Personal Statement to Apply for a Master's Program in Social Work Essay

My perception of social work changed when I began working at Nhan Hoa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic, which gave me insights on how assisting patients without insurance get medical assistance impacts their lives. During this experience, I provided health care programs that offered financial assistance to such patients. A handful of my patients always came back to show their appreciation for making their lives easier, which reinforced my belief that I was making a difference. My medical knowledge due to my Medical Assistant degree from Santa Ana College further assisted me in gaining the patients' trust when giving advice related to the health care programs. It also made it easier to establish rapport with the institutions that offered the health care programs. These experiences gave me insights on how being a social worker made a difference in people's lives and revealed how the skills I had gained were best suited for social work. Additionally, being a twenty-nine-years-old married lady with a three-year-old son makes me want to make the world a better place for him. For these reasons, I chose to volunteer at various institutions that deal with social work. Volunteering at Moving Forward Psychological Institute (MFPI) also changed my views regarding social work by revealing that it can be used to address prominent issues in society. For example, I learned about the current and increasing mental health crisis in the workplace, homes, schools, and communities. Additionally, I learned how dealing with people with mental illnesses assists individuals to enjoy a high-quality life. Lastly, I learned how other people should tend to mentally ill individuals by providing support. This approach often makes it easier for them to get through the difficult situation and go back to normal life. My period at Moving Forward Psychological Institute hence enabled me to gain an appreciation of the significance of mental health, and I have been working to help people who need assistance in the field even after leaving the organization. After learning how impactful social work is, I decided to shadow Mr. Thanh Do, a clinical licensed social worker, to observe, learn and become excellent at the job. Shadowing him has enabled me to gain insights on how to best deal with different situations to get the desired outcome. Another aspect that aids me in becoming a better social worker is my experience as an immigrant. Being an immigrant and a Vietnam native, I have endured discrimination during my stay in the U.S. For example; some people did not want me to help them due to my race. Therefore, as a social worker, I will be more sensitive when dealing with people from diverse backgrounds to avoid similar outcomes. Having most of my family members back in Vietnam also made me experience feelings of loneliness and anxiety. However, over the years I have made more friends, and this has enabled me to become settled and feel at home in this country. This experience makes it easier for me to empathize with those sharing similar plights. Another challenge that I faced after immigrating into the U.S. was that I was nervous and shy and encountered difficulty speaking confidently either to individuals or in front of an audience. My sensitive nature mainly resulted from fearing rejection from my classmates for not being fluent in English. However, I have learned how to interact with people and communicate with them effectively without being shy and voice my opinions while listening to what others have to say. These skills have assisted me when interacting with various people, especially in social work which requires effective communication skills. Lastly, gaining insights on social work, learning how to be an excellent social worker and using my experiences to become a better social worker have made me decide to pursue graduate education in social work.

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Therefore, I hope to join California State University, Fullerton to gain the skills that will enable me to better deal with various issues affecting people in my community. My goal is to learn how to help people with mental health issues, substance abuse, as well as other addictions. I have discovered that these are issues that adversely affect many people, especially in the middle and low-income households primarily since they lack the finances required to get the needed treatment. To help them, I want to learn how to effectively create support groups or other programs to help people cope with different illnesses. I, therefore, wish to concentrate on community mental health at California State University, Fullerton. I have chosen this institution because it teaches students how to work with disadvantaged, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. Additionally, it assists students in dealing with people from economically, culturally, and socially diverse environments. My main limitation to becoming an excellent social worker is that I am not aware of some of the psychological and social determinants of human behavior. I, therefore, hope to learn how to determine people's motives for carrying out different actions to be able to identify the most appropriate course of action to take to help them.

In light of my aforementioned developmental goals, I have derived various professional objectives as a social worker. I aim to assist people from disadvantaged and marginalized communities to receive the help they need when dealing with mental health issues and drug and substance abuse. I also target to work with people from all backgrounds without discrimination. Additionally, I aim to provide mentorship and guidance to other social workers who will join the field, later on, to enable them to become productive and competent professionals in their different roles. I hence aim to provide encouragement and emotional support to different people to help them capitalize on their strengths and reach their potential. Incidentally, in case I am dealing with young people who have issues of substance abuse, my goal will be to help them become sober and also find their purpose or passion, and ensuring that they do not go back to the same circumstances that led them to drug abuse. Similarly, I will help those with mental health illnesses to overcome their conditions and then determine what they should do to ensure that they minimize the chances of going through the same challenges again. I also aim to help clients resolve their conflicts by being an excellent mediator to enable them to make the changes required to address the disputes. Finally, I intend to continue researching and learning how to deal with different clients in a bid to help make their lives easier and better.

Conclusion

Based on my professional goals, the main group of people that I would like to serve are the less fortunate in society. These include people from marginalized communities, the poor, and those who have been shunned by others because of their differences. Over the years, I have interacted with people from diverse populations. However, working at Nhan Hoa Healthcare Clinic has profoundly influenced my decision regarding working with marginalized communities. Nhan Hoa Healthcare Clinic improves the well-being of Orange County's diverse population through outreach, education, and community health services. Working at the clinic has enabled me to interact with people from different ethnic groups, who have varying cultures and social-economic status, as well as diverse sexual orientation. This experience has also enabled me to celebrate and appreciate people's differences. I have learned that even though people have very different backgrounds, many have similar core values which allows them to interact effectively and also help each other. At Nhan Hoa Healthcare Clinic, we have served people from various backgrounds and helped enroll thousands of uninsured children and adults to state-sponsored health insurance programs. Working here has hence helped me achieve my goal of being a social worker and helping people facing economic constraints. Lastly, having developed a passion for social work by volunteering as a social worker, I endeavor to work hard and be a role model for my three-years-old son by demonstrating that one should pursue their passion. I hope to join California State University, Fullerton for Masters in Social Work to follow my passion and achieve my goal of making my community better by helping one person at a time deal with the problems they are facing and find their purpose and passion and consequently achieve their potential. It is with great honor that I submit this application for your consideration.