Undergraduate / Disable people/ work at target/ criminal justice; MSW Letter of Interest [2]

Social Work Application Statement
1. What experiences and/or background characteristics (past and present) would contribute to your
ability to work effectively with people from diverse populations (e.g., race and ethnicity, disability
status, socioeconomic status, consumers of social/mental health services, the LGBTQ community
and specific groups with social service needs, such as Latino and African American men, etc.)?
2. What difficulties, if any, do you think you might have in working with any of the populations listed
above?
3. What experience have you had in dealing with ageism, homophobia, racism, sexism, or other forms
of oppression?
B. The profession of social work is committed to social justice.
1. What do you understand the concept "social justice" to mean?
2. How do you plan to promote social justice with your MSW?
3. What experiences or factors shaped your interest in advancing social justice?
4. What career pathway do you plan to take with your MSW?

Helping others has always been a passion of mine since I was a little child; once I entered college I took every opportunity to make this passion a reality. My freshman year I joined a sorority called, XXX Sorority Incorporated. Their goals were to give back to their communities by helping children from low income areas. We have done many community services and workshops that worked with different races and ethnicity throughout the Bay Areas. Each of these workshops and services were to inform about the important of attending college by stay above the statistics; and how we as their mentors can help them achieve these goals. In order to achieve these goals, we start by mentoring the teenagers from their freshman year in high school. Our goals are to make sure that they are positively active in school by maintain good grades, extracurricular activities after school, and most importantly, attending a university or a certificate school. Each of these workshops and panels has equipped me to work effectively with people from diverse populations. I wanted to do more, so during my second year at XXX, I wanted to give back to my community and school which led me to joining the UPD (University Police Department) on campus. This opportunity enabled me to patrol the campus and working hand-in-hand with the police officers in the station to ensure the safety of our campus. Helping others has helped me to be able to work and communicate efficiently with different races and ethnicity that came into the station. I even had the opportunity to work with international students on campus, while throwing event with varieties of sorority and fraternity; and many skits with the LGBQT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and Transgender/Transsexual).

An experience that has helped contribute to my socioeconomic aspects was when I went to Nigeria last summer of 2011. I went with a nonprofit organization (Youth4Jesus) that travel to third world countries and spend two month serving there. This summer I had the opportunity to go to Modakeke, which was a village in Nigeria. While I was down there I taught basic math and English to the mentally and physically disables in the village. I counseled raped and abuse children in the community, encouraged and worked with the "outcasts" (LGBTQ) becoming comfortable with their sexuality. This was a great experience for me because I was able to learn about the Yoruba culture and gained a better insight about their different religions and enchantments.

Another experience that has enlarging my horizon with working with disable people would be at my workplace at XXX. XXX provides Independent Living Services (ILS) and Supported Living Services (SLS) to adults living with developmental disabilities. The clients live in traditional and accessible homes and apartments of their choice, located throughout Southern Alameda County. This have impact my life in a very big way because I have a cousin who was recently diagnose with Perthes Disease early in April. Perthes Disease is hip disease that makes it difficult for her to walk normally. Working at Serra Center has positively impacted my life by giving me hope for my cousin recovery. I now understand that my cousin can achieve her goals and still live a normal life regardless of her disabilities. My experiences have taught me how to work well with other and adjust to my environments.

As an minority I have experienced oppressed many times in my life; either in the work field or social outing. An example of this would be when I was 17 years old and I went to a Sally's hair store. Once I entered the store one of the staff members automatically started following me. She followed me everywhere I went in the store, and kept asking me if "I needed anything" when I touch an item on the shelf. I eventually got aggravated and turned around and said "I am not going to steal anything, so you can stop following me around". She replied by putting her head down in shame. I knew that I was not being followed only because of my ethnicity but also because of my age. This experience impacted me in a positive way because I started to ask myself more questions, it had me thinking what my skin color had to do with who I was. All these questions motivated me to start taking more history classes and involving myself with organizations on campus that would help me find answers to my questions. I started going to Women of Success meetings and started throwing events with the BSU (Black Student Union). Overall, I believed that I went through this experience for a reason, because it encouraged me to learn more about my ethnicity and study/research the struggle of minorities in our country.

Another personal experience that had a big impact on me would be when I used to work at target. I had a male supervisor who was setting the schedule of favoritism. My supervisor was giving the male staff the opportunity to set their own schedule while the female staffs were left to work the most unwanted shifts. I asked my supervisor about his actions and he replied by saying I shouldn't question his authority and I should stay in my place as a woman. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was difficult for me to understand why one human being would look down on another because of their gender. From that day on, I felt really uncomfortable being around him and questioned his supervising ability.

"Each time a man stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." - Robert Kennedy. Robert's quote sums up what I believe Social Justice means. Social justice is the fairness of the people all around us. Justices does not have color, race, or age; it simply means to have justices where justices is needed. Bringing awareness to abnormal situations knowing that there might be a chance of one standing alone; yet, one still purses it. Social Work is a profession that has a developed self-image that has emphasize on contributing to the struggle to achieve social justice. I plan on doing my part in social justice with my master's in social work by socially being a voice for those who have lost theirs. I will do this by counseling abuse kids and bring a positive outcome out of their negative situation. Working with abused women and showing them that they can have a voice of their own and choosing a better life style for themselves. Our future are in the hands of our youth and younger ones, I believe that there are many more work to do regarding this subject. I am trying to pursue a degree in social work that specialized in working with children/youth and their families. A family structure is a big influence in a child's life.

With my degree I plan to start my own business that provides free extracurricular activities in low income areas. I want to work with the mayors and law enforcements in those cities to help keep our youth off the street. My goal is to be able to offer a child all the tools he/she needs to be able to become who God has design them to be; not turning down a child because of his/her economic statues but reaching out a hand to them because of their future. I want to be able to establish a counseling sessions in schools from pre k through high school. The point of this project is to provide help and support for the children. Teaching should not be a school only priority but, to be able to show our kids that we care about your education but also their wellbeing. I believe that my master in social work it would a door opener for me to achieve these goals and not stop until it's done.

As a criminal justices major I know that there are a lot of problems with our social justice system, not just from cases but from other personal experiences. One major experience that shaped my interests in advancing the social justice would be when I was in high school and my best friend was being sexually abused by her step-father. It took her a long time to confine in me and telling me how this situation had led her to cutting herself. It broke my heart as a 16 year old to know that someone I loved so much was being hurt by someone who was supposed to be her protector. I couldn't hide the secret any longer because I felt like I was losing my friend socially and emotionally; so I told my parents. My parents called the school counselor and when I went to school the next day she wasn't there. That was the last time I ever saw or heard from my best friend. From that day, I promised myself that my career would be working with youth and family through my degree. This experience impacted me in both a positive and a negative way because I was strip of my future with my best friend but knowing that I can help prevent this from happing to another child or two best friends is why I am seeking a masters in social work. Being a social worker is not just a career field for me but a passion; I want to bring that passion alive with my degree and change as many lives as I can. I know that not everybody can be saved, but making a difference in at least one person's life would be worth all the effort I am making trying to get into this program. I know that I can make a difference if given the opportunity; and I won't stop applying till I'm given one.