Graduate / APPLYING TO MSW ACADEMIC PROGRAM: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE [SOP] [3]

It has been a hot minute since I have applied to an academic program or even written an essay for school, so I would appreciate some reassurance and advice as I am starting to apply to MSW programs. Here is the general outline that each program gives:

General Statement of Purpose for all programs:
Please indicate your purpose and objectives in undertaking graduate study, your special interests and plans, and your strengths and weakness in your chosen field.
In reviewing applications, considerable importance is placed on the applicant's relevant experience as well as his or her interest in and commitment to advanced study and professional development.

School of Social Work: (500-1000 words, maximum of 5 pages)

social work with immigrants

As humans we have an intrinsic need for someone to root for us, to help empower us to achieve the goals we set and improve the quality of our lives. A social worker embodies that role in a professional sense as somebody who can objectively help individuals overcome difficult hurdles that they may not be able to by themselves. The skills an effective social worker must possess include an understanding of social issues and policy, the ability to communicate with a network of people as well as individuals, and empathy with the knowledge of boundaries. These skills are core in this career path, and these are skills that I believe I have developed and will continue to develop by pursuing a Master's degree in Social Work.

My intentions throughout my undergraduate studies, as well as through my post-college work, have been set on pursuing teaching. Through my five years of working at [PLACE OF WORK], a community focused learning center in [PLACE], I came across several students of different abilities that seemed to be falling behind academically despite having Individualized Education Programs. Working with these students helped me to help them understand more academically, but since my workplace was a small business, it was difficult to maintain the improvement if the student did not continue with their tutoring sessions. An hour session a few times a week that focused on improving reading comprehension or understanding mathematical concepts was not enough to focus on how I wanted to help the student.

The experience outlined in my resume from the past six years is teaching based, however, I decided to redirect my career and educational aspirations towards social work. The prime motivator for this change is my volunteer experience while living in [COUNTRY NAME]. I have been a part of a non-profit organization known as [ORGANIZATION NAME], or [ACRONYM], whose work is exactly what its name entails it to be. This organization gave me the opportunity to volunteer my time to teach [NATIONALITY] refugees English in an individual setting. I chose to do this because I wanted to dedicate a bit of my time and my skill in speaking and teaching English to people whose lives would be able to drastically improve simply from a few hours each weekend. I came to learn that certain students who were interested in new opportunities had no idea where or how to look for them. Through a bit of research, I was able to help them find academic programs and scholarship opportunities that set them on a path of self-advancement. This experience made me realize that although I enjoy teaching, it was not the field nor the capacity in which I wanted to continue working with people.

Although my work experience has not been based on social work, it has still allowed me to develop skills necessary in any field that requires working with people. Different students and small groups I have worked with have had differing needs and have required different approaches when it came to achieving progress. I have learned that what works for one individual may not work for another, and devising that approach is up to me. That has required critical thinking skills as well as input from other people with different perspectives. Although constructive criticism can be difficult to process, I know that it is necessary to continue self-improvement and for the benefit of the people you are working to help. Throughout my four years of undergraduate study, I continuously worked at least five days a week. This required a work-school balance that many of my peers also maintained as I went to a commuter school. However, as I plan on furthering my studies, I know that I will have to adjust that balance to focus on my post-baccalaureate studies.

I expect to have to dedicate time and focus more strongly to focus on my graduate studies. Another expectation I have is that I will be compelled to keep an open perspective. My own life experiences have led to specific opinions and ideas being formed internally, but it is and always will be important to understand that while your perspective may not align with someone else's, it does not mean that the other perspective is wrong. It is important to maintain a willingness to understand, not simply tolerate, different perspectives as we have a lot to learn from them.

My interests in social work include issues related to immigrants and access to education and employment opportunities. While these topics align personally with me, being an immigrant myself, my interest in them also stems from struggles I have seen in the people around me.

Education and employment are both routes through which individuals, especially immigrants, can improve their lives as well as the lives around them. A lack of education, academic or vocational, can lead to trouble gaining and maintaining employment which in turn can affect mental health. Increased funding is a straightforward solution to these problems, but it can be a difficult one that may not be attainable without further change in social policy. Many times, people are not aware of opportunities or programs that they are eligible for and often times. Helping these people gain access to programs that are already in place for them can help them lead more productive lives, which in turn is beneficial for society as a whole. Being aware and spreading the existence of such opportunities is a start that a social worker can make in diminishing this issue.

I know that by pursuing a career in social work I will be able to motivate and enable people to gain access to opportunities that can impact their lives in a positive way. While I anticipate graduate school to be a challenge, it will be a welcome one through which I hope to gain knowledge of social policy and an understanding of the role and expectations of a social worker.