A Career In Social Work

What does social work mean to you? Why do you want to be a social worker? When you think about yourself as a professional social worker, what do you see as your strengths and areas for development? My interest in social work started when I realized I was the person that my family and friends would come to for support. I found that I liked to listen to others and help them get through difficult times. Pursuing a career in social work will allow me to reach the community and support those with no resources available to them. Social work is the platform that will allow me to improve the lives of others and transform their futures. Social work to me means supporting my community and discovering ways to educate and give resources to those that

In October of 2013 my family’s lives and mine were turned upside down when my seven-year-old cousin was in an accident. My cousin fell through a sliding glass door and cut the main artery in his thigh. He was flown to the Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) where he spent the next four months having surgeries and fighting for his life. My family spent those four months traveling back and forth from Monterey to Stanford in order to help and support my cousin. During this time the hospital social worker came up to my family and offered to help us in any way that we needed. The social worker helped us find somewhere to stay and gave us information regarding the area surrounding LPCH. The social worker also provided us with a packet of information about how to cope with everything emotionally. I remember reading the packet and thinking that this could be my part in helping my family. My aunt and uncle had a five and two year old as well that had become a second thought when the accident happened. Both the five and two year old witnessed the accident and were traumatized by what had happened. I used the sibling section of the packet in order to help them get through the vision of seeing what had happened to their older brother. My family and I took on the parental responsibilities in order for my aunt and uncle to focus on their sick