Getting my Masters of Social Work Degree

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I have been working as a social worker for the past three years. In all these years, it has always been my desire and passion to acquire enhanced social skills and knowledge to help me empower disadvantaged individuals and families take control of their lives. My desire therefore to pursue a Masters of Social Work degree (MSW) has been inspired by over three years of continuous work with families, children, youths and adults who require support to cope and combat oppressive structures and social injustices. It has therefore been my dream to pursue MSW program which I believe is the only program that can help me to accomplish my goal. Since childhood, my parents, teachers and pastors, have often taught me to be considerate of underprivileged people in our society and thereby help to make a positive difference in their lives. Despite hearing these positive remarks on a consistent basis, I never experienced the impact of being in an advocacy helping role. Participating in an advocacy role started in 2004 when I was encouraged by my choir teacher in high school, to attend a mission trip to Guyana. Experiencing this mission trip to Guyana was life changing for me. I had an opportunity to visit and spend time with children at orphanages, as well as packaging and distributing food items to families in need. The experience and advocacy skills I gained from the Guyana missionary program motivated me to participate in a community outreach project for Aboriginals in Winnipeg, in November of that same year. In light of the aforementioned personal and professional experience, the University of Victoria’s Masters of Social Work program mission statement part of which deals with anti-oppressive social work practice has motivated me to apply ... ... middle of paper ... ...weekends, I will spend at least 10 hours on class work. Thus, 17.5 hours of time that will be dedicated to this program on a weekly basis. I believe I can balance my education with my professional work because of the flexibility I have at my work place in scheduling appointments. I plan on scheduling more appointments during the day thereby having more time to do my school work in the evening at home. Living with my parents, and not having anyone depending on me, will also give me more opportunity to focus on my school work. Moreover, I completed an online social work course in the summer of 2009, Community Social Work. I experienced success in the class despite the demands of the program and other responsibilities I had as well. Works Cited http://www.canada.com/health/Tragic+number+aboriginal+children+foster+care+stuns+even+experts/8354098/story.html

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