Personal Narrative: My Job As A Social Worker

By the way of introduction, I am Aleem Punja's cousin and he suggested I reach out to you to explore possible opportunities at the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

I can see myself having social working as a career for the rest of my life because I like helping people face problems that they can’t face on their own. I love working with children, families, and being able to experience working with others and helping them face obstacles that their facing in their life. One of many reasons I would also enjoy social working as a career would be helping these people overcome obstacles they thought they’d never overcome. While growing up and facing tough situations in life, I always had family and friends there for me which is why I would love to help others and be there for them because it’s a great feeling knowing that you have people there wanting to listen to you and help you through problems.

The history of mental health in the United States show a robust movement towards the mental healthcare system we have today. Prior to the 19th century, individuals with mental health issues were widely considered to be demonically possessed, thus contributing to the stigmatization of mental illness and the proliferation of poor treatment conditions. However, in the 1800s, there was a dramatic change in mental healthcare in the U.S. The government took a proactive role in treating the mentally ill, leading to the dawn of state psychiatric facilities.

After taking the CHOICES Interest Inventory, my holland codes were social and investigative. Investigative individuals are frequently depicted as "thinker's" who are observing and appreciate learning and assessing new things/circumstances. Investigative individuals like the challenge of thinking of ways to figure out problems and also they prefer to work on their own. Social individuals are often dubbed as "aides" who appreciate helping individuals from multiple points of view and are constantly worried about the prosperity of others. Social individuals flourish when working in groups, and have exceptional verbal and communication skills.

I am passionate on helping people and making changes in others’ lives. Like I stated before, my mother had been trapped herself in the apologetic emotion for years. The mental burden had made her down. Therefore, I decided to help my mother get rid of the self-accusation, by using the knowledge I learned in the Human Services major. To illustrate, I was telling her that it was not her fault of divorce, and she was not showing me the negative image of a marriage. Instead, I admire her braveness of ending a marriage when it was necessary, especially in the time when people were stereotyping divorced women and at the place where people were being judgmental. Now, her self-blameless has been reduced, and she told me that she was not felt as guilty

As a woman diagnosed with social anxiety,I was entrusted to be under the care of a social worker so as to help me manage my disorder. Personally, I have gone through so many experiences which collectively made me develop a deeper insight into the roles of social workers as compared to other health caregivers. Besides that, I have seen a lot of transformative supports to people who have various social problems provided through the selfless care of the social workers. Subsequently, this further fueled my ambition to study and support the most disadvantaged and vulnerable persons in the society. I firmly believe that my motivation towards helping

My passion for Human Services began while traveling in Asia, Mexico, and through different communities in our country. The most important lesson I learned whether overseas or here in the USA is compassion. Compassion and understanding for what is needed. Compassion for underprivileged people, the elderly, and most importantly the children. The one thing that has stayed constant with me since I started traveling with my family is that people need help.

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.

The Holland Code was “...Developed by Dr. John Holland, who defined six categories of people based on personality, interests, and skills…” (page 499, The College Success Textbook). These six categories are: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. After taking this test you will get to have a three letter code that will tell you what three categories you fit best into. My Holland code is I.S.A., which means I’m Investigative, Social and Artistic.

How do you account for your interest in social work? In your response, discuss paid or volunteer experiences that support your choice of social work as a profession?

My Holland Codes is AES. I’m artistic, enterprising and social. My top three workplace values are artistics, creative expression and independence. I prefer to go in the medical field to be an Neonatal Nurse. I want to be an neonatal nurse because I love taking care of babies, they are so cute and little. My Holland code and workplace values does not go with my career path. It says the holland code for Nurse Practitioner (ISA)

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.

Speaking to my career adviser I was introduce to different opportunities available at university and I realised, I want to study social worker because the duty of care to safe guard vulnerable people is close to my heart. Working with children in different educational sectors which are Hawksmoor Primary School and Middle Park Day care Centre has clarified my interest in the course. I have come to understand empathy, patients and tolerance proved to be an important element during my voluntary at these educational sectors, especially in regards to children with special needs. Also, the case of Victoria Climbie intrigued me. Victoria was a 5 years old who was abuse by her aunty and boyfriend

I have always been a very compassionate and empathetic person. I love people and being able to change someone's life for the better is incredibly fulfilling. The skills I have under my belt include active listening, self-awareness, and sensitivity to others. Other abilities that can complement my work as social worker are that I am culturally responsive and can address diverse communities with the respect they deserve. Becoming a social worker is a tough career, but I also feel as if I am tough enough to take on this challenge.

I want to becoming a social worker, because when I was doing voluntary work with Asylum seekers at PAFRAS , organisation based here in Britain. I am a reliable, motivated, and responsible student, who has the key skills and knowledge that are essential for the social work sector. I am used to working to high standards and being friendly to all people from different backgrounds; I am always enthusiastic to learn new things and interested in working with vulnerable people. I consider myself to be a good communicator, a team leader and motivator, who can get along well with people from all social, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. I am very energetic in my approach to work, and have a high work ethic, which makes me eager to get on with my studies