Here she is!

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I believe most social workers and people in helping professions would say they felt called or drawn to the work they are doing and I am no different.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a helper; working with people to improve their lives and achieve goals has been and continues to be the passion of my life.  While the road that has led me to the decision to pursue my Masters degree has been full of twists and turns, the theme that stands out to me is helping.  Whether working with the homeless or with delinquent youth, in North Dakota or Tennessee, I strive to be a support and advocate for those seeking to change their lives and feel that by working towards my Masters of Social Work I will be better qualified and able to continue to serve those in need.

My motivation for pursuing social work has manifested itself in a multitude of facets and interests throughout my educational and professional career, but I believe what strings these seemingly random and scattered ideas together is helping other people realize their strengths and make positive changes in their lives.  Initially I pursued my undergraduate degree after reading about various issues plaguing the continent of Africa and felt called to help right the social injustices that have beleaguered many African countries for years.  While in pursuit of my degree, I found myself completing my volunteer hours at various homeless shelters around the area and coincidentally found myself engrossed in the stories and struggles many of the residents shared with me regarding the multitude of issues that led them to their current situation.

            As graduation drew nearer, I found my motivation shifting to more macro-level approach.  I realized through my undergraduate years that my passion lied more with communities than individuals and because of that, I completed an internship with Fargo Housing and Redevelopment Authority that focused on reaching neighborhoods of public housing residents and working to build community and connections to existing services.  Following graduation I served two years in the Community HealthCorps, a branch of AmeriCorps State/National, in Nashville, TN, as an outreach worker focusing on diabetes management.  My service years and subsequent employment provided me the opportunity to work with people of diverse backgrounds and also an in-depth look at the inefficiencies that often plague non-profits, government, and aid programs.  Those inefficiencies are my motivation for pursuing my MSW; by furthering my education I hope to pursue work advocating for large-scale social policy changes to government and non-profit programs.

            When I read the NASW Code of Ethics for the first time, I realized I had made the perfect choice in my future profession.  I had spent a large part of my adolescence in clubs and groups dedicated to volunteer projects and community service and wasn’t aware at that point that a career existed that would allow me to continue that work and even pay me for it!  During my undergraduate studies, I spent time working for Lutheran Social Services in Attendant Care, an alternative to jailing program for minors.  It was through my employment there that I learned to value the importance of human relationships in regard to social work.

            Attendant Care provided care to juveniles for up to 48 hours after their offense in a small room connected to the Juvenile Detention Center in Fargo, ND.  Many times staff worked alone with juveniles for 12 hours at a time, which provided ample time to talk about various issues in their lives and the daily schedule set aside time to discuss goal setting and home life, which I found to be my favorite part of the position.  Working with the kids to determine and set goals for after their release allowed them an opportunity to discuss what they felt was important in their life and opened avenues for discussion in a judgment-free way.  This is something I have continued to use in my practice as a case manager and feel it is the most effective tool to build trust in a working relationship with clients.  Additionally, I feel these experiences are something that will continue to inspire and motivate me as I move toward a more macro-level practice.

            Social justice is not only a central value of the social work profession, but also something about which I am personally passionate.  In my work as a case manager at clinic that provides medical care to the uninsured, I have become increasingly aware of the disparities in access to and quality of care provided to those without insurance or ability to pay and feel that in a country as wealthy and powerful as the United States, it is unacceptable.  I have witnessed hundreds of patients go without the care and medications they desperately need due to cost of treatment or low health literacy.  Throughout my work at United Neighborhood Health Services I have been able to connect many patients, especially undocumented immigrants; to various assistance programs that provide the medications they need as well as work one-on-one with diabetics to increase their understanding of how to manage their disease. 

This work has been an incredible way to gain experience in promoting social change and equal opportunity for individuals, but has also provided me a basis of knowledge to carry forward to macro-level work; in my new role as an Outreach and Enrollment Counselor for the Affordable Care Act, I will now work to promote access to health insurance and medical care via the Marketplace and seek to increase health literacy among communities.  It is my belief that by furthering my education I will gain more experience and the skills necessary to continue to strive for equal access and quality of medical care for all citizens.

 My experiences with diversity have been a very large and profoundly shaping influence on my life both personally and professionally for many years.  Before I began my career, I studied Spanish at the collegiate level and was fortunate enough to visit two Spanish-speaking countries.  My studies and travels afforded me the opportunity to learn about cultural and social norms and have given me a broad basis to use in my professional work to provide culturally competent assessments and treatment plans for patients.  I have found that communicating in a patient’s native language has also allowed me to build rapport and trust in working relationship in a way that a non-Spanish speaker cannot. 

Of course diversity isn’t dependent upon language and in the three years I spent as a case manager in Nashville, my average client was an African American diabetic roughly 20 years my senior who lived on less than $10,000 a year.  In the beginning, it was difficult and challenging to establish trust in my working relationships with clients due to these and a host of other differences because I lacked exposure and experience in working with a client so wildly different from me.  I spent a lot of time talking to my supervisor and researching best practices for working with diverse client populations over the first few months and I am now confident in my ability to establish rapport and empathize with a variety of populations.

The decision to pursue my Masters degree has given me to spend time reflecting on not only my motivation for furthering my education, but also my past experiences.  As my GPA shows, I struggled in the beginning as an undergraduate; I did not take my coursework seriously and was ill-prepared to balance work and school.  I was placed on academic probation and used that time to re-evaluate my goals.  I returned the following semester with renewed purpose and determination to success; I took a smaller course load, reduced my work hours, and passed all of my classes with a 3.0 GPA!  The determination I demonstrated then and in subsequent semesters is a quality I have carried forward both personally and professionally; I have developed better time management skills and have found success with prioritizing obligations in a professional setting.   

Even before pursuing social work as a career, I was typically the person my friends came to when they needed advice or to discuss a problem.  I learned through that time that being an active listener is one of greatest strengths and a quality I use both personally and professionally.  I found that by using active listening, I am able to get a better understanding of what is going on in people’s lives and also help them clarify their thoughts and feelings about various issues.  Additionally, being an active listener provides me an opportunity to empathize with people; by truly understanding and validating a person’s feelings, I am better able to offer compassion for their situation.

Communication skills, including active listening, also tie into what I believe makes an effective leader.  This belief has led me to examine my communication skills and style to ensure I am able to effectively communicate with supervisors, colleagues, clients, and friends and family in way that is comfortable and clear to them.  I have had supervisors in the past that did not communicate in a way that was clear to me which caused confusion and delays in projects; by using multiple avenues of communication I feel I will avoid those problems.

I believe creativity to be one of the most important qualities in a leader that aspires to be effective.  By being open to suggestion and trying new approaches, a leader allows everyone to feel a sense of ownership in a project, which can increase morale and participation.  This is essential in a social worker in that working with clients to promote autonomy and self-determination requires collaboration on goal setting.  In my personal life I enjoy a variety of outlets from knitting to running and I carry the cathartic experience I gain from those activities into my practice by encouraging clients to find an activity or hobby they enjoy.  By providing clients with potentially non-traditional or new outlets, I feel they are able carry the ability to think outside the box into their personal lives by making positive choices and changes. 

My professional goals seem to be an ever-changing list filled with causes and injustices that desperately need advocating.  As I have stated, my passion lies in macro-level work and I hope after completing my Masters that I find work advocating for health care and immigration policy reform.  I also have an interest in pursuing international social work focused on economic development of Latin American countries.  Overall, my most important professional goal is to become a well-educated, competent social worker and I feel that by pursuing my Masters degree, I am one step closer to achieving that goal.