Application Essay The field of social work is something I want to get into to help people. Working with kids is what helped me realize that social work is the field I want to get into. I have many strengths and qualities that will help me become an effective social worker. The importance of human relationships and social justice are both values that the NASW and I share. I have also dealt with people of all different backgrounds and abilities from working at a headstart, retirement home, and sold cell phones. This is a broad field and I like the option to be able to decide what I want to do for work. Social work first became of interest to me as a career after I realized the possibility of being able to help kids. Some kids end up in homes …show more content…
One of my strengths is my ability to be open minded no matter the situation. Another of my strengths is my love learning new material. New information is always valuable and if put to good use can be put to good use for change. Finally my last strength is my persistence to get things done. Even though I have taken some time off I am coming back to finish my degree. I have many qualities that will help be an effective social worker. Honesty is one of my strengths because I believe you should always tell the truth even if hurts someone else's feelings. Another one of my strengths is respectfulness because you should always treat others with the respect they deserve. My last strength would be the discipline I have to accomplish my goal. When I put my mind to something I set time aside to be able to achieve what I want. The importance of human relationships is a value from the NASW that works well with my values. Human relationships are what help us learn and can give us opportunities. We start with building relationships with our parents who teach us to walk and talk. Then as we get older we start to build relationships with peers and teachers. These relationships can help us to then go on to get jobs and have a family. Without these relationships the world would be a lonely place to …show more content…
Everyone deserves the same opportunities to succeed in life. In order to do that some people require more help than others. This is where the programs that social workers have come up with to help them find their way. Everyone struggles and deserves to be able to have the chance to change their lives for the better. There are people of all race, ethnicity, physical ability, intellectual ability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and political ideology, marital status, and age that I have dealt with in work and life. While working at a headstart I worked with kids of all different backgrounds and abilities. When I worked at a retirement home and worked with the older generation and some needed more help than others. Then I worked with selling phones and got to meet people from all kinds of backgrounds and abilities. Some of the residents needed special drinks and silverware that helped them to be able to
I knew I loved to help others but it was not until I was an emerging adult that I knew what my calling was. My devotion to improve the quality of life for those who are disadvantaged is one of the reasons I have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Social Work. After obtaining my masters, I plan on diversifying my masters by getting licensed and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I would like to study social work because I feel it will lead me directly to one of the most emotionally fulfilling careers available, as well as giving me the chance to combine helping people 's mental well being with their physical
My five strengths according to the strength finder include; balance, this helps me be aware of treating all people equally regardless of the situation. I am neither in anyone 's favor or against anyone as this to me is selfishness and individualism. This would result in a situation where some people scale heights due to connections while others are lagging behind. I believe that a consistent environment where the rules apply to everyone is the best for individuals to function best (Rath, 2007). Flexibility is my next strength. By knowing that things do not always work out as planned has helped me change the tactics of how I perform my tasks. I do not always expect to have a smooth flow of opportunities or accomplish goals, but
social work - organisation, being committed, motivated, being able to work effectively with others and so on.
As a social worker, I have been able to use my skills I have learned in the field and my college education. I have values, beliefs, and ethics that I have used to center my social work career around. I also acknowledge as a social worker, I cannot push my values, beliefs, and ethics onto others. Every person does not share the same values, beliefs and ethics.
Social justice is a core value in the social work field. We define social justice as, “all citizens would possess equal fundamental rights, protection, opportunities, obligations and social benefits (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015, p. 29). Unfortunately, we understand there are many members in today’s society that are not receiving social justice. Some may not want help and believe that s/he is able to do it on their own and then there are the individuals that we may not know about that could really use our help. Our jobs as social workers is to help those who need help no matter if they are rich, poor, disabled, white, Hispanic, it does not matter because everyone should be treated equally. As NASW states, “The original mission of social work had much to do with championing the rights of society’s most vulnerable members, from children to homeless people to the physically disabled” (NASW: National Association of Social Workers, 2015, para. 1).
...ts from my life experiences have made me understand how I came to develop their beliefs and values, as Crawford and Walker (2003) informs us, " Social workers need to understand their life course development and the role this has had on the values and beliefs that have developed it. According to ethics social workers are to support people in need, and deal with social problems. The experiences have made me the person I am, and using my skills, I believe my personal experience has changed me, makes me more open to new ideas, and even though I am well aware of the past, I have dealt with it, which will allow me to help others overcome the same situations. As a social worker, I will be able to improve the lives of others related to some of their personal situations, helping children from physical and mental violence by providing protective services for children.
My passion to become a social worker began when I was pursuing an undergraduate degree. From a young age because of my compassion and empathetic nature, I knew that I wanted to work inside the human service field. I wanted to use my personal characteristics to improve individual’s lives. Social work was my calling because of the many different areas in the field that are all primarily focused on making a difference. I am interested in clinical social work, working with individuals and families.
I have chosen social work as a profession because of my passion to help others. I want to make a difference in someone’s life and help them through the problems they are having. Whether the client needs counseling, guidance, or advocacy I want to be the person to help them. My drive for helping others and motivation to change social policies for the better is why I have chosen social work as my future profession.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has a historical mission of enhancing individual well-being, empowering all people with a focus on the oppressed and vulnerable while addressing environmental problems in living. Social workers strive for social justice, social change, service, the importance of human relations, integrity and competence. Social workers have a mandatory code of ethics provided by NASW in order to not violate any client and to fulfill the social work mission (NASW Delegate Assembly, 2008).
Another strength that I have is being an active listener. I listened to my clients and utilized a lot of micro skills. Insuring confidentiality was also a strength that I developed closer to the end of field placement. Conducting assessments and making sure I tracked and exhausted the topics was also a strength that I identified throughout field. Practicing from a strengths perspective was also another area I excelled at when working with my clients. A skill that I could work on is being more conscious of self in terms of body language during interviews, because at times I find myself with my arms cross which may give an indication that I’m closed off or
Social workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity and that as a consequence of difference, a person's life may incorporate oppression, poverty, underestimation, and alienation and in addition benefit, power and recognition. There is an overlap of social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual. Social workers have an obligation to promote social and economic justice for those who are oppressed or victimized by discrimination. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics states, "Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class in view of race, ethnicity, national inception, color, sex, sexual introduction, age, marital status, political conviction, religion, or mental or physical
My interest in social work stems from a love of volunteering that I possessed ever since I was a young child expressing great enthusiasm for church and school service events. As I grew older, I began volunteering for many other community events, such as serving over 200 hours at a local hospital, helping with free cancer screenings, and fitting children with free bike helmets. I even created my own donation drive for a local women’s and children’s shelter. I feel the best when I am striving to create positive changes in my community and for struggling, marginalized individuals. Social services have been a part of my life for a very long time, and I want it to continue to be on a professional level.
As an upcoming social worker I understand there are certain traits I portray that are strengths in the social work field. I also understand that were there are strengths, there are weaknesses. I did not realize what my strengths and weaknesses were until I began to practice in the field. Some strengths I have found in myself are good listening skills, ability to handle stressful situations, and time management skills. Along with those strengths I have found my weaknesses are speaking what I believe about a situation, procrastination, and taking on too much responsibility.
The personal qualities that I equip for the social work profession is the ability to work effectively with people from diverse populations. I was born and raised in a community composed of diverse populations which has given the training/knowledge to become a social worker. During the internship and the volunteering, I learn to be empathy with other people. I have what I takes to be a social worker because I want to help
One of my greatest strengths at work that I have recognized would have to be my ability to be a well-organized individual. I tend to write what I have to do down on paper and prioritize what is more important to least important. In doing this, it helps me organize and accomplish my work and meet deadlines that are important. A personal strength that I have at home is patience. I am a mother of a beautiful three year old little girl who is a handful. Patience is my greatest strength as a parent and individual which I possess especially being a single mother. I am a dedicated and hard working mother and I always make sure that my daughter gets the love and attention she needs.