January 24, 2004
Social Work Personal Narrative
Husband and I were cleaning out our office closet this morning, and I stumbled about the personal narrative I wrote when I applied to graduate school. I didn't have it saved to disk, so I spent some time retyping it. This was a very moving experience for me - I wrote this over three years ago, but it is still very relevant. In fact, I think it serves as a guidepost for me, and helps me remember why I went into social work and what my goals are. Although some things have changed (I did not go into school social work and I chose Health/Mental Health rather than Families & Children), the essence remains the same. I'm including here because I think it's an important part of who I am. Because I wrote it as part of an admissions packet, it is a tad self-promoting and even idealistic (and long), so bear that in mind as you read. Nevertheless, I still believe every word I wrote, and I plan on rereading it every few years or so to make sure I'm still on track with my goals and aspirations.
My name is Lee ***** ****, and I am applying to the Master of Social Work program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I graduated from UNC – Chapel Hill in May 2000, with a BA with Honors and with Distinction in Dramatic Art and Psychology. Since June 2000, I have been working as an administrator for the UNC Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center. The center supports research and research training in mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MRDD), and I am responsible for maintaining the administrative support structure for the center and its investigators. During my time with the center, I have learned a great deal about MRDD, and have enjoyed working with ****** *****, a well-known and highly respected psychiatrist devoted to promoting research in autism. I have observed the role of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers in this field, and though I do not anticipate focusing in MRDD, my time with the center has reaffirmed my desire to obtain a master’s degree in social work and pursue direct service opportunities. I have used this year between undergraduate and graduate school to contemplate my own personal and career goals, and after much reflection, research, and thought, I have chosen to apply to Carolina’s MSW program.
I owe my interest in social work to Cathy *******, one of the most important female figures in my life. Cathy is a counselor and teacher who spent part of her career with The New School in Montgomery County, Maryland. While at The New School, she worked with “second-chance” teenagers – young men and women who have been expelled from their high schools and are considered at-risk, yet still have the potential and the drive to overcome the obstacles and graduate with a high school diploma. Cathy was also my childhood neighbor and to this day, I call her my “other mother.” She has provided me with countless hours of counseling, guiding me through my teenage years and ensuring that both my mother and I made it through my adolescence alive. Cathy has been a vital role model for me, and ultimately pointed me in the direction of social work.
I vividly remember shadowing Cathy for a day. Although I was only 13 years old, she allowed me to attend her morning classes and accompany her students on an afternoon field trip to the Montgomery County Circuit Court. I watched how she interacted with her students both inside and outside the classroom, and was fascinated by how she related with even the most withdrawn, angry students. She managed to integrate education and teaching with counseling and mentoring, and her students responded. At-risk youth who had been expelled for drugs, violence, and the like were graduating and turning their lives around. I saw the different one woman could make in the lives of young people, and I was determined to follow in her footsteps. I just didn’t know how.
Again, Cathy helped my focus my interests and find my niche. She gave me a copy of Reviving Ophelia by Mary Bray Pipher, a book that continues to inspire and motivate me every time I read it. Pipher’s work reflects elements of my own adolescent experience – an experience that was often alienating and lonely. I realized that adolescent girls have both the potential to shine and to fade, and their talents and identities must be nourished if they are to thrive. Reviving Ophelia also elucidates the importance of a solid familial and societal structure for young women, and I am intrigued by the role of the family in sustaining the psychological health of young women. This book, coupled with my experience at The New School, fostered my desire to focus on adolescent girls and their families.
Cathy also introduced me to Playback Theatre, a forum where actors trained in psychodrama and other counseling forms would enact a scene based on an audience member’s story. The result was an accurate and sometimes humorous account of the event from several points of view, and the process was therapeutically beneficial for the audience member. For the first time in my life, I saw my two interests, drama and counseling, integrated in one form – the theatre became the mechanism for the psychology! My evening at Playback Theatre was, and remains, inspiring. I believe that the creative arts are a unique and successful element in psychological practice, and it is my goal to incorporate dramatic techniques in a therapeutic setting.
I am seeking my Master’s of Social Work at Carolina because I believe the program matches my desire for a broad-based curriculum that allows for some specialization. I researched several other graduate institutions with programs in Counseling Psychology, Drama Therapy, and Social Work, and most focused on one approach or one audience to the extent that other elements were neglected. Also, none of these degree programs encouraged direct intervention in a client’s environment to help alleviate the problem. I chose Carolina’s School of Social Work program because of its diversity in approach. The program not only addresses the client, but also the role of the family, environment, society, and policies that shape how we relate to and with each other. The curriculum also explores different therapeutic methodologies available to social workers, and reveals the benefits and limitations of each in theory and practice.
Carolina’s MSW program also stresses the importance of social justice in social work, and as a practicing Catholic, this is very important to me. I was raised in a liberal, yet devout, Catholic home where the focus of our spiritual practice was how to serve God by serving others. Rather than attend our church’s conservative Catholic school classes, my family joined other families (including Cathy's family) every month for “Family Learning Team,” a progressive religious group that included educational and service opportunities. We began every meeting with a discussion about a particular religious theme, broke off into families for a theme-related activity (making a poster, creating a skit, etc.), and then shared our creations together. Our meetings always included discussions on applying our religious convictions in our daily lives, and social justice and action were the tools for doing so. Most meetings involved some sort of community outreach or volunteer activity – my favorite was making sandwiches for McKenna’s Wagon, a program in Washington, D.C. that distributes food to the homeless and hungry. The ideals of social justice and serving others have always been a part of my life and remain central to my belief system and life goals. The incorporation of social justice and political action in the MSW program at Carolina allows me to integrate my professional aims and my personal convictions in a way that no other program can.
I believe I have the strengths and the determination to be an excellent social worker, and will have a positive influence in the lives of young people and their families. I value my interpersonal skills as one of my greatest assets, and I am confident they will serve me well as a social worker. I find it easy to communicate with others, and find that I am skilled at making people feel like they are heard. That goes beyond basic listening skills – it involves making people feel comfortable, safe, and respected. I also have a keen intuitive sense and recognize when people are in need – a quality I recognized very young and always felt set me apart. My mother tells me that as a child, I always knew when something was wrong, and I always tried to make things better. I’ve learned that when I trust my intuition, I am better equipped to handle any situation. Hopefully, as a social worker, I will be able to cultivate that sense of intuition in young people. I also foresee my extensive administrative background assisting me as a social worker. After speaking with professionals in the field, I know that administrative duties are an important, if not always welcomed, part of social work practice. From managing grants to coordinating symposia to handling the frustrations of bureaucracy, my experience has prepared me for the day-to-day duties of a social worker that do not involve direct service.
Finally, I would be a successful social worker because I can identify and empathize with the client. I know what it means to need help and how difficult it can be to ask for it. When I was 14 years old and a sophomore in high school, I transferred into a competitive academic program at a new high school. I did not make the transition well, and coupled with a two-week illness, my mental state declined rapidly. I was anxious, depressed, and lonely, and although I tried to hide these feelings, they always emerged at school in the form of tears. This cycle repeated itself for weeks before I finally asked for help. I began to meet with a licensed clinical social worker, Gene **********, who helped me sort through my anxiety and delve into its causes. Although the journey was difficult, Gene helped me gain a sense of awareness and confidence that remains with me today. Years later, I recognize that this experience, coupled with Cathy’s influence, fuels my interest in social work and, specifically, in helping other adolescent women. I am a more understanding, more compassionate person, and these qualities will make me a better social worker.
There are aspects about myself that I hope to strengthen and develop in Carolina’s MSW program. My empathetic nature, though at times advantageous, has been difficult for me to handle in the past. I want to work on separating the personal from the professional, and learn how to prevent becoming too involved with a client. In high school, my group of friends suffered from a number of problems, including eating disorders, rape, self-inflicted injury, and confusion about being homosexual. I was the caretaker and counselor in the group, and was so entrenched in other people’s problems that it became unhealthy and emotionally draining. The experience was a good lesson in the importance of creating boundaries, and fortunately, my college experience was much different and much improved. However, I recognize my tendency to personalize the problems of others, and it is a limitation I want to continue my work on while in the MSW program.
My career goals include working in the public school system, preferably at the secondary school level. Therefore, I intend to choose the Concentration in Services to Families and Children to prepare myself for working with children, adolescents, and their families, and for eventual licensure in School Social Work. One of the most debated issues in the public school system is sexual education and the role schools should play in disseminating information about sexual health, safer sex, abstinence, and contraception. While I realize that some of my ideas about this issue may be idealistic, I see the role of social work as integral in addressing this problem.
When I attended public school, I had the mandatory sex education classes in fifth and seventh grade. In fifth grade, my homeroom teacher tentatively explained what puberty was and how it affected boys and girls, and loosely discussed sex. In seventh grade, my gym teacher nervously delved into sexual health, contraception, and abstinence. Although both were excellent teachers in their specialties, neither had any sort of sexual health background. They were not prepared to handle specific student questions about sex, and there wasn’t a private forum where students could get information that directly pertained to their experience. High school was even worse – there were no mandatory sex education classes, and the only place to find any information was on a poster in the health room bathroom. As students, we were given a great deal of facts and figures about sex very early in our sexual development, and then received no guidance on applying this information in our relationships later on. Is it any wonder my high school had the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies in the county?
The field of social work has the potential to fill the void in sexual education. I realize that different school systems have different policies regarding sex education, and although social workers cannot overstep those enforced boundaries, we can advocate for programs that promote abstinence but also provide information about contraception. Social workers can help develop sex education curriculum, and regardless of policy, school social workers should be available to talk to students about sex and ensure that they have the right tools to make informed decisions. A proactive, preventative approach to teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs may lead to a reduction in pregnant and HIV-positive teens.
My interest in social work is multi-faceted. I want to help people achieve their potential and live great lives. I want to improve the conditions for youth in our schools, in our homes, and in our society. I want to live up to my personal convictions my choosing a career that allows me to serve other. Above all, I want to make a difference in the lives of young people and their families. By working towards my Master’s of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I believe I can do just that. Thank you for your consideration.
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I'm here!! - August 25, 2006
Finally, some good news - March 02, 2006
The Day That Almost Was - February 26, 2006
can you keep a secret? - February 01, 2006
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