Narrative Statement. I First Learned About The Field Of

Social work is a career that finds and chooses you, rather than you selecting it. Social work has always been an immense portion of my life even when I had no recollection of what social work entailed. My life revolved around so many situations that had a social worker stepped in, my life would be totally different than it is today. Many individuals and agencies lack the compassion and empathy for oppressed people. Having been in many circumstances, has given me the experience and background that influenced me to go into social work, as well as the understanding of my role and responsibilities that I will assume as a professional social worker, and my reasons for selecting the program at ASU School of Social Work and thoughts on how the Mission Statement addresses my career goals.

I began my social work studies over twenty-five years ago at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I never questioned my decision to pursue a career in social work; I loved my classes and worked hard to learn as much as possible. But the information I gained in undergraduate school simply opened the doors of my education. Most of my learning has come through constant questioning, personal research, and especially through work and life experience. Through these experiences I have encountered the challenges faced by individuals, families, and society and have been able to further access and develop the innate personality traits and abilities that originally led me to study social work as well as learn and practice the many skills necessary to be a successful mental health counselor.

On many levels, I secretly desire to be this professional social worker that has experienced many different realms of social work practice. As I maneuver through my first couple days of field, many questions run through my mind as to what’s to be expected of a master’s level social work. Although, I’ve only had the pleasure of working children and families as a social worker; it has broaden my desire to want to know more.

Social work involves passionate individuals who are dedicated to helping others by providing services to vulnerable children, families or individuals in need, while constantly looking for ways in which we can improve society. This discipline is dedicated to helping people find solutions to their problems in order to make the world a better place. I chose this field of study, because I find the job of a social worker rewarding. I have always enjoyed helping others and knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life. It is no secret that this is a challenging career; however, the feeling of knowing that you made the world a better place is indescribable. I have simply decided to make my passion of helping others into a career. I know that in order to make my passion a career I will need to get the best education and training possible.

I aspire to become a licensed clinical social worker so that I can have an in-depth method for assisting clients. I believe that social workers are afforded an awesome yet overwhelming task of helping individuals through the course of their lives. I hope to inspire my clients in knowing that challenges are the stepping stones to becoming resilient and that challenges are not meant to break a person. All in all, it is important for social workers to constantly reaffirm their dedication to helping their clients by taking time to care for themselves, seeking continuing education so they are kept abreast of current information, realizing that the steps to change and change itself is often uneasy, messy, difficult but necessary for the advancement of all

My interest in mental health and social justice arose early in my education, specifically when I learned about the complexities of the brain and how it molded people into who they are. I knew from there that I wanted to pursue a career that allowed me to help and guide others; I dreamed of being a catalyst for change. My undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Michigan increased my fascination with the mind, providing me with a solid foundation for my graduate studies. My minor in gender and health complemented this, diversifying and expanding my knowledge of marginalized populations. The moment I learned about the field of social work during a career fair in my sophomore year of college, I felt that it was the answer I had

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to pursue a career in social work. Helping others is something I have always been passionate about and I hope to be able to make a difference in the lives of those around me. Throughout my life, I have always been the person my friends would go to when something was wrong and they needed to talk. Growing up, I also experienced close family members struggle with addiction and mental health problems. I have seen how damaging these experiences can be on an individual. I have also witnessed the effects these experiences can have on family relationships. My personal occurrences have instilled in me a further desire to become a social worker.

All my life my parents have taught me the value of helping others. Having different experiences and growing up in an atmosphere where the need of others were put before our own, led me to have a desire to be a social worker. Believing that being a social worker involves many special skills, as an example one of those that u need to interact with people from different cultures and principles than me. For as long as I remember I have had the desire to become a social worker inspiring people and developing people that will drive me to dedicate my excitement and dedication to do what is important in this dream job a reality.

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.

All social worker come from a diverse of backgrounds. I come from a working lower class family. I was raised in a border town as a single child. I was indult the catholic religion with Mexican-American cultures. During my life spam I have come across with many struggles, personally and with close family members that have affected me, in which they have driven me to choose social work as a career. When starting my bachelor’s degree, I chose social work for one reason. All I wanted to be was a lawyer. I was obtaining my bachelor’s degree in social work for the pass to law school and the passion of making an impact to those who are in need. After a couple of classes in the social work program, volunteering, and doing research, I found out that this was meant to be for me. I continued with my desire of helping those in need and willing be helped.

I am drawn to the field of social work because it will allow me to hear the stories of people from all walks of life, and be able to put my passion for social justice and overall belief of human dignity and worth into a career that challenges me to alter my perspective on individuals and society as a whole. I plan on entering a field that I know will not be easy, but I feel that it is my calling, and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I am fully aware that social work is a career that has a high burnout rate and that it is highly underappreciated, but I want to be able to have an impact on all of the people that I will serve, by advocating for them, but also helping them advocate for themselves. I have wanted to become a social

Every worthwhile journey begins with one step. My social work journey began when I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 2003. I thought my next step would be to immediately pursue a graduate degree. In my undergraduate career I had taken numerous classes from the College of Social and Behavioral Science and had done well in those classes. In my Social Work as a Profession course I had an assignment to shadow a social worker and write a paper about my experience. I chose to shadow my father-in-law, a social worker with over 30 years of experience, and in my paper I expressed my desire to go into the social work field. I knew I liked helping people. I knew I liked problem solving and critical thinking. I thought my 22 year-old self was ready to embark on that journey, but I wasn’t. I realize now that what I lacked at graduation was one crucial step… perspective. Over the past twelve years I have gained that much needed perspective and have taken many steps forward in my journey, and with those steps and that increased perspective, I now feel more fully prepared to begin my social work career.

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.

The events or experiences that led to me to choose social work as a career are events that took place in my life and my and childhood. I had a very hard childhood growing up. I grew up underprivileged and lived in poverty. I suffered a lot of trauma as a child; my mother and father were not able to care for me and my brother due to their use of drugs and criminal behavior. I and my brother lived with my grandmother who had a drinking problem, but managed to do the best she can to care for me and my brother. At a young age, I was raped and the state was forced to remove me from my home. I went from foster home to foster home feeling alone and that no one cared. One thing that always stayed with me was the role my social worker played in my life. I felt like she was the one person that was there for me and if ever I felt like I had no one, I knew that I had her.

Social Work is a powerful, selfless profession. We as a profession enable persons within a community achieve positive and beneficial goals. We speak for those who can’t speak for themselves while teaching them how to speak for themselves. The profession of social work is about putting the needs of others before self. I have decided to pursue social work as a profession due to my desire of wanting to help others to set and accomplish their own personal beneficial goals. The profession is all about making a difference for me as the worker and leaving a lasting impact on the lives of my clients. From my experience and studies I have learned social work is a profession that provides a variety of services for clients, families, groups, communities, and society. I want to be able to help clients learn how to help themselves, which requires me as their social worker to be capable of recognizing the issues at hand and also be knowledgeable enough to carry out the duties that would be necessary to help that client progress in life. I feel that social work is a profession that should not be taking lightly. This field of work is about enhancing the quality of life and leaving the situation you encounter in a better state than when you as the worker made first contact. A person in this field has to be able to handle stress and also be committed to performing a task at their highest