Application for Undergraduate studies in Social Work - Essay Example

Purpose of Social Work

My interest in a career of social services was inspired by wish to always use my strength and abilities as instruments of social change for those who might lack a voice or any other means through which their grievances can be voiced and addressed. By taking this course and henceforth attaining the relevant qualifications to be a social worker, I believe that when coupled with my conviction to be supportive and caring as a member of the general community, will make me a reliable and successful social worker. I would especially love to wok with children. This is because some people take advantage of their innocence and abuse them, while some have been forced by circumstances to fend for themselves owing to lack of proper guardians and other support systems. The same could also be attributed to my sickly childhood that denied me very many opportunities to play with my peers and get to express myself. Besides this, I believe the course will give me a better insight into the hierarchy of social needs as well as a better understanding of the diversity of mankind in order to impart in me the practical knowledge of dealing with all other social issues other than inmates. This decision is based on a bad experience I had in my childhood, and would feel insecure working with inmates.

Career Goals

My decision to take up a career in social work is also based on other circumstances in my life. My husband is about to retire and my children are all grown up and caught up with their careers and family lives. A career is social work will help me be able to serve the society in ways such as taking care of the elderly and their families, as I transition into old age. My involvement in this will also be aimed at helping to find ways that would develop and improve the types of services that are available to the aging generations at systematic levels. I would wish to be part of the community members who are involved in the development, designing and planning of the social policies that are related to the elderly in the years that I still will be eligible to work before my own retirement. I expect the social work will be demanding, challenging as well as be ultimately full of reward. I therefore look forward to the experience that I will attain from both an intellectual and also a social point of view. I hope I will learn enough to make me improve on my service delivery much better from the entry level in which I am making this application.

My passion and conviction for service delivery can be traced to my background. I was raised in a foster system. My path to getting college education was marked with various obstacles has not always been clear given my age, but I always kept my eyes open and y objectives clear, focused on the road ahead and the purpose that I chose to make my life to have an impact to the society. This was made possible by my experiences in marriage and family life. In my freshman year my foster mother remarried and I had to change school. I was forced to change schools over and over, thereby making my school years lack continuity, despite my unwavering ambition to proceed to college.

Furthermore, I was not very ready to commit to school full time, given that I had my first child early with my husband of 15 years. I was forced to work at different places and in order to enable me to be able to afford to pay my bills- medical and tuition sometimes. In as much as I continued to work, I knew that the path I lead was not the one that I desired, hence my commitment to school and my readiness to make this commitment fulltime. This is when I realized that I wanted to study sociology in order to have an impact to both those who had similar foster home challenges to mine, and others who might not have had the opportunities to express themselves or work and/or study in order to realize their dreams. Owing to this I have time and again worked to prove my capability both in work and in academics that I am more than an average student despite my experience and family commitment.

Despite taking me longer to finish my studies, I consider it one of my greatest successes. This is because I struggled through it and paying for it as well, with the sacrifice of the other things that I would have done with my life at the time in comparison to my peers. I also realized and acknowledged that my path in education was incomplete. Therefore it is through the reference to my struggles, perseverance and the triumph through the earlier studies that I believe qualify me as an excellent candidate in this institution’s sociology department.

Choice of University

Having being engaged in social work to the level of my capability to contribute in social work through the passion of my engagement with various children whose mothers had been bereaved in their husband’s work in serving the military as my husband has done in the past fifteen years, and through my other experiences in trying to make a contribution to the society, I believe I meet the criteria for eligibility to be part of Social Workers Association in theory and in practice. I also believe this can be the premise of my eligibility to meet the criteria for admission into your institution for an undergraduate course in the study of social work. I have read and fully understood the pre-admission requirements, and I believe I will be able to qualify for any tests that will be required to attest my testimonies with regard to this. I also believe that this institution is the best for the aforementioned studies given its support systems and facilities that would make my most competent to fulfill my desire of being an instrument of social change.

Professional and Volunteer Experiences

I have been involved in the medical field in rehab and Dialysis centers as my practical placements that enabled me to develop my knowledge and skill further. These provides me with the requisite skills and insights in dealing with the range of needs of clients pertaining to my preferred desired line of duty, as well as an understanding of the caseload prioritization in an environment that has high demand. My engagement in social work has also given me the opportunity to work with people from diverse backgrounds as well as across a wide range of age groups of mothers such as adolescents and the aged alike. My skills in counseling imparted in me a great sense of confidentiality at all times and also in recording case notes as required with the statutory requirements. In response to the wide variety of social assistance needs, I have been able to demonstrate in my response competent skills in problem solving, assessment, negotiation as well as advocacy, thereby allowing me to build effective working relations with the community and other organizations.

A mature and professional outlook allows me to be able to complete tasks deemed as independent responsibly while successfully contributing to team activities. Effective management skills acquired both professionally and as a mother have imparted me with effective self-management skills such as planning with the aim of meeting commitments such as academics, employment, community work and also family life. This is evidence to my ability to organize and meet the required timelines all the requirements of the field.

Understanding of Poverty

In my early life I lived in the streets due to homelessness following the demise of my mother coupled up with my father’s drug addiction. This led to me being taking to foster care and foster parents who would at times mistreat my foster siblings and me owing to the “outsider” nature of our presence in their families. In many occasions we were forced to go out in the streets to look for food and money to buy clothes and other necessary things. My foster experience was even worse when I entered puberty due to lack of support and guidance through the changing situations in my transition into a woman. This lack of role proper role models was a contributing factor to my early relationships and challenges that contributed my poor performance in school as I tried to fend for myself through school while supporting my foster siblings. This sense of responsibility helped me transform to what I am today. It is regard to all the above that I feel confident to proclaim my eligibility to pursue an undergraduate course in social work. This can be backed up by my practical experiences both through education, he path to self-discovery and in family life that has exposed to the plight of children who live in poverty, the challenges of what may be dysfunctional foster homes and through marriage considering the challenges of having a husband who is away most of the time due to his service to the nation.

Despite taking me longer to finish my studies, I consider it one of my greatest successes. This is because I struggled through it and paying for it as well, with the sacrifice of the other things that I would have done with my life at the time in comparison to my peers. I also realized and acknowledged that my path in education was incomplete. Therefore it is through the reference to my struggles, perseverance and the triumph through the earlier studies that I believe qualify me as an excellent candidate in this institution’s sociology department.

Choice of University

Having being engaged in social work to the level of my capability to contribute in social work through the passion of my engagement with various children whose mothers had been bereaved in their husband’s work in serving the military as my husband has done in the past fifteen years, and through my other experiences in trying to make a contribution to the society, I believe I meet the criteria for eligibility to be part of Social Workers Association in theory and in practice. I also believe this can be the premise of my eligibility to meet the criteria for admission into your institution for an undergraduate course in the study of social work. I have read and fully understood the pre-admission requirements, and I believe I will be able to qualify for any tests that will be required to attest my testimonies with regard to this. I also believe that this institution is the best for the aforementioned studies given its support systems and facilities that would make my most competent to fulfill my desire of being an instrument of social change.

Professional and Volunteer Experiences

I have been involved in the medical field in rehab and Dialysis centers as my practical placements that enabled me to develop my knowledge and skill further. These provides me with the requisite skills and insights in dealing with the range of needs of clients pertaining to my preferred desired line of duty, as well as an understanding of the caseload prioritization in an environment that has high demand. My engagement in social work has also given me the opportunity to work with people from diverse backgrounds as well as across a wide range of age groups of mothers such as adolescents and the aged alike. My skills in counseling imparted in me a great sense of confidentiality at all times and also in recording case notes as required with the statutory requirements. In response to the wide variety of social assistance needs, I have been able to demonstrate in my response competent skills in problem solving, assessment, negotiation as well as advocacy, thereby allowing me to build effective working relations with the community and other organizations.

A mature and professional outlook allows me to be able to complete tasks deemed as independent responsibly while successfully contributing to team activities. Effective management skills acquired both professionally and as a mother have imparted me with effective self-management skills such as planning with the aim of meeting commitments such as academics, employment, community work and also family life. This is evidence to my ability to organize and meet the required timelines all the requirements of the field.

Understanding of Poverty

In my early life I lived in the streets due to homelessness following the demise of my mother coupled up with my father’s drug addiction. This led to me being taking to foster care and foster parents who would at times mistreat my foster siblings and me owing to the “outsider” nature of our presence in their families. In many occasions we were forced to go out in the streets to look for food and money to buy clothes and other necessary things. My foster experience was even worse when I entered puberty due to lack of support and guidance through the changing situations in my transition into a woman. This lack of role proper role models was a contributing factor to my early relationships and challenges that contributed my poor performance in school as I tried to fend for myself through school while supporting my foster siblings. Read More