I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. My parents had shared custody of my sister and I. Things seemed very difficult back then. There were moments when I wondered why I was still here and what my purpose in life would be. My stepmother was physically and verbally abusive. She made my life a living hell! When I was thirteen, I tried to commit suicide. I strongly feel it was because I wanted and needed attention. After this incident, I saw a counselor on a monthly basis and was put on medication for depression. I was very thankful to finally have someone to talk to that seemed to care. Nobody ever showed an interest in why I was doing the things I was until then. I continued to act out and be defiant until I was 15 years old and got pregnant. …show more content…
I enjoy working with children a great deal, but I wanted something more. Something that at the end of the day I could sit back and know that I had made a significant impact. After some much needed soul searching, I found that I had a distinct interest in Social Work. My interest in social work became apparent during the fall semester of my sophomore year when I was enrolled in Abnormal Psychology and Understanding Diversity class. I had finally found subjects that I thoroughly enjoyed and excelled in. Working with children and my study of Psychology has taught me to understand human development along with how a person’s social environment reflects their outlook and choices they make in …show more content…
During my undergraduate study, I acquired the necessary background knowledge by taking advanced courses in the areas of psychology and sociology. Along with these courses, I also volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). CASA volunteers get to know their court-appointed child by talking with everyone in that child 's life: parents and relatives, foster parents, teachers, medical professionals, attorneys, social workers and others. They use the information they gather to inform judges and others of what the child needs and what will be the best permanent home for them. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court and other settings. While there, my primary responsibilities were to gather information, appear in court, explain what is going on in child’s life, recommend services, monitor case plans and court orders, and keep the court informed. Being a CASA, I am a voice for a child that doesn’t have one. With so many parties involved in the court process, each having different intentions or outcomes, I advocate for the child’s best interest, a sometimes hard conclusion to reach. For instance, being a mother, there is part of me that wants the child to return to his family. However, as a trained CASA, my duty is to determine what is best for the child, as my advocacy will impact his life forever. Thinking of such lasting impact made me nervous
I am the product of divorced parents, poverty stricken environments, and a blended family, but I refuse to let that dictate the outcome of my life. At the age of ten, I had to assume the role of a fatherly figure to my three siblings, so I missed out on the typical childhood most would have had. I grew up in neighborhoods where gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, but I resiliently did not allow the peer pressures of others to force me to conform to their way of life. By the age of 15, I received my worker 's permit, and that allowed me the ability to help my mother financially in the absence of my father’s income. I worked the maximum amount of hours I could while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities. I was a scholar athlete and triathlete in high school, and although I continuously faced much adversity, I still managed to be accepted to the University of California State, Bakersfield after I graduated from high school in 2005. Sadly, after
My motivation to be a social worker initially came up by my aunt. Since childhood, I realized that my aunt, a Macanese, was a deaf. Even though our conversation relied on a pen and pieces of paper, we had tight relationship. Unfortunately, my aunt split from his husband spontaneously due to my uncle’s adultery. After that, aunt lost her interest in everything, even making communication with their children. She persistently felt anxious and got hallucination lately. When I was in high school, my aunt was diagnosed as suffering from depression, a seriously one. For quite a long period, my mother stayed at Macau to accompany with my aunt. At that time, I wrote many letters to her on the grounds that I believed words could deliver positive energy. Subsequently, my letters seemed to cut ice with my aunt. She told me that reading my letters could ease her anxiety and enhanced her to stay positive in a day.
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
I come to Fordham University with expectations of completing my Masters of Art degree in Social Service. As a single parent, I have faced many challenges raising my special needs child. My innovation to help disadvantaged children with social and emotional problems encompassed me to continue to pursue a career in the Social Service Profession. This will increase my chances of being a successful Child Therapist. I am aware, prepared and committed to devoting my time towards my studies at Fordham University as well as taking advantage of all the necessary resources that Fordham University has to offer. My personal, academic and profession experience has given me the opportunity
Introduction There have been some challenges in trying to figure out the right approach to follow in a research study, and this semester is more of an eye opener that reveals the expected ways in conducting research, which has been a very interesting and tough process. Dudley (2011). The four major search strategies available for locating references related to the chosen topic issues: (1) consultation, (2) searches in subject indexes, (3) browsing, and (4) footnote chasing. Researchers need to be aware of all of these strategies in information gathering. Question 1: What have you learned about research?
Social workers play a very important role in many situations. Most people can only help an individual up until a certain point then they have no clue what to do to help the individual. A social worker comes up with a plan to help an individual that cannot help themselves. Without social workers many individuals will not know how to manage certain situations. They will come up with an idea that they believe is suitable and move on without thinking about it. Social work has come a long way from when it first began. Comparing then and now, social work is much better and very well organized. The people that are in need whether they are mentally ill or someone that cannot support themselves, are being taken care of properly. It is known that years
Personal statement. In contrast with the formal writing sample, we use the personal statement to get to know you a little better. The personal statement should be a maximum of 1700 words. Please use the personal statement address the following three questions:
What does it mean to become a social worker? Why was I committing two years of my life to school after renouncing further education? I asked myself this after I applied, waited anxiously for my acceptance letter and scrambled to figure out the finances after I was accepted. I could not have guessed that the first day of the Micro Human Behavior Social Environment (SWG 510) would capture my attention and thrust me into the professional world of Social Work. As I learned more about what it meant to become a social worker, I found myself aligning to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Ethical Standards as reviewed through Foundation Course I’s first chapters.
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.
Research is a necessity when it comes to providing services. Social Workers need it to be able to determine their clients ' needs, to see what resources/services they have access to and if their client doesn 't have much access where can they get it. Research is also used to see how effective an intervention is and whether it would be a right fit for their clients. It provides social service agents with ways to identify problems within their clients, communities, organizations, and the government. Also it helps them to create ways to aid in effective change. It is very beneficial when a social worker needs to "assess the needs and resources of people in their environments, evaluate the effectiveness of social work services in meeting people
"Do not become a social worker. You will not make any money and you will be stressed out all the time." My maternal grandparents were foster care parents from the 1980 's until April of this year. In that time they hosted over 250 children from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As a child, I spent much of my time at my grandparents house and was exposed to the multiple aspects of the foster care system. I became close with the social workers who came to my grandmother 's house and when it came time for me to make a career choice, they all discouraged me from becoming a social worker. Despite their warnings I graduated with my Bachelor 's of Social Work from Saint Louis University in 2013 and began to work on my Master 's in Social Work in August of 2014.
Currently, I work at the Foster Knox Day Care here at UCM. Being a Social Work major has enhanced my love of helping children. After taking Human Behavior, I can cue in what is going on in the developmental stage of the child life. Now I understand that a two-year may not say No to be defiant. Being able to interact with children has made me more aware that I want to work with children as a social worker.
Growing up in a foster home and later on being adopted, my past consists of a life that was placed off, what I thought to be its intended course. The derailment granted me with a different perspective on life and also newfound knowledge and respect for social workers and their contributions to society. Individuals whom were in foster care with me and interactions with foster children from my previous employment opportunity at a daycare, influenced me to steer in the direction of becoming a social worker. As I constantly reached new levels of maturity while progressing in life from exposure through real life experiences, these events created a profound knowledge base in relation to social justice. I have witnessed and ascertained wisdom
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen