Why I Chose Social Work

The main duty of the social work profession is to improve human welfare and to

Homelessness is a serious societal problem affecting our communities. Katel of Housing the Homeless says “about 1.5 million Americans use a shelter in a given year- and advocates for the homeless say that figure badly understates the problem.” Yet, society looks down at these people, not doing anything to help them. They are judged, criticized, and bombarded by false assumptions everywhere they go. I have heard people say “they are like that because they chose to” or “they are lazy and don't want to work.” This is not true in most cases. The reality is life can go wrong at any moment for anyone. For some people there is no one there to help them and their only option is living on the streets or a shelter.

Although, working in the human service field is not a glamour’s life. The reward of knowing that I am helping someone and their family makes the hard work worth the positive impact I am bring to someone’s life. Advocating has been a passion of mine’s since I was child. I have always wanted to work with inmates and the mental ill due to my father’s experience. And that has remained the same. I want to work as a social worker. I believe that every person deserves valid and sincere advice, as well as a ligament defense team advocating for their

In this essay I will discuss what learning from K216 materials has been useful to me whilst working with vulnerable and/or disadvantaged service users in my student placement, and what learning I have applied to my practice. Throughout I will look at how my learning informed what I decided to do, how I went about doing this and my understanding of the practice. I will discuss learning in respect of two areas of social work, which are ‘Communication’ and ‘Working collaboratively’. For ‘Communication’ I will focus on communication with service users with disabilities and/ or additional needs and I will explore a case of a mother who I had a telephone call with who was in crisis and in a highly emotional state. With ‘Working collaboratively’,

For a majority of my life, I wanted to be a pediatrician when I grew up. I had wanted to be a pediatrician due to my passion to work with children, in addition to enhancing the lives of children. As I continued to grow up, I realized that science is not my strong suit and I would never survive medical school. I do not recall how I learned about the profession of social work, but around the eighth grade I have known that social work was the profession that I wanted to pursue. The idea of helping others is what initially struck me as compelling because I did not understand social work in it’s entirety, but I knew that I would relish a life of helping other individuals.

How do you account for your interest in social work? In your response, discuss paid or volunteer experiences that support your choice of social work as a profession?

Over half a million people are living on the streets, in cars, or in homeless shelters in the United States. People become homeless for a variety of reasons that could date back to their childhood, their bad decisions as a teen, their tough times as adults, and much more. Although, our first thought of the homeless may be that they’re dumb, not worthy, or bad people. These assumptions are unfair to their population and they should be addressed.

Helping people is something I have always felt like I am supposed to do. The mission and responsibilities of social workers, especially as it is laid out in the Columbia University School of Social Work mission statement, seamlessly aligns with my vision for how to best utilize my experience and passions. Specifically, I hope to use social work to address social justice issues and help empower individuals who cannot advocate for themselves due to societal barriers. Experiences in my personal life and volunteer and work positions have culminated in my decision to pursue a MSW. Knowing that there is a major need for workers in the field of social services, and that my life experiences and interests are aligned with a career attuned to serving individuals, families, and

PERSONAL STATEMENT The number one reason that’s repeatedly given as to why one wants to be a social worker is that, they want to help people. They want to make a difference in the world, and I’m no different from everyone else in that aspect. Nevertheless, my main goal for pursuing a Master’s in Social Work is centered on the idea of helping mentally ill patients. I realize that mental health encompasses a continuum of severe disorders, to the most common mental issues, and that they vary in intensity and duration.

Lying on a school assignment is something I’ve never done until now. My thought process that lead me to lie on my field exercise assignment was the pressure of being a student who complete all work assignment on time and the pressure of dealing with family issues at the time when finals were approaching. I didn’t think about the outcome of my actions I just wanted to finish my work and be done with class work, so I could focus on my finals. When I received my paper back from Dr. Nsonwu I thought I was in the clear; when I flipped to the back page to see what grade I was given my heart sank when I saw a note that read “please see me”. Walking down to Dr. Nsonwu’s office my heart was racing and I feared the worst.

The question, “Why I became a social worker,” has been asked a number of times, by many people. My response to this question is often, “I’m not sure.” I say that I’m not sure because, becoming a professional social worker was never a goal of mine. But, after being rejected by the College of Allied Health, and dropping out of nursing school, I decided to apply to Savannah State University School of Social Work, after hearing a presentation by Dr. S. Jhindani. Dr. Jhindani is a social work professor/recruiter for Savannah State, who gave this fascinating and exciting presentation entitled, “5 Reasons Why You Should Consider Becoming a Social Worker.”

Social work is a career that I have been interested in since I was a young girl. Caring for and helping others is something I am very passionate about. My interest for social work can be followed back to my younger days, when I was involved in Girls Scouts, volunteered throughout the community, and later on worked at the Department of Human Services. Working in the community and the church’s in town has given me satisfaction, and has made me realize the compassion I have for others who are in need. Working at the Department of Human Services has given me the opportunity to come into contact with the case workers, and to get available insight on what their job consist of on a daily basis.

A social worker is someone who engages with people to address their life challenges and improve their wellbeing. They are reliable for defending the values and principles of the social work definition. The principles and values of social work are “respect for the inherent worth and dignity of human beings, doing no harm, respect for diversity and upholding human rights and social justice” (Global Definition of Social Work). Social work goes by the first, second, and third generation rights. These rights include free speech, freedom of harm, rights to an education, rights to healthcare, and rights to housing and protection (Global Definition of Social Work). Social workers are very passionate in what they do, and they make sure they carry

Social Work is a field of interest to me because of the positive effort it contributes to society. Within the social work profession individuals are striving to improve the welfare of those in need of assistance. Social Workers assist a variety of individuals; from children, young adolescents, older adults, mentally ill, substance abuse individuals, and many other minorities; as in LGBT members, veterans, homeless people, and low socioeconomic status individuals. The broad mix population fascinates me because within this field one will always be able to work in a flexible environment. Social Work is used in multiple settings as in hospitals, nursing skilled homes, mental health and substance abuse clinics, schools, correctional facilities, community centers, child welfare agencies, employee assistance programs, and private practices.

1. Experience, background and/or relationships that have influenced your selection of social work as your professional career (family, education, employment, diversity experience, volunteer involvements, and personal characteristics, etc.).