Pursuing a Career in the Field of Social Services - Personal Statement Example

Personal ment: Master’s in Social Work Personal ment: Master’s in Social Work Serving people has been my passion since childhood especially during lower grades in school. During high school and college, I used every available opportunity to realize this passion. One way in which I contributed in making the community a better place was by participating in a project known as Discovering the Realty of our Community (DRCP). DRCP was a group of 15 De Anza High School students who tried to get the Richmond youth involved in the community in a positive way. We voiced our opinion at school and city council meeting did numerous amount of fund raisers for the less fortunate children and hosted city events throughout Richmond. The result of this was more and more young people utilizing their time in bettering the community. As a freshman, I joined a social group whose main goal was to reach out to the community and help children from low income backgrounds. For example, we mentored children from low income families to pursue education regardless of their socioeconomic status. Moreover, the group focused on high school freshmen to help them overcome challenges that could harm their academic performances or chances of graduating at the right time. This group exposed me to various community services and workshops where I met people of different races, ethnicity and nature. The implication of this was that I now became a person who could live, accommodate and understand other people better. The positive experience derived from these workshops and panels left me yearning for more opportunity to participate in social work. Accordingly, I joined a community outreach group during the second year in college. Through this opportunity, I got exposed to multiple challenges that affect students in colleges. It`s worth noting that colleges contain students of different races, sexual orientations, religions and socioeconomic status among others and therefore it`s a place that embrace diversity. In particular, at the campus I had the opportunity of dealing with people of LGBQT community for the first time in life. At the beginning, the experience seemed awkward, but I got to understand and embrace these amazing people and their needs. Again, this opportunity exposed me to people of diverse backgrounds and with various needs. The experience during the first and second years in college allowed me to embrace people from diverse backgrounds thus I developed the prerequisite skills needed to work efficiently with any kind of a person. I currently serve as a Tenant Service Counselor at Community Housing Partnership. The organizations focuses on helping clients secure permanent houses at affordable prices. Similarly, I worked at Jobi House as a residential counselor for the three years. The organization primarily focused on adults with mental illness and substance abuse. My chief role in this organization was to empower each client to make a positive change in his or her life through daily activities. I also volunteered at the Richmond Bay Area Rescue Mission for two years where I have had a chance to work with diverse populations of women and children who have experienced many life changing situations. Therefore, I believe that after serving in various social organizations, I possess sound experience that can enable me work with people of different backgrounds and nature. Challenges Over the years, I served as a social worker but had no challenges with people from other races and the LGBTQ community. I believe social problems are similar and affect all races. However, ethnicity is a major challenge in this work because of language barriers. Similarly, dealing with people of different ethnicity requires a high level of intercultural competence. Currently, my intercultural competence is slightly above average going by my acquired experience and dedication to social work. More encouraging is that I am working to improve it because of the vital significance it has in this career. Also, it is sometimes challenging to work with some groups because of they expect instant solutions to their problems. For example, some people lack patience and expect a solution on the first day regardless of the explanations they received. Dealing with Ageism, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism In a couple of the social organizations I have worked for, retirees and elderly people are the majority and ageism becomes a norm. In most cases, these people expect young people to do field work as they concentrate on administrative duties. I have taken this positively as a means to gain practical skills rather than engage in unnecessary conflicts with staff members while needy people suffer. Racism is rare to encounter during social work because every social worker is seen as an angel. This notion is very significant to the nature of my work as it comfort and encourage me that my effort towards social work is not going to waste. However, I experienced racism in college; it is disheartening and requires a lot of moral strength to overcome the experience. I have experienced sexism once in this profession; male colleagues frustrated some ideas I proposed because they believed that a woman could not make worthy proposals. I discussed the issue with the supervisor. He mediated and resolved the issue amicably thus enabling me to improve my career. Lastly, I am not homophobic but dealing with homosexuals is challenging and requires a lot of skills to gain their trust. For example, they suspect every person and only open up to people who understand their sexual orientation and not people who will rebuke it. Promoting Social Justice Social justice refers to a condition of mutual obligation and fairness in society whereby all members are responsible for each other and promote the social growth and progress of other people. Majority of people still live below poverty line. It`s almost impossible to promote social justice single handedly. Therefore, to achieve the goal of promoting social justice, I have three main agendas in my dreams. First, I seek to form partnerships with institutions and individuals so that we can pool resources required to finance various social work projects. Second, I look forward to increasing the accessibility of social amenities in various areas affected by increasing accessibility to education and health services. This will help increase the chances of children succeeding in these communities. Lastly, empowering youths and adults to engage in diverse income generating activities will ensure that families have financial resources to buy food, educate children, seek medical care and improve their livelihoods. Experiences After living in a neighborhood inhabited by middle and lower class people in regard to socioeconomic status, I experienced and witnessed a number of challenges that people in these settings go through in life. These groups struggle to make ends meet. As parents toil to feed their families, children are left vulnerable to many challenges such as peer pressure, gang violence, drug use and prostitution among others. In most cases, these children succumb to these vices because many lack opportunity to attend school while others look for money to supplement the earnings of their parents. Experiencing these events inspired me to work hard and utilize the educational opportunity I had in life. Now, I look forward to helping these children and families across the state. I believe that given a chance for education, most of the children lost to drugs, prostitution, premature deaths and gang violence can look back into the past and also advance social justice to other needy people thus help to alleviate poverty in their communities. Career Path The completion of bachelor’s degree does not mean an end to education; I plan to pursue the master’s degree in Social Work then enroll for a doctorate in the same discipline. Meanwhile, I will continue working for Community Housing Partnership and gain more experience and competence. The master’s degree will open more opportunities at the Kaiser Hospital where I intend to work as a License Clinical Social Worker. Later, I have plans to establish a transitional center that helps convicted juveniles to re-enter adapt in the community once they serve their sentences in prison. In the past, I observed youths and adults fail to live a productive live after leaving prison. Rates of recidivism and wasted lives were high because ex-convicts received no help from society to help their rehabilitation outside prison. Therefore, I plan to enter into partnerships with various institutions and individuals to help improve the lives of youthful ex-convicts and reduce their chances of falling back into crime. My passion for helping others is the driving force behind my work and my studies in the field of Social Services.  Having directly experienced the joy and fulfillment from assisting the individuals, I feel propelled to commit myself more and more to the work.  If am selected, youll find me a dedicated, motivated, hard working, resourceful, and caring professional. I have a keen understanding of the need and practice of balancing the mission and policies with the social challenges and academic that will be presented by the completion of a masters degree. I`m looking forward for the opportunity to carry on with the study at CSUEB in a field I have a passion for. Read More