”

Overcoming Test Anxiety as an Adult Learner

While the grad school environment welcomed Phillips with open arms, he still had a lingering doubt: the ASWB licensing exam. It sits at the end of every Master of Social Work student’s program, and to many, it’s intimidating. 

As a social worker, obtaining your LMSW license is the first post-MSW-graduation step you can take to level up your career. The hours-long exam tests much of the knowledge you learned from your coursework in a multiple-choice format. 

“I was terrified,” Phillips said. “The last time I took a standardized test was in 1993. I applied myself more than ever during my career at Fordham, and I was worried that all of that would be undone effectively by my situational anxiety around test-taking.”

As his last semester approached, the pressure mounted. Luckily, Phillips had resources at his disposal. 

Through a partnership with GSS doctoral alumna Christine Limone, PhD, GSS offers graduating students multiple virtual webinar sessions with Limone – who operates her own consulting business helping MSW graduates successfully navigate the ASWB exam. She covers test-taking strategies, walks students through example problems, and provides worksheets and PowerPoints students can use at home. Phillips attended multiple workshops and even booked a personal session with Limone. He also applied for accommodations – in this case, extra time to take the exam – based on his Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The ASWB granted Phillips the accommodation quickly, which eased some of his concerns about testing. 

Furthermore, GSS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Linda White-Ryan, PhD, also offers graduating students a five-hour asynchronous course on ASWB exam strategies. Students can view the recording at their own pace and as many times as they need.

“It’s like ‘Social Work 101,’” Phillips said of the mini-course. “So, rather than going through [all the notes from] courses that I took over the course of 16 months, it was wonderful to have a seminar on what you need to know.” 

Finally, exam day came. Spoiler: Phillips passed. What’s more, he didn’t even end up using the two additional hours that he had been granted for his GAD. But what really impacted him was an interaction with a staff member at the testing site that put everything into perspective. 

At a particularly challenging point in the exam, Phillips decided to take an unscheduled break and leave the testing room to clear his head. While in the next room, Phillips had an interaction that reaffirmed two things: the belief that he could pass the exam, and the importance of this moment. 

“[A staff member asked], what are you taking the test for? I said the ASWB exam, and she said, Oh, to become a social worker. You’re doing God’s work,” Phillips said. “She said, A social worker really helped my son and my family. I’m sure you’re going to pass, because you’re doing the right thing.”

The staff member revealed that her son had been shot and paralyzed from the waist down, and it was a social worker who helped him recover. Her belief in the profession inspired Phillips to believe in himself. The mission was too big not to. He reentered the room reinvigorated and came out the other side with his LMSW. 

Following His Passion and Setting the Example

Throughout his time in the program, Phillips completed field placements that had a profound impact on his view of the profession and his life. 

Working as an intern at New Reach in his first year, Phillips conducted outreach for unhoused persons and connected them with resources they needed. The experience was unlike any he’d encountered before, and he said it was necessary. 

“I was raised with a lot of privilege, I certainly don’t take [that]for granted,” he said. “I realized really quickly [that]I wanted to work directly with some of the most at-risk populations.”

His second placement was in a more clinical setting, MCCA, where Phillips conducted group therapy and had a caseload of individual clients navigating substance use, mental health, the legal system, and Child Protective Services. The autonomy he received from both placements, Phillips said, gave him confidence heading into his new career.

“Everything I learned in the MSW program, I could apply it the day I was learning it [in the field placement],” he said. 

Phillips still keeps in contact with his supervisors at both placements, and has since returned to New Reach to conduct a dance/movement therapy workshop for staff – a program he’d created while an intern. He found that movement was a way to connect with clients and guide them to a place of empowerment, which is what social work is all about. 

Phillips speaks about social work’s strengths-based approach with vigor, and his passion for giving clients the tools they need to excel is evident. It’s clear that social work is where he is meant to be. 

“It’s night and day from my old life,” he said. “I’m so happy.”

Using this new skill base to reach far and wide 

Phillips and fellow GSS alumnus Christopher Mooney have teamed up to create and produce a podcast, Lumen, that explores the psychological patterns shaping our relationships, choices, and inner lives.

“Each episode of Lumen offers grounded, compassionate conversations rooted in clinical insight and real human experience,” Phillips said. “No jargon. No judgment. Just clear, thoughtful dialogue designed to help listeners better understand themselves and the people around them.”

Give it a listen here.