Below I have answered four questions as part of the Grad School admission process.
All feedback will be very appreciated and considered! Thank you.
1. What significant life events have most influenced your present development and your desire to be a marriage and family therapist?
2. What are your professional career goals after completing your degree?
3. What are your strengths that will help you achieve your professional goals?
4. What do you consider to be areas for personal growth that may need the most attention during your training as a therapist at Hope International University?
1) One of the most significant events that influenced me in becoming a marriage family therapist was when I was interning/working at Project Impact. As a tutor there, I was assigned to tutor three elementary school sisters in their home. As the weeks progressed, their parents began to open up to me in a wide range of issues, such issues included: children's behavior, finances, culture and religion (to name a few). I was grateful for the trust and confidence they placed in me. In my limited capacity, I listen to what they had to say and I wished I had knowledge to help.
After some time at Project Impact, I began working with Spanish-speaking families; this involved communication between school personnel, parents and Project Impact staff. I was responsible for making phone calls, home visitations and school visitations. As I began communicating with families, I began to get a glimpse of what life was like for the parents and children.
When making home visitations, the living conditions of some of our students where difficult. Some of the students lived in the tough neighborhoods of Santa Ana. Many students lived with multiple families living under one roof. Despite the living conditions, I was inspired by the parents' effort to obtain educational help for their child/children. I was grateful for the trust they placed in me to help provide their child/children with the educational help they needed. Although I knew the family would receive educational help for their child/children, I also felt compassion for the families that I came into contact with and wish there was something more I can do to help.
Another event that I feel has prepared me to become a marriage family therapist was when I was a youth leader at my church. During this time, I worked with adolescences ranging from ages12-18. Being in such a position I was able to: work with adolescences, be in charge of activities, and interacting with their parents. During my time as a youth leader I realized I could enjoy what I was doing while doing helping others grow spiritually and emotionally.
2) My goal is to become an effective and competent marriage family therapist in the community. I feel there is a great need to reach out to Hispanics and other minorities in the community. Many Hispanic families I have come into contact with either do not know what type of help is available to them, or they do not know how to obtain help. I have had the opportunity to network with many Hispanic churches and families throughout Southern California; one of my goals is to bring awareness to the benefits of clinical therapy to help resolve family issues.
My other goal is to work with children and adolescences along side with their parents. I have enjoyed working with children and adolescents in the past, and I would like to continue as a professional therapist. I would like to bring an awareness to parents in which how they act and behave in the home has a higher impact on their child/children then they may realize. I would like to help them discover more effective ways to deal with conflict.
3) One of my personal strengths that I am proud of is my work ethic. From an early age my father always stressed the importance of having a good work ethic. My father not only repeated this consistently, he served as a great example. I feel that having a good work ethic has served as a solid foundation for my life. I have learned to be responsible, punctual, dependable, and dedicated. I feel that these personal strengths have allowed me to be where I am today. Since graduating high school I have obtained my bachelors degree and I have continuously worked for the same employer. I have also served in my church as a musician, a music teacher, a teacher and youth leader. I strongly believe that my work ethic will led me to become a competent effective marriage family therapist.
Another strength I feel will lead me to achieve my professional goals is the ability to speak a second language and the capacity to relate. At work, our Spanish-speaking customers usually preferred to wait for my assistance rather then deal with another customer service associate. Having the ability to speak Spanish has allowed me to relate to our customers, and has allowed me to make them feel comfortable. While at Project Impact, I feel the ability to relate to our families allowed them to feel comfortable as well. I feel that these experiences will be valuable to me as a marriage family therapist, especially in a diverse area as Southern California. I believe relating to one's clients leads to a stronger client-therapist relationship.
4) Although it is not easy to admit to one's weakness, I see this as an opportunity for growth. I welcome constructive criticism, which I have received from my manager and can see it as a positive. One of the areas I feel I need to work on is leadership skills. I am a person that likes to get along with others and avoid conflict. Sometimes being a leader means you have to confront people, give them assignments they may not like, or deal with people that do not share your vision. I feel and have been told that I need to be more aggressive in these types of situations. In past situations, when a person in my group failed to do their part as instructed, I have stepped in to do their share of work in an effort to avoid any issues and make sure the work was completed. This is an area that I would like to improve on. I look forward to growing in all capacities, mind, body and spirit with the end result making me a better, stronger, and complete person from it.
All feedback will be very appreciated and considered! Thank you.
1. What significant life events have most influenced your present development and your desire to be a marriage and family therapist?
2. What are your professional career goals after completing your degree?
3. What are your strengths that will help you achieve your professional goals?
4. What do you consider to be areas for personal growth that may need the most attention during your training as a therapist at Hope International University?
1) One of the most significant events that influenced me in becoming a marriage family therapist was when I was interning/working at Project Impact. As a tutor there, I was assigned to tutor three elementary school sisters in their home. As the weeks progressed, their parents began to open up to me in a wide range of issues, such issues included: children's behavior, finances, culture and religion (to name a few). I was grateful for the trust and confidence they placed in me. In my limited capacity, I listen to what they had to say and I wished I had knowledge to help.
After some time at Project Impact, I began working with Spanish-speaking families; this involved communication between school personnel, parents and Project Impact staff. I was responsible for making phone calls, home visitations and school visitations. As I began communicating with families, I began to get a glimpse of what life was like for the parents and children.
When making home visitations, the living conditions of some of our students where difficult. Some of the students lived in the tough neighborhoods of Santa Ana. Many students lived with multiple families living under one roof. Despite the living conditions, I was inspired by the parents' effort to obtain educational help for their child/children. I was grateful for the trust they placed in me to help provide their child/children with the educational help they needed. Although I knew the family would receive educational help for their child/children, I also felt compassion for the families that I came into contact with and wish there was something more I can do to help.
Another event that I feel has prepared me to become a marriage family therapist was when I was a youth leader at my church. During this time, I worked with adolescences ranging from ages12-18. Being in such a position I was able to: work with adolescences, be in charge of activities, and interacting with their parents. During my time as a youth leader I realized I could enjoy what I was doing while doing helping others grow spiritually and emotionally.
2) My goal is to become an effective and competent marriage family therapist in the community. I feel there is a great need to reach out to Hispanics and other minorities in the community. Many Hispanic families I have come into contact with either do not know what type of help is available to them, or they do not know how to obtain help. I have had the opportunity to network with many Hispanic churches and families throughout Southern California; one of my goals is to bring awareness to the benefits of clinical therapy to help resolve family issues.
My other goal is to work with children and adolescences along side with their parents. I have enjoyed working with children and adolescents in the past, and I would like to continue as a professional therapist. I would like to bring an awareness to parents in which how they act and behave in the home has a higher impact on their child/children then they may realize. I would like to help them discover more effective ways to deal with conflict.
3) One of my personal strengths that I am proud of is my work ethic. From an early age my father always stressed the importance of having a good work ethic. My father not only repeated this consistently, he served as a great example. I feel that having a good work ethic has served as a solid foundation for my life. I have learned to be responsible, punctual, dependable, and dedicated. I feel that these personal strengths have allowed me to be where I am today. Since graduating high school I have obtained my bachelors degree and I have continuously worked for the same employer. I have also served in my church as a musician, a music teacher, a teacher and youth leader. I strongly believe that my work ethic will led me to become a competent effective marriage family therapist.
Another strength I feel will lead me to achieve my professional goals is the ability to speak a second language and the capacity to relate. At work, our Spanish-speaking customers usually preferred to wait for my assistance rather then deal with another customer service associate. Having the ability to speak Spanish has allowed me to relate to our customers, and has allowed me to make them feel comfortable. While at Project Impact, I feel the ability to relate to our families allowed them to feel comfortable as well. I feel that these experiences will be valuable to me as a marriage family therapist, especially in a diverse area as Southern California. I believe relating to one's clients leads to a stronger client-therapist relationship.
4) Although it is not easy to admit to one's weakness, I see this as an opportunity for growth. I welcome constructive criticism, which I have received from my manager and can see it as a positive. One of the areas I feel I need to work on is leadership skills. I am a person that likes to get along with others and avoid conflict. Sometimes being a leader means you have to confront people, give them assignments they may not like, or deal with people that do not share your vision. I feel and have been told that I need to be more aggressive in these types of situations. In past situations, when a person in my group failed to do their part as instructed, I have stepped in to do their share of work in an effort to avoid any issues and make sure the work was completed. This is an area that I would like to improve on. I look forward to growing in all capacities, mind, body and spirit with the end result making me a better, stronger, and complete person from it.