Personal Essay On Social Work

My intended major is Sociology. Once I earn my degree I intend to find a career in either social work or teaching. In choosing social work my focus will be low income families and programs that decrease social inequality. As a child I yearned for the ability to help people, to change someone’s life for the better and give them back the strength and hope they have lost through life’s battles. I gained this eagerness to provide assistance when my parents brought me to their homeland of Guatemala. Guatemala is a very poor country and I saw the despair and hopelessness of many while others still strived every day to elevate the lives of their family amidst poverty.

Having the opportunity to hear from a variety of professionals in the social work field was the perfect addition to our course syllabus as many of my classmates are approaching their helping careers. For me personally, these speakers were able to reinforce what I desire to study during graduate school. The speakers were also able to provide me with different avenues I may want to study or pursue for a job opportunity once I have my masters degree.

Social Work is a career defined as “work carried out by trained personal with the aim of alleviating the conditions of those in need of help or welfare”. Social work varies in several fields, social workers work as part of multi-disciplinary teams with child welfare organizations, adoption and foster care agencies, hospitals, schools, prisons, mental health institutions, and more. Social work may leave the impression that it’s an easy field because it is assumed that all social workers do is serve others and manage paperwork but that is only a small chunk of the job. Social workers must deal with the ethical and emotional aspect of helping others. As a social worker, it is critical to comply with the National Association of Social Workers

The journey towards the attainment of the Bachelor of the social work degree has been an enlightening and educational experience, as the individual is exposed to the realities of many social and political issues in the society. As a student, I ventured into the degree, with minimal insight as to how the degree can influence and shape the way I perceive the social world, and the way I relate these matters to myself. However, throughout my endeavour, which encompasses years of theoretical studies, and two intensive placements at two drastically different organisations, I believe I have accumulated the bare minimal knowledge to possess a solid foundation about the unfairness and inequality that people in disadvantaged conditions face. Social workers are predominantly found in welfare organisations which Howe (as cited in Limber, 2015) suggested largely influences the practice, direction and values of the social worker, and impacts on their ability to act autonomously (Lymbery, 2015). During my placements, there was a dominant theme that frequently stood out and enticed my attention. This was the accepted practice of focusing on the individual’s problem, as opposed to the social problems that existed and the lack of acknowledgement about the social restrictions of the human agency that limited self-determination. The realization that organisations were managed this way was important in ensuring that I made a proactive effort to understand and untangle the reasons behind such

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’,

When I first entered the field of social work at Southwest Mississippi Community College, I was clueless as to what the social work profession entailed. At Southwest MS Community College, we mostly focused on perquisites and a few classes related to family. After, leaving Southwest MS Community College and entering Jackson State University, I realized my previous college did not teach me anything relating to the field of social work. However, my entry in my first class Ethics and Values at Jackson State University taught me about the six core values in social work, such as service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. Upon, my entry into JSU, Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) program, I understood that social work was not about assisting only children. There is masses of people who need, social workers to advocate for better housing, food, medical care and other basic necessities to survive everyday life.

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.

Ever since I was a child, I loved helping others. Whether it was helping my mother take care of my little brother or helping my fellow classmates with an assignment, I was always there to lend a hand. This passion continued throughout my childhood and into early adulthood. When I began my undergraduate degree at Lewis University, I knew I wanted to help people in some type of capacity. I was guided to the path of Social Work because in this field I could combine both my passion for helping others and interest in social justice. After my first day in the Introduction to Social Work course at Lewis University, I knew that I had found my forever home. This career path would allow me to help others in a variety of different settings and capacities.

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

Many personal and professional life experiences have been my motivation to pursue a degree in Social Work. Although I was unaware that this would later be my profession of interest, my personal life situations caused me to have to come into contact with a few social workers. The social workers that I have had the opportunity to meet have helped me with overcoming poverty, mental illness, child abuse, emotional instability, and domestic violence. My interest from pursuing a career as a parole officer, then a physical therapist to now a Social worker all shifted to this decision based on my life. Over the years I found myself enjoying helping others in need such as when I was employed as a Correctional officer and talking an offender from committing suicide causing me to question my future and whether I was in the wrong field.

After I graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara I was unsure what my next step would be. Of course I was anxious since I did not have experience working nor did I excel in my undergrad studies however, I knew I needed to use my newly earned degree in a positive way. Fast forward, after working for two years, I have gained the skills, knowledge and values from my work experiences that have confirmed my desire to advance my education in the social work field. I currently have my own case load of clients as a case manager at a level 12 group home but it’s time to take the next step forward. I want to ultimately advance social justice and provide services to assist individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

In order to be the most effective social worker we can be, it is critical to reflect and analyze who we are and what has happened to us in our personal lives. Doing so will help us be mindful of how these things may impact our work with our clients. The Adverse Childhood Experiences survey is one way of assessing where we may have to start addressing our personal experiences. Once we are aware of how our experiences impact our work, we can strive to protect our clients, so that we can provide the quality of services our clients deserve.

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.

My life has not been easy I came out the womb the oldest and became an adult rather early in life by default. I became independent by taking care of my younger brothers because momma was divorced and had to work. I’m only 3 ½ years older than my brothers but it didn’t feel like. I was taught to survive, more than thrive. I was taught to hustle, grind, and to make ends meet. The journal through the urban eastside of Detroit seemed to be a badge of honor. To proclaim the eastside represented the hard knocks life. Infested with an urban fabric of violence, drugs, and the extended family that once existed faded away. I always knew that I would be special and that there was a greater life ahead if I stayed focused.

Another event that motivated me to become a social work major is the summer after freshmen year when I was a camp counselor at a summer camp. There was this little boy aged seven in the summer camp who stated that he was not happy and was going to drown himself when we go to the swimming pool. At the summer camp that I worked, we did not have any protocol for if a child desired to kill their self or others. None of my coworkers knew what to do, so I decided to take the lead and call my supervisor and let him know about the matter. I remove the boy from around the rest of the kids and I stayed with the boy pending my supervisor or his parent got there. I decided to have a conversation with the boy and discover what is going on to make him want to kill his self. The boy felt as if nobody cared about him or loved him. I told the boy that everybody who works at the camp cares about all the children and that we loved them all as if they were our own children. After talking to the boy for a while, he was no longer angry and now was happy. Even though he was happy, I did not allow him to join the other children due to the safety of the other children. When my supervisor and the child’s father arrived, they both thanked me for making the boy smile and for handling the situation like a professional. I was happy that something so little as talking to the boy could make an impact on the boy’s life. At that moment, I knew that social work would be the right career choice for me. As I