Justin Lee: Careers In Social Work

Harris, I strongly consider choosing social work as my professional career. Dr. Harris finished our interview saying that “A great social worker and counselor is a person who is completely committed to the clients they are serving. They understand that to become the best in their profession, they must be engaged in continued growth professionally and personally.” He challenged future social workers and myself with helpful advice. He encouraged me to finish school with a Bachelors in Social work, enroll in a master’s degree program in social work, seek internship opportunities and gain my license to become a Professional Licensed Social Worker. Despite of the problems and help needed in our community, research indicates the shortage of African American Social Workers. I want make a difference, advocates for social justice and change. It is important for me to speak up on important issues especially surrounding the African American community. Witnessing my uncle, Dr. Rodney Harris, a successful African-American male in this profession, encouraged to push harder to graduate from North Carolina Central University with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work (BSW). He provided me with more drive and determination to confirm my decision and career chose to become a Licensed Professional Social

My decision to purse a career in the field of Social Work has been influenced by several factors, including my environment, culture, education, work history, and personal diversity. Growing up in a low-income community, my environment played an important role in introducing me to a variety of social problems, such as gang violence and drug abuse, at an early age. My environment motivated me to escape these social disadvantages by advancing my education and creating more opportunities for myself. My culture reinforced strong values such as unconditional support to those in need, which gave me a sense of pride in my close-knit community and motivated me to improve quality of life. In school, I initially pursed a degree in Psychology in order to eventually become a psychiatrist and help those suffering from drug addiction, such as those I saw in my community. However, my pursuit of a second degree in Sociology helped me realize how different groups of people, especially when divided into different social classes, have access to different resources and opportunities. This made me aware of the various social inequalities that exist in today’s society and convinced me to advocate for change with a degree in Social Work. Later in life, my experiences with disadvantaged populations gave me a profound respect for the power of social services. Together, these factors motivated me to pursue a career in Social Work, where I would be able to improve the overall quality

“Where did you go to get the position you have here today?” I asked. He explained that he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill his undergraduate years and University of North Carolina at Charlotte his graduate earning a master’s in social work. In addition to, a North Carolina state licensed in clinical social work. “My long list of education has taught and shown me how to properly get my studies completed within a certain time. I do advise you to

Choosing a career is a very important aspect to people’s lives. One goes to college, usually around the age of eighteen, and by the time they leave they are expected to have decided on the career that they will have for the rest of their lives. Being a psychology and interpersonal communication major, I have always had an interest on relationships between individuals given certain stimuli presented to them. I want to have the ability to touch people’s lives by helping them understand themselves and why they behave the way in which they behave. Relationships are such an important aspect to the process of human growth, and they impact each and every one of us. Due to this assessment of myself, I have decided to go to college to pursue my

The decision to pursue my education in social work at Dalhousie University was not an easy one. While I was growing up, my career choice changed all of them time, but I always knew that I wanted to do something fulfilling, in which I could “help” and support people. My mom was a nurse and always loved helping people; I always figured I would follow in her footsteps, however I learned at an early age that sciences do not come easy to me. Unfortunately, my mom lost her battle to breast cancer when I was eight years old, so I hope that by me helping people socially, rather than medically like she did, will continue her legacy.

When I was growing up, I wanted to make a difference in the world by helping people who were less fortunate. I spent a lot of time volunteering at Stamford Hospital and raising money for my community through my local church. Somewhere along the line, though, I lost sight of my childhood ambitions and began to pursue a lucrative career in business for the prestige, competition, and money. I graduated from Temple University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in January 2014 and a week later, I began working for Liberty Mutual, a Fortune 100 insurance company. In reality, though, I had no passion for insurance. I felt the work was devoid of meaning, but most importantly, I was not being fulfilled as a person. After six months, I realized that no matter how far I climbed the proverbial corporate ladder, I would never reach happiness in this career. I handed in my two weeks notice and purchased a one-way ticket to Europe. This is my story of how I rediscovered my passion for helping others and developed an interest in social work.

A formative experience on my journey in becoming interested in pursuing the field of social work was observing the work of my mother as an administrator in a racially and ethnically diverse low-income school as a young child. This exposed me to diverse groups of individuals who were confronting a wide variety of social problems, as my mother sought to understand their perspective while developing relationships. In return, this taught me the value of people and the importance of relationships, while sparking my interest in social justice and service.

The environment in which one lives and is raised in significantly influences the individual just as my environment has significantly influenced my life. From an early age, my parents instilled in me the importance of serving others which is one of the various reasons that I have decided to pursue a career in social work. Although I am currently working towards obtaining my bachelor’s degree in social work, my ultimate goal is to receive a master’s degree in social work especially since it would make me the first individual in my family to obtain such a degree of higher education.

Since starting my academic career, I have had many obstacles that could have knocked me down, but each time I found a way to continue toward my dreams of higher education. At one point in time during my years as an undergraduate, my grades suffered which led me to withdraw from school. During the fall semester in 2009, my father was diagnosed with a permanent illness, which caused me extra worry and stress. However, the next semester I continued on to finish undergraduate school. In December 2014, I received my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology. Many of the trials I faced throughout my life led me to my degree in Sociology. While completing my Sociology degree, I took an interest in Social Work. I wanted to help individuals similar to my father and family members who suffer from various mental illnesses. During my senior year at Murray State University, to prepare myself to become a social worker, I took a Social Work in the Mental Health Settings course and completed an internship at The Women’s Center. I was fortunate to

Mrs. Freeman was placed in the social setting to provide children with the necessary knowledge to advance and mature. Every day she would teach them reading and writing. Although she was helping to build knowledge, there were so many days Mrs. Freeman wanted to extend her help outside of just school work. She witnessed these young children being raised by parents who indulged in the crack error. The absence of these parents left no choice for little to no education grandparents to step up. Observing this setting, made Mrs. Freeman think to herself, “There is a crisis affecting people. Everyone needed help”. Secondary education was a field that limited Mrs. Freeman just to the children, and she wanted to do something to help the whole family. She decided to change her major to sociology. Majoring in sociology gave Mrs. Freeman the opportunity to work with not only children, but the whole family. She retained a Bachelors in Sociology and decided to retain her masters in social work.

I surmise there are a million and one motivating factors, which would provide a rationale, as to why an advanced Social Work practitioner desires to return to academia, in order to pursue a Doctoral degree. The motives, one may presume are both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature. Prestige, notoriety, a thirst for knowledge, passion to advance their field, I could go on and on as to the reasons why people chose to continue their education. I believe that my pursuit and the obtainment of my Doctorate in Social Work from The University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work; will allow me the opportunity to deepen the knowledge that has guided and shaped me as a practitioner.

My second year placement, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), has given me the ability to work with a diverse group of participants. Moreover, I was also given the chance to demonstrate my Korean language skills in placement. Although I was placed at a somewhat similar placement, Orange County Asian and Pacific Community Alliance (OCAPICA), the year before, I was not able to fully utilize my language abilities with many participants. Currently, I have been able to work with the mono-lingual Korean senior population, which has helped me grow as a social worker, because I have not worked with this particular population in a professional level. The senior population has helped me understand many issues that marginalize the elderly. CSUDH’s

However, Mrs. Richards was able to make me reassure that working as a social worker is fun, particularly when working with other like children and older adults. At the same time, I was taken back when I saw the Universities she attended. I was uncertain if she went to school as a choice or it was required to becoming a social worker. When I was younger, I saw myself in an office dressed professionally. However, I cannot visualize myself working as a social work. I have no dislike toward the career, I just don’t have sufficient information to get me into thinking about it. I felt as if I was given a quick fun fact, it has been fun to learn just not the correct information needed. The intent to help people did make me want to look more into a social worker, However, after 4 years in a high school that was based on Health, Science and Technology, I felt I was better if I got Into General

In my early twenties, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career that would help others recognize their challenges. With social work I am able to empower and liberate people to enhance their well-being, therefore, I feel I can do this in a caring and supportive way. I am continuing my college education in social work so that I can help others succeed in life, and help those in need to overcome obstacles and challenges. My goal is to provide others with the essential tools to be successful in life and become more active members of society. My primary objective is to promote lifelong achievement and happiness by employing the knowledge and insight that I have gained through my personal experience and educational development.

When speaking with Cindy, the first thing I wanted to know was what she had originally wanted to do as a career and what training she had received. As I am aspiring to work within the counseling field, I always find it interesting to learn about the different ways to achieve this. Cindy expressed to me she had always known she wanted to do something within the helping profession. When she found out blood was not for her, she discovered social work. During her undergraduate training, Cindy majored in psychology and human services. After she completed this, she continued for her master’s degree in social work. After Cindy acquired all her necessary training, she began her many different career aspirations.