Revised Statement



“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”  I recently came across this quote by Audre Lorde and feel it summarizes my attitude toward social work as a profession.  The unique person-in-environment perspective social work uses allows me to take a holistic approach in working with clients that acknowledges the variety of issues and pressures they face each day.  As I pursue my Masters of Social Work this quote will serve as a reminder of the complexity of people’s situations and necessity of advocating for social justice issues.

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 this seemingly random and scattered collection of interests 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 completed my volunteer hours at various homeless shelters around the area and found myself engrossed in the stories and struggles many of the residents shared regarding the multitude of issues that led them to their current situation but felt powerless to make a significant impact.

            As graduation drew closer, I found my motivation shifting to more macro-level work.  I realized that my passion lied more with communities than individuals and I completed an internship with Fargo Housing and Redevelopment Authority to explore that interest and learn more about public housing.  I facilitated a craft group for the residents of Pioneer Manor, a property dedicated to housing the elderly, during my internship that promoted community and provided an informal way to assess residents’ health and wellbeing.  The group was established before my internship, but gave me the opportunity to meet a variety of residents and become familiar with their culture.  I was able to advocate for the residents at meetings with building and organization supervisors to ensure their needs would continue to be met and their environment would remain unchanged during upcoming renovations.

Following graduation I served two years in the Community HealthCorps 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 and inequalities that plague our healthcare industry.  Navigating the healthcare system for an undocumented immigrant was never easy.  I spent many hours translating forms for patients that were not available in Spanish and struggled to find facilities for referrals that employed Spanish-speaking staff.  Procuring affordable medication was another big hurdle; many assistance programs do not serve undocumented immigrants.  These 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 healthcare and immigration reform.

            During my adolescence I enjoyed participating in clubs and groups dedicated to community service and felt a passion for helping people make improvements in my community. When I read the NASW Code of Ethics for the first I felt it mirrored my feelings on my past volunteer experiences and knew I made the correct choice in pursuing social work as a career.  During my undergraduate studies, I spent time working for Lutheran Social Services in Attendant Care, an alternative to jailing program for youth.  It was through my employment there that I learned to value the importance of human relationships.

            Attendant Care provided care to juveniles for up to 48 hours after their offense in a small room connected to the Juvenile Detention Center.  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.  As someone who is genuinely interested in helping people succeed, I found I was a natural at helping people define goals and the steps they needed to take to reach them.  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.

            Social justice is not only a central value of the social work profession, but also something about which I am personally passionate.  Through my work as a case manager at a clinic, I have become increasingly aware of disparities in access and quality of care for the uninsured and I feel that in a country as wealthy and powerful as the United States, it is unacceptable.  Over the course of three years working with one patient, Mr. Nuila, I have been able to connect a story to this issue.  When I first met Mr. Nuila he had been laid off from his job as a restaurant manager and was working part-time at McDonalds.  He was ineligible for company health insurance, made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, and could not afford to see his primary care doctor.  Mr. Nuila came to me to find help paying for his insulin and I worked tirelessly to connect him to resources that could provide assistance.  I felt a surge of accomplishment when Mr. Nuila began receiving affordable care at the clinic and was accepted into an assistance program to cover the cost of his medication.

Diversity has been a large and profoundly shaping influence on my life both personally and professionally for many years.  As an undergraduate, I minored in Spanish and was fortunate to visit two Spanish-speaking countries.  My studies and travels afforded me the opportunity to learn about cultural and social norms and gave me a broad basis to use in my work to provide culturally competent services to patients.  In Hispanic culture it is not uncommon for children to care for their aging parents.  One of my patients, Ms. Altamirano, a 50 year old Hispanic woman, was living with her daughter and her family for the past year after emigrating from Mexico due to failing health.  Ms. Altamirano’s daughter accompanied her to appointments, handled her medication and testing regimen, and supported her financially by working extra hours at her job.  I was able to use my knowledge of Hispanic culture to create a plan for managing Ms. Altamirano’s blood sugar levels that took into account her connection to Mexican cuisine, her familial structure, and the family’s tight budget.  Both the patient and her family were very grateful for my cultural competency and seeing my patient succeed solidified my choice to work with undocumented immigrants.

The decision to pursue my Masters degree has given me time to reflect on not only my motivation for furthering my education, but also my past experiences and personal growth.  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 succeed; I took a smaller course load, reduced my work hours, and passed all of my classes with a 3.0!  I found that actively engaging in my classes and assignments caused me to flourish and my GPA increased each semester until graduation.  The determination I demonstrated then and in subsequent semesters is a quality I have carried forward both personally and professionally. I developed better time management skills by breaking down large projects into manageable tasks and have found success with prioritizing obligations in a professional setting.

Communication is not only a skill attributed to good leadership, it is also central to an effective social work relationship. It has been my experience that communicating effectively with my patients is the most important part of my job, especially those who are illiterate.  Last year, I had an illiterate participant in a nutrition class I taught for pre-diabetics and I used a variety of audio and visual aids to tailor lessons for her.  While it presented challenges, I was able to be creative in asking her to take pictures of her meals to discuss at classes.  This empowered the patient to take control of her diet and gave me an opportunity to accurately evaluate her food choices.

My professional goals seem to be an ever-changing list filled with causes and injustices that desperately need advocating.  As I stated, my passion lies in macro-level work and I hope after completing my Masters that I find work advocating for healthcare or immigration policy reform.  I also have an interest in non-profit management or returning to work for a housing agency.  Overall, my most important professional goal is to become a well-educated, competent social worker and I know that by pursuing my Masters degree, I am one step closer to achieving that goal.