Our lives are books, every day is a fragment of a chapter. Each page illustrates a path taken, or a battle faced. Every one of these books are unique, no two share the same story. My book may be torn, damaged by time and pain, but mended by passion. My motivation to become a social worker has been that tape and glue. It sealed every tear, and it gave every hardship a purpose. I faced these misfortunes to learn what darkness is, to be shown my capacity to be the light in other people’s lives. My life has led me to social work, it has become my purpose.
Throughout the last few years, there have been several individuals who have guided me, supporting me through hardships. These people are the only reason I have prospered to where I am today,
…show more content…
I spent a semester at Mountain Crest, a social club for individuals with a diagnosis of severe persistent mental illness. I learned about the agency, the services provided, but most importantly about the clients and the realities they face every day. While we assisted in transportation and skill building, these individuals taught me endless lessons about life and future practice. Each one of them was an open book, whose story defied any stigma that the world placed on them. They fueled my desire to help others. During my junior experience, I spent the year at Literacy Volunteers. I worked individually with three learners, each with their own unique stories. With one of my fellow classmates, we also co-facilitated a group of basic literacy learners. Through this opportunity, I gained experience with an individual with a traumatic brain injury. Together, we worked to re-build her reading and writing skills. She taught me to never give up, no matter the obstacle, there is always a reason to turn the page and move on to the next day. I also worked with an individual who had come from Russia, he wanted to continue his education. We studied for his SAT and ACT for many months, and he is now a college student. Through the group that I cofacilitated, and with one-on-one sessions I learned a lot about the literacy struggles that people face, especially in …show more content…
My current employment at the ARC has allowed me to work with individuals with developmental disabilities. This job has given me experience in documentation and dealing with crisis. During this past summer, I was able to do crisis intervention in a situation where individuals were in danger. This work-related problem taught me to expect the unexpected and to always be prepared. I had been covering a coworker’s shift and was alone with one other employee. We had a client who had a violent outburst and had threatened the life of my coworker. We sought out advice from our supervisor but she was on vacation and did not respond. In typical situations, we would have notified the authorities, but there were no weapons and her behavioral plan requests that we avoid her being hospitalized. Since the altercation was with my coworker, I was left alone to de-escalate the situation. I spent the next few hours with this client, I used her hobbies to create activities that she would like. Once she found joy in her game of basketball, she calmed
The purpose of social work in the contemporary society is concern for the individual. The function of social work is to help solve problems in human relationships for a better quality of life and to protect them from harm and from harming others which will enhance well-being. I have decided to pursue social work as a profession because I am at the point in my life where I want a sense of fulfilment. I care about people, I want to help others. I want to make the world a better place to live. I want to be the change I want to see. I want to serve the people in society who are physical, mentally, and socially less privileged than I am and make them feel loved and accepted. I will work with all groups of people but I have a strong interest in working with children and people who suffer from mental illnesses and addiction. I am interested in social work because it is a career with lots of flexibility in an ever-changing field allowing me to work in different settings, with different goals and challenges, but with a shared purpose of serving the common good of people.
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.
I have yet to encounter a social worker who entered the profession for acclaim or prestige. It is a demanding career with long hours and ceaseless paperwork. Social workers are frequently overburdened in addition to being underpaid. Occasionally, they witness agonizing tragedy, fundamentally changing them. Having worked in social services for a number of years, I have had these experiences.
Social Work is a career that you can make a significant impact on people’s lives. Social work is a spectacular career choice. However, working in this profession as a social work it can and will be challenges that will occur. A social worker enhances the welfare of communities, individuals and societies. Furthermore, social work aims to aid social change, development, cohesion, and empowerment. I had the pleasure of interviewing Latosha McIntyre about her work duties as a social worker with Day Spring Behavior Health Service. Day Spring Behavior Health Service is a non-profit- organization that offers a variety of behavioral health services to individuals and families. This paper will enclose Latosha McIntyre job activities, professional
Social work involves passionate individuals who are dedicated to helping others by providing services to vulnerable children, families or individuals in need, while constantly looking for ways in which we can improve society. This discipline is dedicated to helping people find solutions to their problems in order to make the world a better place. I chose this field of study, because I find the job of a social worker rewarding. I have always enjoyed helping others and knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life. It is no secret that this is a challenging career; however, the feeling of knowing that you made the world a better place is indescribable. I have simply decided to make my passion of helping others into a career. I know that in order to make my passion a career I will need to get the best education and training possible.
Social work acquainted itself to me at an extremely youthful age. Being adopted, and being teased pitilessly in school for being "embraced" taught me an incredible arrangement about the lack of care of individuals. I draw from my own repository of encounters. I have thought about low self-regard and low self-viability since adolescence. I know the torment, one I personally ended, constructing my own feeling of positive mental self-view and freedom. I guaranteed myself I could never be vulnerable again, that my bad dream could never have been futile. Having brought up two wonderful girls alone, I am mindful of the arrangement of difficulties, adjusting work and being a good example.
My passion for helping the vulnerable is one reason I ‘am inspired to become a social worker. I also want to be available to provide support to those who have nowhere else to turn. My experience in social work has taught me to celebrate the small victories towards positive changes. I look forward to gaining the skills and knowledge to aid me in becoming a successful social worker.
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.
For this reflective journal, I have decided to draw parallels between approaches to social work that I have learned in my placement, and what I have learned during my academic career at Carleton University. Placement thus far, has been an eye-opening and rich experience, which has taught me about the profession that I aspire to be a part of. I am a third year student, and much of my time spent at Carleton, has been studying theories, and becoming exposed to different schools of thought. Theories are incredibly beneficial, to teach and inform the practice of the next generation of social workers. However, placement has provided me with the opportunity to apply theoretical ideals, to real life social work practice.
Entry 1 On this module you have explored what might have led you to join the social work profession. Why is it important to think about your motivations for becoming social workers and how might this affect the way you practice? Why is self-awareness important in social work practice? Given your own unique background, what areas of social work might you find challenging and why?
If one were to ask me six years ago what I would like to pursue as a career, I do not believe that I would have ever been able to answer them ‘a social worker’. While in high school and in my earlier years of post-secondary school, I did not have any knowledge of what a social worker was let alone know what duties they perform. It was in 2012 where I discovered the profession of a social worker. The profession came to my understanding when a situation came upon a particular family that attend my local church. This particular family felt in their hearts to take in two nephews into their home. This situation came about for them due to the condition of their home and the lifestyle that their single mother was
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.
Dawn truly believes that social work is a deeply rewarding profession, but it can also be an incredibly stressful one. She desires to relax and decompress more than she currently accomplishes. In order to remain engaged and effective, it’s imperative she take advantage of her personal time by focusing on and tending to her own needs. Enjoying herself is as important for her own well-being as it is for that of her future clients.
Motivation for social service and/or social change, social work education, and a career in the profession.
Many people in society do not seem to recognize how important social workers are.From jails to hospitals, social workers are needed in every setting. I may not have a lot of experience being a social worker but I believe that this program will help me become one. My goal in entering the social work profession is to use the experiences I have been through to help others. I am motivated by the desire to help others as well as the desire to change their world.