Routines and Redemption: Learning That Leads
Host Nathan James sits down with UMGC student and project manager, Gavata Smith, to trace a path built on faith, forgiveness, and steady self-improvement. She shares how her mother’s addiction, her own early motherhood and other hard seasons sharpened her resolve, why telling the truth about past mistakes gives her family and community real hope, and how healing looks when love and accountability meet.
Gavata breaks down a late-career pivot into technology, the certification stack that keeps her relevant in GovCon, and the time management system that lets work, school, and family coexist. She also explains how service keeps her grounded, from mentoring justice-involved women to relaunching a domestic violence ministry and helping job seekers with stronger résumés and interviews.
Episode Information
Gavata Smith:
When you look at everything that you've done wrong in life, you can also look at home. Okay. If my children notice about me, like a lot of times we hide the bad things from our children and our grandchildren and people. We don't want to know certain things in our life. But if we were to stand up and be bold about letting people know those things, they will look at it and say, you know what?
Gavata Smith:
If they didn't? I can do it too.
Narrator:
Welcome to the UMGC podcast.
Narrator:
Unstoppable Stories with your host.
Narrator:
Nathan James.
Nathan James:
All right, everybody, I am here with Jovana Smith. She is on today. She's actually a project manager who is currently pursuing her bachelors degree in applied technology with multiple certificates as well, including data analytics, project management, information systems. And she's graduating, this upcoming, semester. So, I'm happy for you. Lights at the end of the tunnel.
Nathan James:
Ada, how are you feeling? How are you doing today?
Gavata Smith:
I'm doing amazing. I'm excited about my future for. I'm doing great.
Nathan James:
That's great. Well, I mean, and it's great to have you on. Thank you for sharing. Time and your journey with us today. We'll jump right in. So I know you grew up in the DC metro area. And you're raised by your grandparents, whose ministry? They had a ministry that spanned many states. How did that upbringing shape your sense of purpose and responsibility?
Gavata Smith:
Well, my grandparents were very, very, very serious about education. So despite bottlenecks through life, I always knew that their purpose, their foundation, what they wanted for my life was to be educated and to love God. It was two things educated in love God 12121212.
Nathan James:
And you stuck with it, right?
Gavata Smith:
Yeah. I mean, I got off Paul quite a few times along the way, but those things were the fact they laid the foundation of who I am and who I am continually growing to be. And, who I will eventually be. Come home later.
Nathan James:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You have a quote, you had said, earlier, something to the effect of, you know, for every moment of darkness, you know, there's been a moment of light that follows right after us. And that's characterized a lot of your story. Okay. Well, so by age 21, you had four children. What did that early motherhood.
Nathan James:
That season of motherhood teach you, about resilience and and your identity?
Gavata Smith:
Well, so by the time I was 17, slated to walk across the stage, I was pregnant with my third child, so that was, challenging in that I had gone against my Christian beliefs. Of course, family was upset, but it made me know that I needed to be educated because it was the foundation of who I wanted my children to be.
Gavata Smith:
So despite everything I needed to continue on this education path. And what was funny, it seemed like as long as I was pregnant, my grades were up. I had a 3.9 GPA, in high school, so as long as I was pregnant, my grades were up. But, despite it all, no matter what I did, I'll always remember that I have to behave, you know?
Gavata Smith:
And like I said, I still have some challenges, but I wanted my children to be able to honor and know who I am and who I was, like, oh, my mother went through this, but look who she is now. So I think that your your, setbacks can be a set up for your come up. Right? I think that when you look at everything that you've done wrong in life, you can also look at.
Gavata Smith:
Okay. If my children notice about me, like, a lot of times we hide the bad things from our children and our grandchildren, and the people and people we don't want to know certain things in our life. But if we were to stand up and be, bold about letting people know those things, they will look at it as, you know what?
Gavata Smith:
If they did it, I can do it too. And so I always tell even my grandchildren, look at what's in your bloodline. Look at what's in your bloodline. And you know that you can get past anything, anything that happens in your life.
Nathan James:
Yeah. I mean, it's so intense. Focus on image preservation. I want to keep my image right. I want folks to leave me a certain way. But that transparency, like you said, could be exactly what others need, especially as they see you evolve, as they see you improve and see you go from one height to the next. Right? Okay, I'm tracking with that.
Nathan James:
Let's go. Let's go to your career path a little bit, okay. Because clearly you turned things around. You ended up landing your first government contracting job. And, I understand you begin as an executive, assistant and HR coordinator. How did that role open that door, though, for you to a career in technology?
Gavata Smith:
Okay, so initially, I managed my first government contract back in 2003 when I was, I was just an associate at Kinko's. Copies waiting room. But Kinko's, before Fedex bought them out, I was a fellow Kinko's copies, became a manager at Kinko's copies. And somebody from Pitney Bowes Government Solutions, actually the vice president, walked in. Notice my customer service.
Gavata Smith:
Notice how I was running processes in there and kind of recruited me and said, hey, would you like, would you like to, come over and, you know, learn about, this? Unfortunately, I did not stick with it. Like I said, I had a lot of children. Life was life, and I was young. I really didn't understand a lot of responsibility at that age.
Gavata Smith:
Right. I think by then I was on my second marriage. Maybe. So I really did. And, grab my heels to the wheel the way I wish I would have. Right? But I still learned. Fast forward to 2080. Applied for a position at a tech firm, in McLean, Virginia, and I was the HR, coordinator, and I was the CEO's assistant.
Gavata Smith:
The CEO and CEO of that company was husband and wife. If eventually I wound up supporting all of the nine C-suite executives in that firm, it allowed me to hear things I probably never should have heard. To know things I probably never should have known. But one day the HR, director left. That left me writing offer letters.
Gavata Smith:
So, thinking how in the world are these kids coming and making this much money? So it's no need of what they say. You can't beat them. Join them. I dived in and started hanging out, learning what they learned. I started wanting what they had. It's no need of, you know, disliking people like, would they learn it?
Gavata Smith:
And so I dived in and then I had some great people that I had befriended, and I was like, oh, you're a scrum master. You know, some people didn't believe in me. They did. They pushed me. And after that article, okay.
Nathan James:
And part of the ways you've been able to excel, is through earning a number of certifications.
Gavata Smith:
2222 industry Cert. 22, cert. There it is. And working on my article before now. So it's nice. Yeah. Number 23. Loading.
Nathan James:
Number 23 is a good number.
Narrator:
(Silence)
Nathan James:
Anybody right here? 23 I got to say that, but, it sounds like you're going to have 100 by the time it's all said and done. But tell me, bring me into why you've been so intentional investing in these credentials.
Gavata Smith:
So in the gov con market, you have to stay two things relevant and marketable. So as much as you may have a great career, a great firm, a growing this is a growing industry. I've found that a lot of people in this industry, they become complacent. And so they all get their PMP and stop. Well, now this is a result of the market you see today, right.
Gavata Smith:
They got their PMP, they stayed at the public trust and now they're stuck because that's what everybody is. So why didn't you seek in that company to get a higher clearance. Why didn't you get more. So because I help people with their resumes. I can't a research job descriptions. So now what the market is saying is, hey, with your PMP, we want the actual shirt or with your scrum master.
Gavata Smith:
Sir, we want a safe, sir. So if these are your will houses, get in, dig in and jump into it. Keep yourself. Invest in yourself.
Nathan James:
So to do that you have to have, I think, really good time management skills, because if you're continually adding on these credentials while as you're doing you're working full time, you have school, got family. So how do you structure your life, right? Your daily life in such a way where you're not burning out.
Gavata Smith:
So so think two words outlook and Alexa.
Nathan James:
Outlook in a little bit.
Gavata Smith:
So so my calendar my calendar is my best friend. I have Netflix on my calendar. Do not call me doing my Netflix that I take time off. Would you vato? I take time out to do the things that I like to do, and I take time out to do nothing. And so I think it's important to say, okay, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I'm going to dive in and get all of this class works done on Thursday and Fridays.
Gavata Smith:
I'm getting all this class work done, and you have to stick to that schedule. You may have to deviate some time, but you need to allow yourself that bandwidth to understand when you need to do something different and have that availability.
Nathan James:
So, one of the projects you have is a YouTube channel, right? You have a, a unique YouTube channel. So talk to us about what type of content you make, and how does it help you express yourself and, and to provide lessons for others.
Gavata Smith:
So my YouTube channel is broken down into different playlists. So one of the things I love to do, in ministry, is I'm a Christian mime. So, the, the song I can't sing don't ask me to sing. You'll put me out of any venue.
Nathan James:
Yeah.
Gavata Smith:
And so mime is, it allows expressive dance. It's therapeutic. And I really can dig into certain songs and express myself that way. So I have a mime playlist. Other than that, I have a playlist called Employment Tips, Trends and Tricks, where I teach people in five minute intervals. I know people don't like sitting listening to think long things, about different tricks in the market.
Gavata Smith:
Like people didn't know that there's a difference in certificates and certifications. So they think because they got a certificate, they have a certification. It's not the same. People don't take advantage of the employment benefits like they're giving you the money using it. Right. People see a job description and they are thinking, oh, I can hop on the interview when you get in that interview that those people are listening for keywords to know that you know that business.
Gavata Smith:
So if you want a for a scrum master, you better be talking agile. If you are there for a project and portfolio management, you need to be talking everything that's in the PMBoK. So people missed that. And now with I, scanning resumes and things like that, your resume needs to be full of the keywords that show your industry and what you're capable of.
Gavata Smith:
And I always tell them, don't lie because people will ask you questions you don't know, but be always honest and make sure your resume is inundated with those words who speak to your profession.
Nathan James:
Yeah, yeah, those are great tips already. So you. Okay, what's a quick way to find your channel just for listeners who want to check that?
Gavata Smith:
That's a nice name, Javaid Smith. You too.
Nathan James:
Man? Yeah.
Nathan James:
There it is, everybody. And by the way, we are speaking with, just if you're listening your ear, we're speaking with Jada Smith on Unstoppable Stories. And if you want to hear, more stories like this as you're listening, don't forget to like or subscribe. Okay. And we're here for you. Okay. Plenty of great content.
Nathan James:
We're going to keep it going. You're also an author. You're the author of, Get Yourself Together first, right. Which talks about, yeah, which talks about your journey, including, your mother's addiction, your your healing and your journey. So can you talk about why writing this book was important for you and what you want readers to take away from that?
Gavata Smith:
So the book was so, first of all, Get Yourself Together First was a great healing tool for my mom, and I. I wear my mother's sobriety like a diamond ring. I will tell anybody if you if my mother can get clean, anybody can do anything. My mother was an addict for 24 years and I love her today like she raised me from birth.
Gavata Smith:
Right. I would do anything for my mother today. I would lay down my life for my mother today. It does not matter what those 24 years look like. The forgiveness is is it was her getting herself together first that made me forgive her. So what I need people to understand is addicts have a story about why they did what they did or how they got where they got.
Gavata Smith:
But the problem is we as the family up block a lot of their healing because we won't forgive, we won't trust, we won't give them the opportunity. So if to let people know that you can forgive, I don't care what they did. And if you read my book, there's some things that my mom and I went through. But you can get past it no matter how ugly, dirty, filthy, and disrespectful it may have looked.
Gavata Smith:
You can get past that. You can get past it now.
Nathan James:
You also are do prolific. No, I mean yeah I mean because you want to let that resonate right now. Most of them want to get a story. You know, just picture somebody in your mind that it's really difficult to forgive them. And it may seem impossible.
Gavata Smith:
And here's the thing. Here's the thing I have not dotted every, and crossed every T with my children. In fact, I've made some terrible mistakes. And I will say this. You have to look at, what we say, what the universe gives, what you will, goes around, comes around, repeat. And so I write the same thing. This is this is very serious.
Gavata Smith:
The same thing. You won't forgive your parents for us. Spect your children to forgive you for. So if you expect forgiveness, you have to give forgiveness. That's whole.
Nathan James:
You know this. That's a word. It's. A that's a word.
Nathan James:
Or someone needed to hear. I know, well, hey, so, you've done prolific outreach work, right? I know that's one of your passions. And so let's open up that box. Okay. Including, mentoring women and educating, on domestic violence. Okay. So how did you discover this calling? Right. And you ended up integrating that with your professional path.
Nathan James:
How did that happen?
Gavata Smith:
So, so I guess I'll start with, mentoring women. We all have a need. We all have, like I said, dark spaces, things we've been through. I was blessed to, be asked by a woman who. Who goes in? Jess Merlin, who does the Purpose Driven Life, class there. If I would be interested in becoming a full time volunteer.
Gavata Smith:
But prior to that, I would go in every year for their Women's Moving Forward conference. Helping women to understand that they can get a job, they can live, right. They can do something different. So I was a part of this committee called the Women's Moving Forward Committee with a lot of retired judges of the, of the state of Maryland.
Gavata Smith:
And, I would assist with that conference every year. And I loved sharing and what the women might want to know, what they, you know, can know how to, you know, convey this information. I became a badge volunteer through Catholic Charities to also assist with, mentoring those incarcerated women. So, enjoy looking at people as people, not as what they've done.
Gavata Smith:
And that's what a lot of people can't get over a lot of things because people look at them for their past, not who they are and what's inside. So I love that, at my church, my pastor instituted, like, if somebody comes to the altar, joined, asked for prayer, he instituted a ministry called The Connectors. So instead of following the script like I'm supposed to and say, hi, this is Evangelist Rivera, and I'm calling for whatever I call people, and I go, hey, this is why I'm calling from Greater Mount Calvary.
Gavata Smith:
Holly church, how you doing today? We just want to know how you feeling over there? What's going on with you? Can I pray for you? You got food, you got stuff for your kids and within five minutes, people would just open up about whatever was going on in their homes, their domestic situations, their heart, the abuse, the whatever.
Gavata Smith:
So I run to my pastor and I'm like, hey, we have a bunch of women who are going through this thing. And some like we had a domestic violence ministry. What happened to it? He's you. He's, he's been our pastor now one, two years. But he was like, I was like, can I start it again? Go for it.
Gavata Smith:
So I call UMGC. I'm like, hey, I got some elective classes. Can I get in a domestic violence class? Because I wanted to make sure that. And I'm a victim of domestic violence. I've been beat on several relationships, marriages, what have you. I don't live in it. I don't really talk about it, but I understand it.
Gavata Smith:
But I dove then went to, DC, and they put me in a domestic violence course, which I got 100. They let me just be, you know, clear and say that. And I learned that domestic violence isn't what we used to think. Domestic violence. Is that what we think domestic violence is, is now called intimate partner violence, and that domestic violence is now what the children suffer when they're watching it.
Gavata Smith:
And, elderly parents and what the families go through. So they let me rebirth the domestic violence ministry at Greater Mount Calvary. And we just had a successful, month. We just had a successful, domestic violence awareness month, with different organizations from the DC metro area coming in and sharing information with our community, not just the church.
Nathan James:
Wow. Now let's veer back over to your career path. As you've, you know, joined the intelligence community. Right. You joined the community intelligence community took on a role there. We're introduced as a knowledge, manager on day one. On day one? And how did you step into that new title and pivot to succeed? I there's a story there.
Nathan James:
Okay, so.
Gavata Smith:
So I was hired. I promise you my my offer letter says program office support specialist. So I think I'm going to start up a PMO program management office. Walk in the door. They say, hey, this is new knowledge manager. I'm like, so they're in the middle of like contract ending re compete all quiet contest in the middle, all kinds of contract stuff.
Gavata Smith:
So I knew better than to tell the stakeholders and the government. I am not a knowledge manager. So I said sure and I smiled and I'm.
Nathan James:
Go.
Gavata Smith:
Back to my computer. I'm like, what is a knowledge manager? What do they sell? I started, going on big tech sites and printing out all the job descriptions for knowledge managers. Once again, here I am leaning on, JC hey, you got a knowledge management class? I picked up another elective. They threw me in the knowledge management class, which I also got and but what's interesting about that is I'm in the intelligence community.
Gavata Smith:
I have no access to fluid internet, so there's no AI helping me. So what I'm learning at night, I'm coming back instituting. And in the intelligence community in the day. So I'm literally learning it and implementing learning and implementing. And so where a lot of us learn skills and then have to go back and read unlearn the wrong way, they're getting the straight up book knowledge that I'm learning at night and I'm coming back in.
Gavata Smith:
And the directors were have been overwhelmed. Oh my goodness, we've never seen this. We've never had that done. We did not know that you could do this across six different divisions in, the department. So, I wear that JC badge proud that you all taught me how to do my job while doing the job. Wow.
Nathan James:
Yeah.
Nathan James:
That's meaningful.
Gavata Smith:
I mean, I'm blessed. I got I got dodged in February. I was late the day after I closed on my new home. I got walked off the job, at the VA. So that was devastating day. That day I made the day, so it was very I didn't know whether to be happy for being a first time homeowner or to be sad because I didn't have a job.
Gavata Smith:
And so I finally landed on my feet in, July with getting the job in this intelligence community. Crazy part. I just got my pts SCA right before I left the VA, so I just had to come over and do my, counter-intelligence polygraph. So it worked out well for me.
Nathan James:
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, really? Well, look album. All that comes together when you have a dark moment. It's funny how that sets up. What did you say about. Yeah.
Gavata Smith:
Set that was set up for that come up. Yes.
Nathan James:
Like hahaha.
Nathan James:
Example of it right there.
Gavata Smith:
Yeah okay.
Nathan James:
Yeah, yeah. Okay. Now look, one of my favorite things about you and your story is your, your, your fervency for, volunteer work. Right? I look up to that. You want volunteer of the month at, DC? For your service, right. For your efforts. And, so it's two part question. One, what did that recognition mean to you?
Nathan James:
To be named, as a volunteer of the month? So we'll start there and then I'll ask my part two question.
Gavata Smith:
So for me, it just me. And I guess this is the churchy side of me. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Because somebody saw it and they recognized it. I didn't apply for it. I didn't ask for it. Somebody saw it and they recognized it. And so when I volunteer, I do things from a very, genuine place is passionate for me.
Gavata Smith:
I don't do it for sign offs or credits. I do the things I like to do because I'm passionate about it.
Nathan James:
That's a personal note for me, right? I aspire to be more and more and a better, better volunteer. So, like, from a personal standpoint, when, you know, we live in a so it's easy to focus on, hey, I have enough trouble on my own, you know what I mean? I have enough fire. So I'm trying to put out, you know, on my own track where it can feel difficult not just to have the time, but also to have to feel like you have the capacity to reach out and do volunteer work on the side.
Nathan James:
So what do you say to somebody like me that's struggling with, that might struggle with the time management side of it? Like trying to make sure you're fitting in, get mount volunteer work to do good out there. But also just having the capacity in your heart to really care about those things, especially when you feel like your life is already full, potentially with challenges tough and good challenges tough.
Gavata Smith:
So do volunteer work that don't feel like work. So one of the things I love to do is help people, started out with veterans, but help people rework them resumes, find jobs that, you know, I've been a hiring manager. Program manager. I just love helping veterans. And, like, it's challenging for me to rework resumes. I like doing it.
Gavata Smith:
I like sitting on the computer, messing around with words and putting things together. It's a passion for me, so it doesn't feel like volunteering, right? The other part of it is so for me, I can't speak for everybody else. Everybody has dark days, days that aren't so good. And the and I believe mental health is real.
Gavata Smith:
Right. The way I fight depression is pouring myself into other people. If I see myself achieving whether it's school, helping other people get jobs, helping people, just be happy about the resume. I just sent down, giving somebody a word of encouragement inside of a prison. If I see myself doing that, it makes me happy to make other people happy.
Gavata Smith:
And therefore I'm not sitting in a depressive state.
Nathan James:
That makes sense. I'm tracking.
Nathan James:
A track.
Gavata Smith:
Record.
Nathan James:
You are infectious to you. Okay, last question. If you could go back, right, and speak to the younger version of yourself right. Little giovana okay. What would you say to her knowing all that you do now?
Gavata Smith:
So I would say not to have children so early, but I, I wouldn't want to miss having children. And the fun part for me is because I had children early. I'm still a young grandmother, and so I get to have fun with my grandchildren. And so hopefully God will let me play like you can see them get married and all that kind of.
Gavata Smith:
So I wouldn't take away the children peace, but I would take away, trying to feel validated by men, trying to feel validated by relationships. I, I was in a place in my life where I felt I had to buy people and buy friends and, keep up with the Joneses. So I definitely would say for somebody to give me better money management tools and, help me to get back on the teach me more responsibility.
Gavata Smith:
Like, I would have wanted to be more responsible, whether it was my education, my finances, my career path. The responsibility piece is absolutely clean.
Nathan James:
Thank you, thank you. That's really good. And, folks, Jeff Smith, everybody. Jada, thanks for taking time with us today and sharing, your journey, so poignantly and, and beautifully, loved having you on.
Gavata Smith:
I enjoy being here. I love UMGC. And I will be back for my cyber Masters in 2027. You're Jay Z woo!
Nathan James:
Rose. So yeah. Me too. Thank you. And you're passionate. You're infectious for life. I could see, you know, the good that you leave on those around you. And your volunteer capacities and your, professional capacity. Like I said it before, infectious. And so, thank you for being inspiration to me to to to our listeners. And, we're looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you even more.
Nathan James:
It's I know it's super bright. So thanks again. And I want to say thank you to our audience to, thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Make sure, that you like. And make sure that you subscribe. And remember, you can go back and look at, previous seasons, episodes on your preferred podcast channel.
Nathan James:
Okay. And, so we're here for you in the past, and we're here for you in the future. Okay. With more unstoppable stories. We'll see you next time.