Personal Reflection: Introduction To Community Services In Guam

Before enrolling into Introduction to Community Services in Guam, my knowledge of services found on the island was minimal. The services I had knowledge of were the common ones such as the Salvation Army, Erica's House, and the Catholic Social Services. Although knowing these community services, I was unaware about how they functioned or knew the inner-workings of these community services. In spite of the fact that I have participated in services through the means of extracurricular activities from high school, I lacked the information about how these services worked. Through the various lectures, group discussions, assignments, and the many Ted Talks videos, I have better understood social work and community services, as well as gaining more

The key point was about civic engagement. My government teacher told us that even though we disliked politics, we should participate in our community if we want to induce a change. We can complain about how the system is corrupted, but if we abstain from participating in any political or civic engagement, then the problems will continue to occur. What this course stressed is that ideas are better said than done. Even though we can participate in the community, there is a significant amount of work that is needed to be done in order to produce a change. One piece of information I learned is that people usually change when there is a natural disaster. Looking back through the Great Depression and into the war, many people engaged in the war because the majority of the population needed jobs, money, food, and shelter. They needed that change, but a better alternative is inducing change without the need of a natural

It also teaches us to respect one another and understand some of the situations that people have gone through. The class also informs us of local and national problems to keep us updated on what is happening in our community. To learn, understand, and grow is what I would describe this class. Overall I am a different person now than I was at the beginning of the semester. I gained some wisdom, knowledge, and grew as a person, while still continuing to