Personal Statement : My Educational Background

I am currently a Psychology major at Brigham Young University. I am graduating in April 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Psychology and a double minor in Family Life and Gerontology. This coming December 2016, I will be applying to the Masters of Social Work program at both BYU. I hope to become a medical social worker and be employed in a hospital as a child life specialist or a therapist for cancer patients and families. I’m attracted to social work because I served a service mission for 18 months in Guatemala teaching ecclesiastical principles and providing service to hundreds of Guatemalans. I left my heart there and came back with a determination to help those in need. With my educational background and my ability to speak Spanish, I am confident that I will be able serve many people in need. I have been able to volunteer as a Hospice Relief Supporter, a volunteer teacher at the Utah State Hospital, a volunteer at the crisis line, and as the Volunteer Coordinator at Camp Kesem (a free summer camp for children whose parents are affected by cancer). The more I volunteer, the more experience I gain and the greater my desire for social work grows.

I believe social work is a passion and is consistent with my personality traits: loyalty, commitment, and personal servitude. This passion coupled with the forthcoming skills gained from an MSW degree at Florida International University, I will have the honor of becoming a professional social worker with unlimited possibilities to advocate, provide direct services or lead an organization-all of which will lead to my ultimate goal of positively affecting the lives of vulnerable people. FIU offers a quality, high-intensity program that will surely equip me with the tools to do this great profession and act of public service

I earned my LCSW-R while coordinating independent living skills for males aging out of foster care in New York City. I am supervising Social Work interns for Clinical Placement for the last 15 years. My academic goals are to complete the PHD DSW Online Program, develop professional knowledge, cognitive theories of human behavior, preventive and intervention, in-depth understanding of social systems, theories, and an effective construction as I conduct un-bias research. As a pastor and clinical therapist with a private practice for the last 18 years, I believe it is time to take my professional experience to the next level. The anticipated goal is to open a Community Center and out-reach ministry, which will provide resources with the targeted

I am a Licensed Social Worker; Case Manager proficiency, skilled in interviewing, treatment and discharge planning. I can multi-tasking when need be, while maintaining a strong work ethic and exhibiting a positive attitude. As a counselor/ case manager, I am bringing several years of experience in counseling individuals of various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, including multicultural sensitivity. Expertise in crisis intervention

All through my time in my previous school, I was incorporated into a lot of extracurricular

Choosing to pursue this education to become a Social Service Worker has been a life long passion; living a so called “roller coaster” of a life and being subjected to many things, enjoyable and regretful has helped me in many ways to comprehend what it is to truly have human empathy and compassion for others. A veteran at life in its lowest and highest forms, and feeling completely alone and hopeless at times; being subjected to sexual and physical abuse, seeing what alcohol and drugs do to families, how poverty effects children and loved ones. Fortunately there were a few individuals that reached out, bring me up out of the darkness. This is something that I feel in my heart that needs to be given back, for me to provide someone the empowerment that others have given me, to show that there is hope and give reason to keep going, individuals who feel desperate, help to raise their chances, dreams and the basic needs of life. Having the knowledge of education to give these resources for expert referrals to assist people in desperate times, so they can live the life that is deserving and fulfilling to them, therefore this is my ultimate goal!

On May 27, 2011, I sat in the crowd of thousands of people waiting to see the cheer from the football field. No, this wasn’t a professional football game, or even a college game. This was the graduation and commissioning of 1000 men and women from the United States Naval Academy. As the covers of all the former midshipmen went into the air, and the crowd went wild, I stood in awe, speechless. Even as an 11 year old boy, I knew that I wanted to be that young man standing on the ten yard line, in an immaculate white uniform, jumping up and down and hugging his buddy next to him. As I read stories and biographies of men like Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle, some of the most courageous men in the world, I realized my calling in life. I was to be an officer in the United States Navy.

I moved to California three years ago to pursue a Master's degree in social work at USC. During the time I have lived here, I have gained invaluable experience working full-time in the social work field. My first social work related job in California was working at an IMD step-down program for transitional aged youths and adults with dual diagnoses. From there, I began working in the Wraparound program at Aviva Family and Children's Services as a Child and Family Specialist. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working with these agencies but am also very excited to begin graduate study at USC's School of Social Work since my graduate education was the reason for my move to southern California.

Waking up to the smell of a traditional Dominican breakfast every day has made me appreciate where my family comes from and how hard my mother has worked to keep a roof over my head. My mother came from the Dominican Republic looking for a new beginning with only a high school degree. Through her struggles to build a better life for all of us, I have gained a deep appreciation for hard work and dedication. All her sacrifices are paying off as my sister is the first generation to graduate and I plan to follow her footsteps and achieve even more. Through my own experiences, I have learned the significance of “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires”

Getting a college education was never a thing I saw myself doing as a child. College wasn't a coveted thing in my household, I was always told that I needed to get a job and work for the rest of my life and that if I didn't do well in school, then I wouldn't get into any college. I had never been the best student, so I assumed that I would never get to go to college. I only recently started wanting to get a college education because I really want to work in the United Nations. Even after graduating high school with acceptance to a university overseas I thought I should take a year off to think about if I really wanted to continue my education or not.

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

Later, I graduated from CCBC and was accepted into Morgan State University’s School of Social Work. Following my acceptance into the social work program I began to appreciate the practice greatly for its diversity. I learned that the social work profession would provide me with the ability to fulfill all of my career goals. I desired to be a part of a helping profession, positively impact lives, work in a diverse environment, provide advocacy and work hands on in urban communities. While matriculating through the BSW program, my interest remained the same but my idea of provision

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.

One of the greatest injustices in modern America revolves around the difference in the quality of education students from different classes receive. Children are held back from doing their best in school for simple reasons such as poverty, lack of parental support, teachers who cannot give them individual attention, learning disabilities, undiagnosed mental health disorders, poor health, developmental problems, and so on. It is my personal belief that no child should be held back from achievement for something that can be solved with a treatment plan, individual attention, or a different method of learning. Because of this belief, I decided to pursue degrees in art and education to become a secondary school teacher.