Social Work Personal Statement

Throughout my high school career, I became increasingly involved with youth volunteer groups such as Pathways of Central Ohio’s Youth Leadership Council of Licking County (YLC) and Mental Health America of Licking County’s Prevent Assault and Violence Education (P.A.V.E.). Due to my involvement in these groups, my mother recommended that I become a social worker, and after speaking to someone from my church who is a social worker, I am convinced that social work will allow me to utilize the skills I learned in these groups to improve the lives of others. I believe that there are many things that I can bring many things to the social work profession upon graduation. One important skill a social worker should have, especially to be an effective and competent communicator with their clients, is empathy. They should be able to see things as the clients do and help them improve their lives as they see so they can help themselves when the social worker is out of the picture. In addition …show more content…
Two that I know I need to improve upon is my communication skills and my advocacy skills. Both are imperative components of this profession; however, I am not completely inept at them. In regards to communication, I need to improve my ability to keep a dialogue continuing with clients since I can be quieter around people I do not know. I realize that if I am unwilling to converse, they might be too, yet I know that I should not be dominating the conversation. I believe that the COM 2020 class I am required to take will help me improve upon this skill. In regards to advocacy, I more so need to learn the channels to take to properly advocate for a client and to help them be able to speak up for themselves in the future. SW 2710 is going to be a good place to start to learn this aspect of social work, but I think that the cohort will also be beneficial for me to improve this