Personal Statement: A Career As A Family Worker

I want to pursue professional social work education because I love to help individuals overcome barriers they face in life and help them understand and reach their full potential. Many individuals need someone to encourage them and give them a push to help them pursue and achieve their goals. This is why I want to be a social worker. As a social worker I plan to protect, advocate and empower individuals so that they are aware of their own strengths and resources to resolve problems they will face in their lives.

When applying to the social work program I knew that it would be a rigorous curriculum. I also knew that I had to also mentally prepared myself for the demands of the program. Over the past year, now I have been so challenged in school and have learned so much from the MSW program. When finishing my first year of grad school I felt confident and excited about entering my second year. I was even excited about starting to do therapy despite of knowing it would not be easy. Therefore, I knew that I would just have to try my best to put into practice my therapeutic skills. My passion has always been working with children and families, therefore, felt so thrilled to start this new journey as I knew I could possibly make a difference in someone’s

To accomplish anything in life, you must set goals. These goals must be realistic and achievable. Two years ago, I was at a point in my life that I never believed I would see. I was finally at my associate’s degree graduation day. Becoming at teen mom at 17, college had never even crossed my mind. This was a moment in my life where I was able to not be your average teen mom statistic. Continuing to better my life and my daughter’s I set a new goal after graduation to achieve my bachelor’s degree. After speaking with UMUC counselors, I decided to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Social Science with a minor in Emergency Management. Currently, I am in my final two classes at UMUC with a scheduled graduation date of May 15.

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.

Starting from being a certified nursing assistant, to becoming a unit secretary for a hospital that specialize in wound care, I have always known that I wanted to help individuals in need. However, I noticed that I was not happy with helping individuals in medical need. It wasn’t until I decided to continue my education that I introduced to the world of social work. Going up with a single mother that suffered from drug abuse, my family depended on social services for a lot of assistance, from everything such as food stamps to family counseling. This life experience helped guide my thoughts on pursuing social work as a career. I know that I want to help individuals that are down on their luck, but I want to take it one step farther, by providing individual counseling to adults that may need more one on one time, than what is normally given from a social service agency. Counseling will also give me a chance to do what I love most and that is to talk and get to know the individuals that I am helping make like changing decisions. Working as a clinical social work has my interest because it does not put limits on what I can do or who I can help, and it will set me up for my future goal of becoming a licensed clinical social worker. Being my own boss and changing my community is my dream job, opportunity and goal. I am currently on my way with changing my community and living my dream, because I am currently working for a non-profit

Starting my career as a social worker and working with children and families is where I feel as though I belong. I have the compassion, the drive and the withstanding endurance to make the area of child and family social work my passion. Working with children requires patience, dedication, resilience and so many other trusting characteristics. Relationships within children’s immediate families have a profound impact on their state of being. Becoming a child and family social worker is undeniably tough and arduous work but the reward of seeing families meet their set goals and becoming a stronger more united family unit come to fruition surpasses anything else. When I become a child and family social worker, my job days will be over and my career starts. Going to worker everyday knowing that I’m making a difference will be the best feeling. A great person once said, “It’s your mistakes that make you human, and it’s your humanity that makes you influential.”

Within the past twenty-five years, my life experiences have led me to become passionate about social work. Although my journey in social work hasn 't been something I’ve always known I wanted to do when I was young, a combination of personal, professional, and academic experiences has pointed me into the direction where I am today. As the oldest out of four siblings, my family has always worked hard to get where they’re at now. Knowledge of my parent 's personal; as well as, their professional struggle of not having a college degree has led them to work hard for everything they 've received in their life. Acknowledging what my parents have gone through has pushed me to receive my Associates in Liberal Arts so that I will able to graduate with my Bachelor of Social Work in the Spring 2017.

In human services there are many jobs that someone can work that uses their knowledge or skills. I never wanted to be a social worker, and in college had to change my major my junior year due to unforeseen circumstances. During that time I was stressed and didn’t know what to do, so I decided to major in psychology and become a social worker to help those who have disabilities. I have had many different experiences that helped me determine what I wanted to do when I graduated.

I chose social working as my career because many other people go through tough situations and have a difficult time talking to relatives or friends to help them through a tough situation. I thought of becoming a social worker so I can have the ability to change the lives of others. Social work is one of those careers you can truly make a difference in people’s lives. I want to become a social worker because life isn’t about just helping yourself it’s about helping others as well, which is what social workers do for a living. Child and family social workers protect children and families in need of assistance. Many families and children don’t feel comfortable talking to just anyone about obstacles they have faced in their lives which is why

You’ll never know if you’ll like it, until you try it. This statement stood true for social worker Angela Freeman in her journey to find a career. Angela Freeman completed high school, and decided to further her education focusing on secondary education. Surely, this was the perfect major to fit Mrs. Freeman’s drive and love to help children. Her choice of career all changed once she took her observation course.

Completing this project hasn't deviated my choice to become a counselor once so ever. I recognized the time and dedication I would need to put forth. I connect with this profession because I leaned on my counselors throughout high school. After recognizing how much I was helped I wanted to give back to other students. In my opinion, the pros outweighed the cons considerably and made my decision easy. When dealing with children who are emotionally or physically abused it will be heartbreaking to listen to their stories. On the other hand, if I truly become an amazing counselor, I will be there for emotional support. I will be dedicated to helping all children who need someone in their corner to stand up for them and what's right. As part of

I created a new vision for myself; one where I would work with abused and neglected children in child welfare. I pursued that passion and obtained a Bachelors of Arts in psychology with emphasis in child development. I became a child welfare worker and spent 13 years working up in the ranks of the field. I was at the point in my career where I was supervising 7 case managers, and responsible for 140 children. I came to realize that my drive was no longer there and the fight for the field had left. Through my work in child welfare, I came to learn that so many children fall through the cracks with regards to education and

Social work has evolved over centuries and social work as a profession has gone through a constant change that even continues today. As I begin this journey into my career as a social worker I have to consider so many things; understanding the history of the social work profession and what it means to my career, understanding that social work is a profession and not just a discipline, why it is important that this kind of work be done by a professional, what organizations can help throughout my career, understanding the codes of ethic that govern my behavior as a social worker, and what I have to learn through my education as a Master of Social Work that will help further my career as a Social Worker.

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.

Initially, what inspired me to pursue a career in Social Work was a personal experience of mine. One of my siblings suffered from HFA also known as High- functioning autism. HFA simply means an individual who may: not be able to work well independently, have lower verbal reason-ability, some intellectual disabilities, etc. Although, I was younger than this sibling I always offered: support, guidance, and assistance. During my sibling and I enrollment at the College of the Sequoias I informed my sib of helpful services offered at the college which was the: Disability Resource Center and the Writing Center. So when I had to consult with the College Counselor pertaining to what degree I wanted