1. What is Social Work?
Social Work is the act of helping individuals that are in need. The key component in the definition is the word “helping“. This profession requires its workers to enact never-ending selfless duties to those that are unable to secure help themselves. Social Work isn’t always used exclusively in extreme welfare situations but it can be used in a laidback setting such as getting a child into after school activities until their guardian is home from work. In essence, social workers are the connecting agent to goods and services with individuals that are in need.
2. How did you happen to choose Social Work as your career?
I made my decision to choose Social Work as my career field because I know that it is extremely diverse and it is applicable to almost every job I have dreamt of doing. The most important thing I have learned throughout the my college years is to pick a profession that you will enjoy and I do believe this is key to a successful life. As a person I enjoy seeing individuals progress in life and I believe that Social Work is the ultimate helping profession. I have also been the person on the receiving end of help and I know the feeling of relief and gratefulness that is exuberated. I know that in this field I will not be greeted with smiles all the time but my goal is to ensure that all of my future clients leave with smiles after consultations with me.
3. Identify and analyze some of the more salient life experiences that contributed to your development as a person.
One of the most important life experiences I have gone through is the marriage of my mother and stepfather. Like most black children, I grew up seeing very little of my biological father. The difference between my story and theirs is that I was fortunate enough to have another strong, positive, black male enter into my life. My stepfather is the key to my upbringing because without him I am very positive my life would not have been the same. I think of him so highly because he came into my life and took on the role as father without being asked. He never talked bad about my biological father in fact my stepfather brought me and my father closer when I was growing up. This has impacted me by showing me that not every black man is irresponsible also the unlimited knowledge my stepfather has shined on me has helped me conquer all of my goals thus far.
Another life experience that contributed to my growth as a person was growing up in a family where I was the only child enrolled in a “gifted” school. Out of all my siblings (9) and also my cousins (8+) I was the only one that went to a private elementary school. This instilled in me that I had to achieve greater goals than everyone else. I did not ride the bus like everyone else, I had more extracurricular activities than my siblings and more importantly my work was faster paced than the work at other schools. Throughout these years I would hear my mother speak to my family about me and how great I was doing in school. My family began to look at me as the prodigy and I felt pressured to do great. During middle and high school I struggled with teenage life, my grades, and trying to keep up with the high standards my mother set for me. When it was time for graduation I came out on top and was accepted to many great colleges. When I made my decision to come to Tuskegee University my whole family was excited because I was the first one to enroll in higher education after my high school diploma. To this day my family still looks to me as the prodigy and I feel like if I fail to achieve my goals, it is not just a loss for me, but a loss for my family as well. This has shaped me to be a more determined person and I believe that this personality trait will do nothing but benefit me in my future.
4. Identify some of your strengths and weaknesses as a person and as a student. View them as presenting problems, describe underlying problems, and devise a treatment plan for reducing or eliminating your weaknesses and enhancing your strengths.
My greatest weakness as a person is that I view the world through rose-colored glasses. This means I believe that almost any and everything is just great and that everyone has my best interest in mind. In the past few years I have noticed that I am too quick to trust individuals and I am always the one that gets my feelings hurt. I grew up shy and I stayed to myself so I believe that is what caused this weakness. I was very self-conscious and not used to an abundance of social interaction which hindered my amount of early learning about people. I believe that only life lessons will help me conquer this weakness. Becoming more active in the community or school will also help to bring me out of my shell and allow me to be put in a variety of situations that will help me conquer this weakness. A weakness that I have as a student is my inability to multi-task. At times it gets hard for me to keep different projects going at the same time. I feel I work better on one project at a time. As I get further along in my studies it is becoming necessary for me to work on more than one item of work at a time. SOWK 300 has also helped me conquer this weakness because the computer application projects are sometimes due three times a week.
My greatest strength is my ability to empathize with individuals. I am a great listener and I can always make an individual feel better after talking to me. I believe it is just in my nature to be a caring person and this trait has helped me better network so far in life. As a student my greatest strength is knowing to get help when I need it. I never hesitate to ask my professors or fellow colleagues for assistance in class. This stems from my mother instilling the saying “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.” in me as a child. I have found out that quote is good to live by because you can not secure help if nobody knows you need it.
5. Why are poor people poor?
Poor people could be poor for numerous reasons. The most important reason being because of lack of education. I believe this is a major component to poverty. Individuals are unable to secure sufficient education therefore they are unable to live a healthy lifestyle and sufficiently provide for their families. Education is the key to success and without this important segment it is hard to efficiently survive in society. It is also a know fact that usually people tend to surround themselves with individuals that are like them. In essence, the poor are surrounded by more poor which causes a cycle. Poor children lack role models to show them the way to live a better more informed life. If the children were able to see what they are capable of they are more likely to try to achieve greatness. In our world today, employers are requiring the minimum of a high school diploma to receive employment. When the high school diploma is not attained most children turn to the streets and end up going down the wrong path. I believe that in most cases poor people do not have to be poor because everybody is capable of success. In some cases individuals just have to work harder than others and are at an unfair advantage that may contribute to their economic situation.
6. How did you become acquainted with social work?
I became acquainted with social work because my mother is a foster parent.
7. How has social work education affected your goals, lifestyle, values and beliefs?
My social work education has helped me to not only be successful but to impact individual’s lives. Throughout my schooling I have been informed that it is important to humble yourself and help others. I now am more thoughtful of others.
8. What about diversity and self awareness in relation to:
A) Culturally diverse groups? I believe in order to help others we need to become sure of ourselves and be comfortable in our skin. To help others you must also know what disadvantages and problems is that culture more susceptible to without being stereotypical.
B) Disadvantaged groups? These groups are in need of positive feedback and assurance. Most of the time they lack self confidence which makes them have a more negative outlook on their situation.
C) Women’s Issues? Being a woman you have to understand that there will be a constant battle for equality. You also have to understand that women are just as capable as men to do/be anything.
D) Sexual Preference Issues? In issues of sexual preference I have come to understand that another individuals preference has nothing to do with me and should not sway my decisions toward them as a person whatsoever. As time goes on there will be more cases like these.
9. What have been the major influences in your social work education?
A)Person? My foster siblings. Over the past 5 years there have been 8 kids that have lived in our house. They ranged from age 3 months to 16 years. When interacting with the children you learn about their issues and see how the social system works. They made me more passionate about helping children.
B) Course? SOWK 245. This class was the most informative and taught me about the social laws and policies. It also taught me when the laws were implemented and their purpose.
C) Books? The Social Welfare book used for SOWK 245. As I previously mention I feel as though that book contained an abundance of information that made me understand my major and understand what type of field social work is.
10) What social work roles do you feel comfortable doing?
At this point I am unfamiliar with any social work role that I am uncomfortable playing. I feel like I am currently being adequately prepared and informed on the possibilities that will come in the future. I love the social work advocate role. I feel as though this role comes naturally and it is sometimes one of the most important roles. I can definitely advocate sufficiently for another individual. The social work role I am the most uncomfortable with is that of the counselor. I feel like this is the most difficult role because there are certain boundaries in which an individual is supposed to stay in. Its hard for a person to not be opinionated when helping others in similar situations or situations that are unhealthy to others. I have to do the most work on myself to be able to successfully play the role of a counselor.
11) What are your professional strengths and weaknesses?
My professional strength is my ambition. I want to do extremely well professionally so I will go the extra mile and do the extra work to get to where I want to get in my career. My ambition allows me to get my job done right and in an efficient amount of time. My weakness is my organization skills. It is hard for me to keep track of everything that is going on because I do not write things down. I know how to organize I just need to practice and instill this quality in me. I have gotten better at organizing as the years have progressed but I am not where I want to be at this point.
12) Do you recognize a personal need for change in…
I recognize I need a personal change in my tolerance of other people’s opinions. I am a great debater and usually if someone does not agree with what I am saying then I will break it down for them and explain and once that is done I will try to make them agree with me. Recently in SOWK 355, my classmates described me as very opinionated and that is what brought it to my attention. Now that I know that I have this problem I am trying to work on it. I believe this will require me to be more understanding and allowing other people to express their feelings without me jumping down their throat if I do not agree with the opinion that they have chosen to express. In SOWK 355, I was also told that I was un-accepting of individuals that are different than me. I do not believe this to be true but I have learned that I should not be worried about what the individual clients race or sexual preference, but rather how I can help them.
13) Upon graduation, where do you see yourself?
Upon graduation I see myself have a general overview of the social work profession. I believe I will be adequately prepared for my next step which is graduate school. I understand that when I enter the work force I will have to work my way to the top but I am excited about the journey that is ahead of me. I cannot wait for the experience that I will gain throughout my internships. Eventually, I see my self being the head of the department I will be working in.
