Graduation Speech : My Role For A Student With Children, Families, And Women

Starting my career as a social worker and working with children and families is where I feel as though I belong. I have the compassion, the drive and the withstanding endurance to make the area of child and family social work my passion. Working with children requires patience, dedication, resilience and so many other trusting characteristics. Relationships within children’s immediate families have a profound impact on their state of being. Becoming a child and family social worker is undeniably tough and arduous work but the reward of seeing families meet their set goals and becoming a stronger more united family unit come to fruition surpasses anything else. When I become a child and family social worker, my job days will be over and my career starts. Going to worker everyday knowing that I’m making a difference will be the best feeling. A great person once said, “It’s your mistakes that make you human, and it’s your humanity that makes you influential.”

Social work is a career that I have always been interested in, especially working with children and families. Helping people overcome obstacles and making the most of themselves is a very rewarding and yet a challenging career. I’ll have the chance to meet a variety of different people with different problems from cases of abuse and neglect as well as supporting those in the care system. I am particularly interested in working with children and families who often form the most vulnerable service users, developing a professional and trusting relationship with them, hopefully enabling them to participate fully in society.

On September 21, 2015, I met with Ms. Katie, a student in the MSW program at NCSU, to conduct an interview. We met at Starbucks in Cary, in the crossroads shopping center. Ms. Katie’s responses helped me learn and think about social workers in the child welfare social field. As a prospective social worker, my questions were formed based thoughts that I was concerned about my responsibilities in the social work field..

I have always known that it is my passion to help people. This is why upon graduating I attended Mohawk College to pursue a career as an Educational Assistant. After receiving my diploma I began my career helping children with special needs. On a daily basis I have interactions with social workers and children who are involved with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society. I have had many eye opening experiences during my time spent with them. I have worked alongside our school’s Social Worker and have gained insight into mental health. Being an E.A. is rewarding, but I have come to the realization that I aspire to do more for children in need; I wish to become a social worker.

One thing that I have always been certain of when it comes to my future is that I want to inspire, help, and have a positive impact on as much people as possible. I want to fight for those that have no voice and create any necessary social change in my community. The field of social work would help me accomplish that. Social work is a broad field where I would be able to work with various populations of people throughout the community ranging from children to the elderly. I believe that by pursuing a master’s degree in social work I will have a sense of deep satisfaction knowing that I will be prepared to face any obstacle in my future as a social worker. I am aware that social work can be challenging but knowing that I will be able to advocate for others that are helpless and fight for social justice will be very rewarding. I first became interested in social work seven years ago, after my aunt and her husband decided to become foster parents, I would help my aunt take care of the children, and they were all very sweet kids that I will never forget. My aunt and her husband were given the opportunity to adopt a 5-year-old girl and shortly after were able to adopt her newborn sister. It was a very joyous day for our family when the adoption was finalized. During that time I met their social worker, she was a very kind and knowledgeable woman that inspired me to pursue a career in social work. I admired how passionate she was about her job and how much she enjoyed making an

Throughout the Social Work course, I have learned information about what a social work does and the careers out there that are possible to do with a social work degree. There is approximately about 101 careers in social work according to Dr. Jessica A. Ritter and Ms. Mary Kiernan-Stern; authors of the book: “101 Careers in Social Work”. I’ve always loved to help others in their time of need specially children who in this case are the ones who can’t defend themselves and mostly don’t have a voice to speak up out in the world. My main focus is mainly to work with young ones who are in need of service from a social worker such as: children, juniors and so on. Some of the areas that I plan to work on are in school social work, child

Social work practice is helping vulnerable populations make positive changes in their lives. I have always felt the most fulfilled helping others. When I began college, I decided to major in psychology with the intention of becoming a psychologist or psychiatrist. I wanted to work with individuals with mental illnesses or children. Following my first year of college, a marriage and family therapist informed me about the social work profession. He said that a social work degree was the most versatile of the “helping” professions and informed me that I could earn a Master’s degree in one year and become a therapist. I decided to investigate social work and enrolled in an introductory course. I learned that social workers believe that every person

graduate school to pursue a Master of Social Work degree is one more destination in the stream of my life. Following the culmination of my undergraduate studies, I was recruited into the Children’s Corps and received training for graduates interested in working in the child welfare system. After my training, I immediately began employment as a case planner at JCCA. My main goal as a case planner is to help children find permanency through reunification with parents, adoption or legal guardianship. My experience at JCCA has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills and increased my ability to work with a diverse group of people. I was likewise able to acquire skills around assessing individual needs and connecting them with the resources to meet those needs.

The values and principles of social work captivated me even before I fully understood what the profession entailed. My experience as a 16 year old junior counselor at the Alamance County Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club allowed me to see the importance of empowerment, as well as the necessity of linking marginalized populations to resources. The majority of the children I worked with were minorities with low income. As I developed rapport with the youth, they began to share their struggles (i.e. family issues, academic challenges, and financial struggles), and my heart immediately went out to them. I had always known that I had a passion for helping others, but this experience at the Boys and Girls Club showed me that assisting others was

I have always been someone willing to provide a listening ear for friends, or provide a helping hand within the community. Many people suffer from many issues, with a lot of people simply needing someone who’s willing to reach out to them to provide them with help and guidance. Within the social work program, I believe I can truly find a career which makes me happy by providing me a chance to help others daily. For me, a life in which I spend my days helping others is one of the most fulfilling lives I can

Looking at the social work profession is often very confusing. It has such a wide spectrum of focuses, that it is hard to distinguish where the lines are drawn. But, there is one major thing that brings all of these areas of study together, the primary mission. In the Code of Ethics (2006) it states, “ The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (p.1). A social worker as a counselor or clinician compared to that of a change agent, has different needs and different issues to focus on at different levels, but still comes down to

Social workers function within adoption agencies is to ensure future parents are meeting safety and emotional standards. My Aunt and Uncle in Washington adopted my little cousin, Lily, from China when she was just 13 months old. It took them a while to go through all of the necessary procedures, but once they were approved, they could not wait to go adopt Lily. Learning about the adoption process and how social work plays the role of finding adoptive or foster kids good homes inspired me to choose it as my future occupation. I want to be able to save a child’s life from danger and/or a poverty stricken life. Social Workers dedicate their lives to improving the well-being of other individuals, families, and communities in a variety of different ways.

There are many reasons I wanted to go into a social work profession. I believe that a single person can make the world a better place or at least try to make it a better place and I am a person who is willing to make that effort. In general, I have the desire to help people, help communities, help unprivileged children, help struggling families, and help others cope with life’s difficult problems and find solutions accordingly. My main targets are children and families that I want to work with; help children and families to better cope with the normal stresses of life and to deal with systemic problems such as child abuse and homelessness. As a social worker we can help children see their developmental levels through assessment, help children

As the saying goes, “Our children are our future” and who you are as a child can determine who you can be later on in life. It is important for a child to be in a safe, comfortable and loving environment during its development so that the child can have the full advantage to become the best he can be in his future. My future career as a social worker will ensure just that. I chose this profession because of my own history. Growing up, I’ve had my share of social workers in my house. I experienced them as people who helped my family during a hard time. This is a career where I can fight for people’s rights. I will also be able to protect

Living in an area which is affected by poverty, drugs, high crime rates and bad education has motivated me to become a Social Worker. I grew up in a home with generous and loving parents, but as I got older, I realized not everyone was as lucky to have such an experience. I want to provide that for children, families, and adults. Several experiences have stimulated my attraction to the field of social work. My interest in the Social Work profession became apparent during my younger years when I was growing up. It came from a love of volunteering, expressing great enthusiasm for church and school service event, also I when started doing my interns as a secretary or as an office assistant working with children and families of all ages. At each intern, it was always this one child or an adult who were in situations they had problems getting out of and I couldn’t do much about it. Even sometimes on a personal level as friends would come to me for advice or for me to listen to their struggles and provide comfort. These moments helped me realize the power of simply being there for someone, and it increased my interest of pursuing a career where I can support those who need it most. As I became older, my interest in social work grew. Throughout my college years, I met my brother’s girlfriend for the first time and we actually connected and had a bond since. She was a senior in high school at the time we met. After a while, I gained her trust and we started talking every day.