My Personal Journey to Social Work
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.
I decided to obtain my Bachelor of Arts degree at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, N.S. where I double majored in Criminology and Sociology and minored in Psychology. Once I graduated, I still did not know what career path was right for me, so I took a year off. In the meantime, I applied to three Schools of Social Work: Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., and Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L. I spent my gap year working to save up money so I could pay for my next two years of schooling. I decided to apply to schools of social work because I was really interested in my courses that were related to child development and behaviours, interactions between people and society, social inequality and justice, and human rights, which are all relevant to social work.
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Everything in my life that has happened thus far has contributed to the reasons why I am deciding to apply for a master’s degree in Social Work at Loma Linda University. My family’s experiences and circumstances during my childhood would led to social workers to be involved in my life. While I was growing up, my mother struggled with drug addiction to methamphetamine. Until I was thirteen I was raised by my grandma with my three brothers. At 13, my grandmother passed away. My mother was regranted custody of us. These experiences would ultimately impact my long-term career goals. My family struggled and faced adversity however, we overcame our struggles because the system intervened. My relationship with my mom has been my main motivator for pursuing an MSW. Despite her struggles, my mom has been resilient and grown in her recovery. She now has ten years sober from methamphetamine and all other drugs. My relationship with my mom has motivated my career path in many ways. I have seen her change her life incredible ways with the help social services and law enforcement. Her sobriety and involvement in Narcotics Anonymous has played a tremendous role in my life. My choice of pursuing a BSW for my undergrad was reiterated by many experiences I have while growing up in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous.
This research paper provides an opportunity to demonstrate the understanding of the profession of social work and discuss potential strengths and challenges faced in the beginning exploration of the social work profession.(Group Practice Handbook pg 4)Social work practice supplies transferable knowledge, values and skills for the interactive approach. The main goal of the social work profession is to improve human well-being and help meet the necessities of all people, with percise attention to the needs and liberation of people who are impotent, distressed, and living in poverty.(NASW)
When I made the decision to switch my major to social work I was not sure about what exactly I wanted to do. I originally thought that I was interested in working in a hospital with children and their families. However; after our class visit to Cobbs Hill Manor on February 27th I believe that I found my path in social work.
My childhood along with my life experiences played a major role in my choice to pursue social work as my career. I grew up with a single mother that was drug dependent. I moved back in forth between my mother’s and my grandparent’s household. I didn’t have a
In the profession of social work, a worker comes to realization that there are many areas of human rights and legal concerns that are troubling and painful for the people in our care. Yet, as workers provide these services it requires them to advocate, protect, and provide the highest level of service as the worker explore the concept of the person and the environment. Also, it is imperative for all social workers to understand the theory behind how people change from conception to death in order to provide the necessary services intended for the clients in which we served such as loss, success, betrayal, and death. When a worker fully understand the theory then this will governed the type of services that will be offer and be professional.
I do have 7.5 years work experiences into the social work field. I started my career as a case manager with AIMS in 2014, in 2015 I worked with Life Without Barriers as a Case Coordinator, afterwards I joined Save The Children Australia as a family support worker. Currently I am doing case management services with Life Without Barriers. This prolonged journey of my career is reflecting my commitment towards work in serving the people.
But as I began to look into more majors that interested me, Social Work caught my eye. Being in a family of three Social Workers I thought it would be fitting for me because I saw that my relatives really enjoy the job that they do. Social Workers protect vulnerable children and support families in need of assistance. They also help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. Although Special Education was my first option, I felt that Social Work as a whole will allow me to leave a better impact on
Social work is a very significant career. Social worker’s responsibility is to help children and families going through physical and/or emotional challenging situations. Social worker helps children out of unfit living conditions in hope to better the child’s future. There are various types of social work. There is mental health, child and family, school, community, medical social work. There are advantages and disadvantage to life as a social worker. An example of an advantage is they touch the most vulnerable people in their community. Social workers also find ways to help families if they have an illness and cannot take care of the child or children they have. They are also authorized to put children in a foster home, if caretaker have a problem with drugs or alcohol and are unfit to care for the child or children. The social worker gets to decide if the home is a safe environment for the child to grow.
After high school I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I went to college thinking that I would pursue my degree in child psychology and live happily ever after. Soon after starting school I realized that while I thought it to be interesting, it wasn’t something I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life. I foundered; I had no direction. I knew that whatever my career was going to be, it needed to be centered around children. Years later, I had the opportunity to work at the Wyoming Girls School and CASA. I fell in love with the idea of helping at-risk youth. So naturally I was drawn to social work. I’ve always felt that if one human being is capable of helping another, it should be done without a second thought. Having worked at
My desire to pursue a career in Social Work has stemmed from the positive life experience I have obtained both in and outside of school. It has always been my aspiration in life to have a voice for others when they need it. I am currently studying Sociology, Religion, ICT and Business. I am very enthusiastic about my subjects as I have a keen desire to study and work within the field of Social Work.
Human services itself describes a multitude of possible agencies and therefore career opportunities. However one of the huge parts of human services is adoption, foster care, and assisting children in general. Being a social worker you can help make sure that children are placed in good, loving homes, where they are going to be taken care of. There has been countless people that have helped to form and shape the way that social workers help children; but by far one of the most influential people would have to have been Charles Loring Brace. Charles Loring Brace has help create the roots for how we today work as social workers and how the system functions as a whole.
Growing up, I would watch the people in my community. I picked up on the things we considered to be socially acceptable. My community is predominantly filled with Latino and African American culture. Though, both come from two different ethnic groups, beliefs and practices, they share a common socioeconomic factor. I remember observing the gang violence, prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, and children wandering the streets. Most people coming from a higher income status would be uncomfortable and appalled by the events that take place in my community. I stress over getting a higher education because I have hope. I have hope that one day, I will be able to put an end to my peoples’ suffering. I have no idea of when or how, but I do believe that working through school, I can develop the necessary social skills needed to guide my community in a better direction. One profession that work towards bringing the community together is social workers. Social workers give assistance to groups and individuals in order to restore or enhance their capacity to function socially. They also work to create societal conditions that supports the communities’ needs. The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior of each individual or group. They refer to the social, economic and cultural factors and compare the interaction of all of them combined. Social workers help people of all backgrounds address their own needs through
I believe that a career in social work is a good fit for me, because all of my life I have always wanted to help others improve their lives. I have been able to easily pick up on others feeling easily, which I believe will help me see through the walls that my future clients have up.
In order for a person to develop a set of values they must analyze their lives and determine what is important to them. The time period in which a person was born, their cultural origins, religion, and life experiences all affect what their values will be. In the same way, the social work profession established its values by analyzing its origins, its successes and its failures. This paper looks at social work’s journey as a profession and its resulting values. This paper then discusses my personal life experience, my values, and how they make me compatible with the social work profession.
I stood there face to face with my social worker, she tells me worst news I have an “appointment”. That lie, I instantly knew, I run off back to my class I was in to avoid what I knew was going to happen, going to a treatment center. She then forced me out of class by getting a teacher to get me from class and I then knew my life was going to come to an end for some time. As we were getting into the car we sat in silence as I begin to tear up in the pain I was going to be facing for a while. Then I got out of the car when we got there not wanting to face the fact still till I met Marcia the main desk person and we talked some. I had to answer a few questions and all that lame stuff you do when entering a treatment center. Marcia was comforting me as she knew not a single kid likes to face treatment centers since it takes away a teen's life.I deserve where i’m in there has been a ton wrong with drugs and guys in my life.