JennyYang
Oct 22, 2012
Graduate / What motivates me to do social work--Social Work Personal Statement--Grad School [NEW]
REQUIREMENT:discusses significant factors influencing your decision to pursue a Master in Social Work degree. Your essay should include information regarding career goals and leadership experiences that will contribute to your success as a graduate student and in the social work profession.
Hi everyone,
I'm applying master of social work. I'm struggling with this personal statement for a month and don't know whether it's good or bad. is my essay well presented?
Hope anyone give me some advice, any feedback on the content or clarity is appreciated!!!!
Thank you so much !!!!
When I was conducting home visits in Guangzhou Jianshe sub-district. I encountered a 58-year-old woman Ms. Zhu who lived alone with painful feet resulted from rheumatism, seldom going out. Her husband died a few years ago and her daughter and son lived far away from this city hardly coming back. Worried about her living skills, I suggested her move into a nursing home for comprehensive medical and living care. However, Ms. Zhu could not afford and her children were unwilling to pay. Unsatisfied with this result, I attempted to communicate with the Civil Affair Bureau and nursing home hoping to get fee waiver. But I failed to obtain any helps for the reason that Ms. Zhu got her pension every month as incomes though they were only enough for living. I could not help shouting at the botom of my heart, how could this policy and people be so cold to the elders? What's worse, during that time I found out the number of elder citizens who also lived alone as the same situation as Ms. Zhu was very large. As the only child in my family, it would be an nightmare to me if my parents or myself end up like this, afterall everybody grows old one day. Feeling extremely sorry for Ms. Zhu's and other same elder's misfortune, I have realized the limitation of the social work and government policy: without a profound graps of service for the aged and an open communication channel, social workers fail to report the situation of new social problem efficiently and let government modify relevant policies immediately; the elderly people will suffer hopelessly. I am then determined to apply MSW, not only for developing practice skills but for becoming a social work researcher who is not only able to help people solve problems and change their life but also find a good path to help formulate effective policy to and improve country-level elderly care.
To achieve my career goals, I look forward to extending my understanding in social security and welfare as well as utilizing different approaches such as evidence-based practice. I cultivate two specific study interests. Firstly, it is family services. Based on the person-in-environment principle, if I could persuade Ms. Zhu's children to live together or give some financial support, maybe Ms. Zhu would not end up suffering. Family satisfies the basic need. Second one focus on the aged, especially those who has only one child as my parents. Because China is facing a serious social problem that a great number of parents lost their only child when they are too old to give birth to a new baby, so there would be no one taking care of those old people if they were unaffordable to cost of services. Even if some old people could afford, the nursing home has a policy that one must have other direct relatives signed for him/her as the guarantor otherwise could not be enrolled in. Thus, to those who lost their only child, if they could not find another direct relatives willing to be their guarantor, they could not get into the nursing home. As the only child in my family, I can't imagine what will happen to my parents if they lost me. When the sorrow already drowns them, they still have to face the difficulties of having someone take good care of them when they go old. Ideally after the MSW program, I will possess both strong scientific basis and advanced technical experiences to conduct my own research in old people care and pension protection system.
I have shaped my research interests when I establish a research group aim at analyzing the psychological and emotional problem of senior citizens living alone. As a leader of the 7-people group, I contacted with the social worker in Jianshe sub-district and community committee, collected information such as the number and living standard of elder citizen and design a questionnaire to find out mental health condition before and after they started to live alone or they lost their children. The ultimate purpose of our project is to submit a report to civil bureau and improve the preferential policies modification. Due to relevant data is rare, our achievement is significant reference in assessing this social problem and would assist research all around the country. With great amount of effort in the process, I have perfected my leadership and communication skills that holding my team together and work efficiently, interviewing techniques as well as statistics analysis skills. More importantly, infatuated with such investigation, I have strengthened my passion to senior services and finding an optimal solution for this social problem. I am also determined to become a researcher exploring methods and skills for curing these broken hearts and suggesting precautions, not only a social worker.
Besides inspiring and preparing myself for future studies and research in practical scenarios, I have also devoted my enthusiasm and effort in extending my academic knowledge areas. When I learnt school social work approaches, I tried to apply on the freshmen by conducting a group work helping them fit in campus life. When I was taught different regional development models, I led several classmates walked around communities near my university and joined in the volunteer team. From applying what I learnt, I have challenged my skills of reading, sesearching and understanding of knowledge and gained feedbacks and experience which correspondingly inspire me to read more and learn more. More importantly, I have realized the power of social work and felt eager to gain more experience in the US with great clinical practice traditions and leading theories and techniques.
Besides my invaluable experience, scientific acumen and experimental skills I developed during past research projects, my undergraduate studies in GDUT will also support my future success in your program. In my four-year undergraduate program, I have formed a sound foundation in sociology, psychology, human development and environment, adolescent, school, family, elder social work and won outstanding student award each year. And I also use what I have learned in practice, such as ice berg theory, Satia family treatment. I consider the thorough academic preparation one of my strengths. In addition, I believe my experience will help me learn fast and achieve theoretical competency early in the program.
Considering my interests and capabilities, I believe the MSW program at XXXX University will be an ideal place for me to pursue a Master degree for three reasons. First of all, the program focuses on xxxx, which matches my undergraduate background. In addition, I am impressed with the rich research culture shown by the collaborations your program maintains xxxxxx. I believe research training here will contribute a lot to my goal, which is to be a professional social worker and to conduct in-depth research. Finally, I am attracted to the emphasis on .... The core curriculum like...As I am determined not only to be a social worker but also to be a .... , these abilities are crucial for my professional success. I believe I will best capitalize my research acumen, past experience and passion in social work study in XXXX University and successfully achieve my academic and professional goals.
REQUIREMENT:discusses significant factors influencing your decision to pursue a Master in Social Work degree. Your essay should include information regarding career goals and leadership experiences that will contribute to your success as a graduate student and in the social work profession.
Hi everyone,
I'm applying master of social work. I'm struggling with this personal statement for a month and don't know whether it's good or bad. is my essay well presented?
Hope anyone give me some advice, any feedback on the content or clarity is appreciated!!!!
Thank you so much !!!!
When I was conducting home visits in Guangzhou Jianshe sub-district. I encountered a 58-year-old woman Ms. Zhu who lived alone with painful feet resulted from rheumatism, seldom going out. Her husband died a few years ago and her daughter and son lived far away from this city hardly coming back. Worried about her living skills, I suggested her move into a nursing home for comprehensive medical and living care. However, Ms. Zhu could not afford and her children were unwilling to pay. Unsatisfied with this result, I attempted to communicate with the Civil Affair Bureau and nursing home hoping to get fee waiver. But I failed to obtain any helps for the reason that Ms. Zhu got her pension every month as incomes though they were only enough for living. I could not help shouting at the botom of my heart, how could this policy and people be so cold to the elders? What's worse, during that time I found out the number of elder citizens who also lived alone as the same situation as Ms. Zhu was very large. As the only child in my family, it would be an nightmare to me if my parents or myself end up like this, afterall everybody grows old one day. Feeling extremely sorry for Ms. Zhu's and other same elder's misfortune, I have realized the limitation of the social work and government policy: without a profound graps of service for the aged and an open communication channel, social workers fail to report the situation of new social problem efficiently and let government modify relevant policies immediately; the elderly people will suffer hopelessly. I am then determined to apply MSW, not only for developing practice skills but for becoming a social work researcher who is not only able to help people solve problems and change their life but also find a good path to help formulate effective policy to and improve country-level elderly care.
To achieve my career goals, I look forward to extending my understanding in social security and welfare as well as utilizing different approaches such as evidence-based practice. I cultivate two specific study interests. Firstly, it is family services. Based on the person-in-environment principle, if I could persuade Ms. Zhu's children to live together or give some financial support, maybe Ms. Zhu would not end up suffering. Family satisfies the basic need. Second one focus on the aged, especially those who has only one child as my parents. Because China is facing a serious social problem that a great number of parents lost their only child when they are too old to give birth to a new baby, so there would be no one taking care of those old people if they were unaffordable to cost of services. Even if some old people could afford, the nursing home has a policy that one must have other direct relatives signed for him/her as the guarantor otherwise could not be enrolled in. Thus, to those who lost their only child, if they could not find another direct relatives willing to be their guarantor, they could not get into the nursing home. As the only child in my family, I can't imagine what will happen to my parents if they lost me. When the sorrow already drowns them, they still have to face the difficulties of having someone take good care of them when they go old. Ideally after the MSW program, I will possess both strong scientific basis and advanced technical experiences to conduct my own research in old people care and pension protection system.
I have shaped my research interests when I establish a research group aim at analyzing the psychological and emotional problem of senior citizens living alone. As a leader of the 7-people group, I contacted with the social worker in Jianshe sub-district and community committee, collected information such as the number and living standard of elder citizen and design a questionnaire to find out mental health condition before and after they started to live alone or they lost their children. The ultimate purpose of our project is to submit a report to civil bureau and improve the preferential policies modification. Due to relevant data is rare, our achievement is significant reference in assessing this social problem and would assist research all around the country. With great amount of effort in the process, I have perfected my leadership and communication skills that holding my team together and work efficiently, interviewing techniques as well as statistics analysis skills. More importantly, infatuated with such investigation, I have strengthened my passion to senior services and finding an optimal solution for this social problem. I am also determined to become a researcher exploring methods and skills for curing these broken hearts and suggesting precautions, not only a social worker.
Besides inspiring and preparing myself for future studies and research in practical scenarios, I have also devoted my enthusiasm and effort in extending my academic knowledge areas. When I learnt school social work approaches, I tried to apply on the freshmen by conducting a group work helping them fit in campus life. When I was taught different regional development models, I led several classmates walked around communities near my university and joined in the volunteer team. From applying what I learnt, I have challenged my skills of reading, sesearching and understanding of knowledge and gained feedbacks and experience which correspondingly inspire me to read more and learn more. More importantly, I have realized the power of social work and felt eager to gain more experience in the US with great clinical practice traditions and leading theories and techniques.
Besides my invaluable experience, scientific acumen and experimental skills I developed during past research projects, my undergraduate studies in GDUT will also support my future success in your program. In my four-year undergraduate program, I have formed a sound foundation in sociology, psychology, human development and environment, adolescent, school, family, elder social work and won outstanding student award each year. And I also use what I have learned in practice, such as ice berg theory, Satia family treatment. I consider the thorough academic preparation one of my strengths. In addition, I believe my experience will help me learn fast and achieve theoretical competency early in the program.
Considering my interests and capabilities, I believe the MSW program at XXXX University will be an ideal place for me to pursue a Master degree for three reasons. First of all, the program focuses on xxxx, which matches my undergraduate background. In addition, I am impressed with the rich research culture shown by the collaborations your program maintains xxxxxx. I believe research training here will contribute a lot to my goal, which is to be a professional social worker and to conduct in-depth research. Finally, I am attracted to the emphasis on .... The core curriculum like...As I am determined not only to be a social worker but also to be a .... , these abilities are crucial for my professional success. I believe I will best capitalize my research acumen, past experience and passion in social work study in XXXX University and successfully achieve my academic and professional goals.