Social Work Personal Statement

I am a Member of the Toronto Police Black Community Constitutive Committee (BCCC), where my main role is educating the police on strategies to engage with the youths, adding an anti-oppressive lens. Am also the Vice Chair of the Social Work Students’ Union; and a mentor, and lead mentor in the Tri-Mentoring program. I have made a personal vow to help create a legacy of change and a sense of community where everyone is welcomed, loved and accepted. I am motivated and driven to help the Social Work program and the Faculty of community, achieve our vision, which is to challenge the status quo and create meaningful change.

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 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.

I value my education and I take my studies very seriously. To be given the opportunity to study Social Work further is highly significant to me and I intend to work for my master’s degree after graduating with my Bachelor’s in social work from Bennett College for Women. I am passionate about social work and I look forward to getting my MSW and making a difference in the community as well as people’s lives. I know that with a social work my goals can be accomplished and I will enjoy my career. I have gained some insight into Sexual Assault while being at an all women institution and seeing my peers take care of their own situations. My Bennett sisters who were victims of sexual assault suffer from depression, left the school and or wanted to commit suicide because of multiple reasons that made them feel unsafe. The difficulties they faced on a daily basis while suffering because the person that assaulted them did not receive any penalty and was allowed to still be on our campus. Another experience was a family member who was a victim and was told to keep it a family secret and could not rely on anyone to protect them. I also have a heart for working with Domestic Violence. During my adolescent years, I both witnessed and experienced Domestic Violence. This had a profound effect on me and after a process of soul searching as to the best use of my skills whilst at the same time satisfying a need to give something back, These personal experiences instilled in me further the

When I first heard of human services, I was first confused with being human resources. Back then about two years ago, I made the decision to go with social work from my original psychology prerequisites. Calling the CSU, Dominguez Hills office, I was actually confused of the word human services when I actually called for information on social work. After some research with human services, I've decided to major in the field and to attend at CSU, Dominguez Hills. How I got into human services/social work, it was a long personal journey I had to take that lead me to this field.

As long as I could remember, I always wanted to be in a public service. Watching shows about attorneys to therapist, I wanted to help those who could not help themselves. In high school I took law class that would change my views on being a attorney to being a psychologist. I realized before one can get into the court system, something had to stem from their childhood or traumatic incident with therapy one could avoid the justice system or rehabilitate. After community college I began working with children with mental and behavioral illnesses.

Ever since grade school, I've known that what I aspire to do with my life is help people and from there on I've jumped on and off from different possibilities as to what to become. Growing up I went through difficulties such as having to deal with an alcoholic father, throughout the years he eventually recovered. Meanwhile, my siblings and I dealt with constant arguments that no child should have to deal with. I thought about perhaps becoming a social worker and provide children who are going through a storm with a newfound strength and help them know what it means to be safe.

I am applying for this course because, from a young age I have always wanted to make a difference in people's lives. I have worked with children, young adults and the elderly for 4 years. It was through this experience that I discovered that I enjoyed working with a vulnerable client group. This experience gave me the motivation to want to study Social Work. I have worked in multi disciplinary teams (MDT) which included other health care professionals that include doctors, teachers, nurses and physio-therapists to name a few. The experience I gained taught me how to support a client in a person centred way maintaining their individuality and dignity. I learnt how to problem solve, confidently contribute in meetings which concerned the client and their well being. I used the client's care plan, preferences as well what I knew about the client to contribute. This helped me sharpen the frame of what would be expected of me in the future once I become a social worker.

When I get my degree in Social Work I hope to be working with developmentally disabled children and adults. I hope to be working with developmentally disabled people because my mom works with them so I grew up around them, and my little sister is autistic. Growing up around developmentally disabled people as well as having an autistic sister has made me feel compassion towards them and want to help them in their everyday lives do things that they are not fully capable of doing on their own. In my chosen degree there are many ways that the four subfields of anthropological training could be helpful. One of the four subfields, Archaeology could be helpful to me in my degree in social work by helping me better understand why some developmentally

From a young age for as long as I can remember, I have been interested in working with people and interested in how their social factors affect behaviour. I am very focused on a career that involves working with people as I feel it would suit my personality. Studying Sociology at university I believe will expand my knowledge, enable me to learn about the social interactions between people in different cultures and I believe it is important to study this as a basis for becoming a social worker. I understand that this job will be one of the most difficult and challenging jobs I will face and I am under no illusion as to what the job involves. I realise the demands on being a social worker: working unsociable hours and dealing with pressurised situations: with individuals at their most vulnerable point in their lives.

Social work will enable me to make a great impact in people’s lives; it will be used as a resource to help the less fortunate. My passion is helping people, therefore, I have spent many years studying theoretical knowledge relevant to mental health conditions; my academic background is in Psychology (mind, brain and behavior). Social work will enable me to observe and treat patients, and it complements my theoretical understanding of mental health. Moreover, there are communities that need mental health services but are short on resources. Ultimately, my goal is to provide mental health services and resources to underserved communities, and Edinboro University is my school of choice to accomplish that.

My interest in pursuing a professional career in social work came from my passion to help others. I come from a Hispanic family that migrated from Monterrey, Mexico to Houston. I remember my parents having a difficult time adjusting to a new environment. My mother’s sister was her only resource. She was her go-to for everything, and although she had been living in the United Sates for a long time, she was not aware of many of the programs available for low-income families, like us.

I am applying for a summer internship with the Rockefeller Foundation as part of the U.S. Youth Employment team. My interest in working for the Rockefeller Foundation stems from my passion for philanthropy and service. Since high school, I have always made an effort to do things that would help make my community better. As an intern on the U.S. Youth Employment team, I will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge I acquired inside the classroom to help implement positive economic and social change.

I am applying to the two year program at Stony Brook University because I want to further my education so that I can pursue my goal of helping others achieve a successful and productive life. My passion originates from realizing that there is a need for social workers who can make a difference in people’s life by being supportive and providing the necessary aid needed for everyday survival. Therefore, I believe by completing my master’s degree in social work I can help build a better world by providing care and services that is imperative and vital for survival. There have been many experiences that have influenced my goal to be a social worker. I have learned through personal and profession experience that helping people can have a huge impact.