A fully bilingual and bicultural Mexican American woman, I now have a broad base of professional and life experiences in a variety of areas that I feel strongly will enable me to make important contributions as a Social Work professional. UXX is my first choice among MSW programs because of its location as the flagship online pioneer in social work; along with the fact that my social issue of greatest focus is military and veteran’s affairs, inspired very much by the courageous example of my daughter who is active-duty Air Force. When I am not giving my all to my career and my family, I enjoy taking road trips and hiking in nature. I was born and raised in Southern California, and I now live in Florida.
My understanding of the core values of the Social Work profession has very much been shaped by my current professional position with the XXXX Cancer Research Center Tampa, Fl. Moffitt (Nov 2016 – Present). As a Medical Assistant and a Patient Observer, I have had the opportunity to assist with a broad variety of privileges of service that have helped me to develop the skills that are especially critical to the Social Worker. I help patients with terminal cancer to spend the rest of their lives as comfortably as possible, physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
I have always had leadership tendencies and drives. First in high school and later in college, I lead many team projects, presentations, and papers. I work well under pressure, always meeting deadlines and encouraging and supporting the members of my team. I appreciate the responsibility that I have as a Patient Observer, monitoring the safety of the patient while relaying pertinent information to doctors and nurses - the patient’s mental status or any changes that occur in their physical condition. I know how to talk to patients to keep them calm, providing them with full support as their struggle against cancer enters its final stages.
Serving alongside my Supervisor and mentor, XXXX, completing an internship at the Department of Children and Families from (11/29/2016 - 03/27/2017) was also foundational to the establishment of my core values as a social worker. I worked as a CPI, conducting investigations regarding allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and/or special conditions for children, working very closely with law enforcement.
I helped to collect information through observation and interviews with children, parents, relatives, neighbors, and other parties associated with the case, as well as analyzing criminal records, past service histories, and other relevant documentation. I learned a great deal about family perspectives, dynamics, special challenges, and solutions.
Critical to my area of responsibility was the identification of need that was sufficient to spark critical intervention, voluntary or court ordered. I could not have been happier during that period, totally immersed in my work, assessing danger threats, child vulnerabilities, and caregiver protective capacities to accurately determine the extent to which a child was or was not safe. The drawback with this position was that I would go home thinking about the children and often wake up thinking about them as well. Two sides of the same coin, if one loves what they do, they just think about it wherever they are because something like this is so much more than a job – it is a life. It is my central passion and my greatest source of strength and joy.
I most thoroughly enjoy the rapid learning experience that I underwent at the Department of Children and Families, the analysis of danger threats in operation, management, and modification of safety plans as necessary during an investigation.
I arranged emergency placement for any child that could not safely remain in the home and notified the state attorney, law enforcement, child protection team members and other parties as appropriate. I provided present and impending danger assessments; completed risk assessment forms for families under investigation and explained risk scores to families involved.
My Internship Experience at XXXX Recovery Center (Jan 2016 to May 2016) serving as an Advocate/Intern also inspired me forward towards study through the MSW Degree, serving in a social work setting, answering phones, photocopying, scanning documents, rerouting calls to the proper departments. I prepared material for our female residents, gave presentations, and held group therapy meetings to educate in broad areas of life skills and healthy relationships, and designed activities to help the woman at the center to heal and live a more productive life. I answered the rape hotline, helping victims and this launched me on a lifetime quest to better understand the numerous, complex links between sexual violence and substance abuse, in particular.
I could not feel more strongly that I am the best fit with the MSW Program at UXX because of my passion for military social work. Since my daughter is an active member of the U.S Air force, increasingly, I hold dear all the veterans and the problems they face, especially as their service ends and their recovery – on so many distinct levels - begins. With each day that goes by my appreciation for the sacrifice of our service men and women grows deeper, as I reflect increasingly on the profound challenges that they face, particularly with respect to the family.
I was born and raised in Southern California and would see so many homeless vets in Long Beach, and street corners throughout L.A., the vast majority addicted to alcohol, drugs soft or hard, and/or prescription drugs. PTSD is real and I do not think that they are respected or given the help they need to recover, especially in terms of jobs and healthcare. I would like to do more research in this area. I know what it feels like to have a service member deployed and wonder if they will make it back home. The anxiety and fear that a family member feel can at times be overwhelming. I also believe that the transition back to civilian life is scarier and more overwhelming than it would have to be if the proper resources and personnel were there to inspire and assist our returning veterans throughout the process.
Children and families are especially dear to my heart and during my internship the abuse that I witnessed made an indelible impression on my heart and soul – especially where the abuse in question was clearly a direct result of substance abuse and domestic violence in the home. I will never forget the pain in the eyes of those that I interviewed. I have helped many people throughout my educational and personal journey, more adults than children, and many people have also helped me. I feel that I can bring hope and knowledge to vulnerable populations, especially the children of families in crises, particularly substance abuse and domestic abuse victims, most specifically our veterans and their families.
I am a compassionate person and value each life regardless of socioeconomic background. I have had doors closed in my face but never lost my great hope because of those special people along the way that have genuinely believed in me and given me an opportunity. I know what it feels like to have people inspire hope when there was none to be found because of difficult life circumstances. I want to inspire people that have been through traumatic life experiences to never give up hope. I want to give back to the community my knowledge and experience, sharing strategies, techniques, love and support.
My central, long-term goal is to work for a government installation or the department of Social Services helping families, children and military personnel struggling with substance abuse issues and PTSD. I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a concentration in Family and Child Services and a certificate in this area in May 2017. Every day brings me joy, helping people through the end-of-life experience, providing hospital care as a medical assistant interacting intensively with patients at this special time. This could not come more naturally to me since for as long as I can remember I have enjoyed helping people who had no one else to turn to for support: individuals that did not meet society’s norms and expectations, those simply turned away. I would acknowledge them and help them by providing a hearing ear and helpful information. I have overcome many obstacles and difficulties through a great deal of strength, perseverance, and determination. My hope is that by being a great listener and sharing my own stories, I can instill hope where hope is in danger of being lost. I want to be remembered as the lady who genuinely cared about homeless veterans on the streets of Southern California.
I thank you for considering my application to Social Work at UXX.
Personal Statement for the master's degree in social work