Personal Statement For 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.

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.

My main reason for applying to the Simmons School of Social Work is that it is an accredited university with an excellent reputation as an educational institution and offers an MSW program that is predominantly online. I attended Thomas Edison State University online and earned my bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.9. Once I made the decision to continue my education, I searched for MSW programs that were available online with CSWE accreditation in compliance with New Jersey State social work licensure. I found that Simmons’s specialized program in clinical social work is well suited for my educational needs.

With a focus on the University of Pittsburgh’s MSW program, I anticipate a curriculum that will give me tools and unique procedures to analyze and understand clients’ different life situations. This program will provide me with the knowledge to evaluate and apply research methods. I will become more activity oriented to the prevention and alleviation of social problems. Upon completion of master degree, I would have demonstrated empathy along with a genuine desire to improve the quality of the lives of others. The University of Pittsburgh’s MSW program will not only offer a path of

Latasha Willis, an intern at River Valley Area Agency on Aging, is currently at Troy University to obtain a Masters in Social Work (MSW).Latasha will be interning with the agency until July 2016 which is when she graduates with her Masters degree. She has earned her undergrad in Social Work (BSW) as well from Troy University in 2014. After graduating with her BSW, she worked with the Division of Family and Children Services as a CPS investigator in Butler, Ga. She also worked at the Division of Child Support Services as a Child Support Agent 2 in Columbus, Ga. She plans to continue working with seniors after her gained experience with interning at the agency.

Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. This simple yet powerful quote motivates me to remain steadfast in the mission of aiding others. I’m pursing a Masters in social work because by working in this field, I can educate, advocate, motivate, understand, and encourage resilience to clients from every walk of life. It is a profession that will allow me to practice both on a micro and macro level simultaneously. Lastly, working in social work gives me the capacity to challenge policies affecting disadvantaged communities.

Professionally I was tasked with putting the care plans for various individuals into action by helping the people cultivate life skills such as investing money and budgeting skills, assisting them in the development of high levels of independence while aiming at improving their social and communication skills. In one way or another, helping these people led me to develop a great passion for working as a social worker. On a daily basis, I provided steady and continuous emotional support so that the individuals can lead a less stressful life. Besides that, I learned how to communicate well with clients on various sensitive issues that affected them emotionally in the most appropriate and understanding manner. Thus, this job significantly improved my patience, communication skills and my imitative in approaching people I meet in my everyday life. I became more aware of my personal beliefs

The pursuit of a doctoral degree is both exciting and humbling for me. It is exciting that I have a clear vision of the career I want to pursue as an academic, and humbling to think of the great opportunity I could have to teach future social workers. Early motivation to enter the field of social work was in response to adverse childhood experiences with domestic violence, parental substance abuse, poverty, and homelessness —further complicated by foster care intervention. My foster care experience included five foster placements, enrollment in countless schools, countless lost relationships, and a failed adoption. Though these experiences created much hardship, they have certainly promoted resilience and helped lead me to my current ambition of seeking a Ph.D. As a recipient of foster care intervention, I exited state custody through legal permanence. Through education, advocacy, and direct social work practice with youth in residential treatment, I acquired new skills and insight to addressing social and child welfare problems. I am excited for the opportunity to promote the field of social work in the classroom and improve the lives of youth in the foster care system through my research.

I am interested in the MSW program at Walden University because of the objectives of the program to make sure that their students learn what it is that they are suppose too. I am also interested in the Master of Social Work program here at Walden because of the teachers working in the field and having firsthand knowledge about the field. The Master of Social Work program at Walden also have the concentration that I am interested in which is Children and Family Services. My plans for after I receive my degree is to become a license social worker. I also plan to start working at either the department of family and children services or at a local adoption agency.

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.

When I was growing up, I wanted to make a difference in the world by helping people who were less fortunate. I spent a lot of time volunteering at Stamford Hospital and raising money for my community through my local church. Somewhere along the line, though, I lost sight of my childhood ambitions and began to pursue a lucrative career in business for the prestige, competition, and money. I graduated from Temple University with a Bachelors of Business Administration in January 2014 and a week later, I began working for Liberty Mutual, a Fortune 100 insurance company. In reality, though, I had no passion for insurance. I felt the work was devoid of meaning, but most importantly, I was not being fulfilled as a person. After six months, I realized that no matter how far I climbed the proverbial corporate ladder, I would never reach happiness in this career. I handed in my two weeks notice and purchased a one-way ticket to Europe. This is my story of how I rediscovered my passion for helping others and developed an interest in social work.

I intend to earn my Bachelor's and Master's of Social Work so I can pursue a career in clinical private practice with the elderly. In addition, I will double minor in gerontology and sociology to further prepare me for my future career. Because of my credits from high school and work ethic, I will be able to graduate with my Bachelor’s in just three years, which will result in significant savings of college expenses. Due to my past experiences with bullying in which my supposed good friends over a three-year period, I always knew I wanted to work in the social work field. Since Rhode Island College has one of the top social work programs in the country, I was sure this school would be a great fit for me.

Personal Statement Growing up a military dependent, I attended school in the Department of Defense education system. One of the the greatest experiences I had was the opportunity to live in Okinawa, Japan for six years. I was able to become fully immersed in the Japanese culture at a young age. We had required classes about their culture, local food, and even events with schools from mainland Japan. This was the first experience that showed me how pleasant another culture can be.

Social workers carry out an important role of assisting groups, families, and individuals, of all populations, cope with difficult life challenges at micro and macro levels of society. They provide support and services for a wide range of social issues such as poverty, abuse, drug abuse and addiction, disability, and physical or mental illnesses. Professions in this field carry out a variety of specializations in almost every component of society from hospitals, prisons, mental health facilities, senior living facilities, elected offices, as well as private and public agencies. Along with providing social services, social workers also act as advocates to society’s most vulnerable populations. As advocates, social workers campaign to ensure

Trauma. Resilience. Empathy. These are the key words that inform my approach to social work. From my personal story to my professional experience in human services, I believe that learning the personal history of individuals, as well as understanding the social injustices that contribute to one’s oppressions is crucial to empower underserved and underrepresented communities. To me, the goal of social work is to identify social and economic barriers, promote systemic changes, and help individuals lead meaningful lives.