I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a wellness experience creator, and the founder of Safe With Shanique.
But before any of that, I was a girl from San Jose who was ranked 9th in the nation in the 100m hurdles with full ride scholarship offers from universities across the country.
After college, I worked in some of the hardest rooms most people will never see. I facilitated therapy groups of up to 50 people in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient settings. I worked one-on-one with youth in residential treatment facilities. I led groups with adults in county jails. I advocated for families in courtrooms as a CPS social worker where I was often the only Black woman present. I was an assistant director at a private school in my mid-twenties managing educators twice my age.
In every room I walked into, I found a way to hold it.
But somewhere along the way I realized I wasn’t holding myself with the same care. I was building my entire identity around being useful, being needed, being the strong one. And the moment I didn’t have a function, I didn’t know who I was.
That’s when the Reset started. Not the brand. The personal one. The one where I stopped performing and started asking what I actually wanted. Who I actually am. What a life built from peace instead of survival could look like.
I’m still in that Reset. I’m learning to receive love without earning it. I’m learning to rest without guilt. I’m learning to stay visible even when the room gets quiet. And I’m building everything I create from that place.
That’s what makes this work real. I’m not standing above anyone in the room. I’m sitting in it with them.
