Social Work Program Analysis

This university offers a school of social work and ties at 17th place with other colleges in the United States for this major (Freshman Class Profile). The acceptance rate is 66% and the average GPA of students is 3.21-3.71. In this particular school, one of the three of their main overarching goals is to “Foster professional development, socialization, and identification with social work through an approach that links reflective practice, self-awareness, and ethical decision making which promotes the importance of continuing education and life-long learning.” (BSW Student Handbook). This specific program goal stands out because it captures the essence of what studying social work will be like at UIUC and the sort of growth that will take place as students learn and foster their inner passion for social work.

Katie is, first of all, I am happy to know that I am in the right major. I could relate to her experience as an undergraduate student, where she did not know what she wanted to do with her life. I struggled with the same thing before starting college. Even though I have had personal life experiences that could motivate me into choosing the social work major, I still was not sure if I was a good fit to the field. Now that I am in the child welfare class, I understand that child welfare is an understanding foundation of the system that exist around social work as a whole as well as child welfare.

My strengths are my acquired knowledge and skills acquired from my education, work experience, and foundational year field practicum experience. My case conceptualization skills allowed me to gather information, and assess the situation; then, transfer and apply learned social work practices, principles and theories into analytical problem solving utilizing the tenets of Critical Race Studies to offer innovative solutions that are both dynamic and relevant to the population I am serving. Equally important, is my cultural competence and sensitivity through direct interaction with people from diverse backgrounds both as clients and colleagues. In addition, I have established a strong network with my fellow student interns within my cohort that have allowed clients to connect with additional resources through my networking with my cohort. I have also benefitted from working collaboratively with federal judges, trial attorneys and defense attorneys, which enabled me to garner their trust and support, allowing me to further advocate for the clients I serve.

The quality MSW program offered at Our Lady of the Lake will enable me to conduct research into, and increase my understanding of the diversity this program entails. I know that my adaptive personality will help me to form lasting connections to further build my professional goals. I believe that I my passion, drive, having an open mind and willingness to learn will grant me success as a Social Worker. I am determined to do all that I can to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Work and commit myself to improving the social and personal experiences of family’s, geriatrics, and children. After receiving my degree, I want to find a career in Child Welfare, while also servicing the geriatric

I have struggled to keep my school work a priority as I need to balance it with my part-time work and with the things I like to do to keep my life as normal as possible (like cheerleading and spending time with my friends). I am very honored and thankful to be the first the person in my family to attend college fall of 2016. As I strive to end my senior year positive, I always remember to tell my younger siblings to try as hard as they can in school, because “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I’ve decided that I would like to get my degree in social work, specifically working with children. Growing I’ve been around kids that are unhappy with thier home, but couldn’t do anything about it.

Growing up in a foster home has opened my eyes and my heart to the wonderful world of social work. Ever since I was eight years old, my family has taken in several kids in need of a home and a family. Changing their lives was something I take pride in. There isn’t a better feeling in the world than being able to help someone out in need, protecting and comforting them.

I have worked countless hours to assure that I can be a student that not only I am proud of but others

My need to feel self-actualized drove me to study social care practice, allowing me to develop knowledge and interpersonal skills that will qualify me to become social care practitioner. (Cited in Charleton, M. 2014 p.

Who I identify as, including identifying as a social worker once I graduate, will have some level privilege and power attached to the chosen identities. Gelfand, Sillivan, and Steinhouse (2002) noted that there are may dimensions that influence our personal and professional relationships with others, and these dimensions shape how we see and interact with, include or exclude them, and ways that we oppress or discriminate against them. As a social worker whose clients share my same identity, we may benefit by my having a shared understanding of cultural norms and expectations to reach a common goal. For clients who share commonalities with me, we may benefit by being able to work more collaboratively and possibly a more trusting relationship than one that must be built over time. However, just as similarities can be empowering, I must remember that the client knows best despite our shared identities that may speak otherwise.

I am confident that the skills that I will gain from completing a social work master’s degree will help me collaborate with people in need and aid sustainable growth in their lives. My first introduction to social work as a profession came while living on a small

The social work role in mental health is that of the social context and social consequences of mental illness. The purpose of social work practice is to promote recovery, restore individual family and community wellbeing in order to enhance the development of each individual’s power and control over their lives. This will also promote advance on the principals of social justice. The social work practice begins with the individual and then extends to family, social networks, community and the broader society (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2008). Individuals with mental health illness’ seek professional help during difficult times, discrimination and stigma, freedom from abuse, support to recover, getting their own homes and jobs

But anyways, I’m still proud of my accomplishment, as I mention before, been able to write more than three pages’ essay. Furthermore, if I had to take this class again, I would actually put more effort in my writings and I wouldn’t procrastinate has much as I did this semester. In the end, I think I performed rather well in the class, but I felt I could have done

Numerous times, we see people and we think the worst thing first. Luckily for this week’s case study in the book, The Social Work Experience, An Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, by Mary Ann Suppes and Carolyn Cressy Wells, LaTonya was graciously given the opportunity to remedy her problem instead of the social worker just giving up on her and removing the kids. When Lauren offered LaTonya the help she needed to make decent choices, she empowered her to be the driver of her own success. In my experience we tend to be more successful when we feel as though we fixed a debauched situation instead of being made to fix the situation.

This program was comparable with the “out of the box” thinking, however was geared more so towards applying my learning to the community. While impacting the community positively through projects, I worked on my leadership skills and how to effectively collaborate with people from all walks of life. Asking questions, giving feedback, analyzing primary documents, and presenting to others was common in Communities. Some projects that have really stuck with me over the years are when I interviewed war veterans to share their previously untold stories and creating an event to fundraise for iPads for students with Autism. Even after those projects, and various others I’ve done in Communities, I was still encouraged to continue to do amazing things in the

Both accomplishments, especially my scores on the Advanced Placement exams, gave me a sense of self-confidence and faith in my ability to accomplish my goals that I had