1. Why do you want to complete a Master of Social Work degree? What do you intend to do professionally after you graduate? Please respond to both questions * I chose to go for my Master of Social Work degree because I have had a passion for helping others ever since I can remember. Growing up as an only child, I felt my parents assigned me the “parent” role and my mother specifically, took on the role of the child. As a child I internalized this role and self-understanding was the only concept I knew of. While getting older, I naturally acted as a “mature, responsible adult” whereas my parents, the actual adults, were taken care of as the children. I always was the “strong” one, which resulted in me being disconnected from my own needs and desires. I didn’t learn this until I went away to college on my own and started taking Psychology and related certain human behaviors. Throughout my college experience I became counter-dependent, where I emotionally acted in an overprotective manner and wouldn’t allow people to get close to me. After three years of good therapy, I started realizing I was in fact in denial of enabling my parents’ behaviors. It was then time for me to put myself first. Some argue that all of it makes you stronger, more mature, but I can’t ignore the fact that while some of the qualities I developed can have positive effects, it fundamentally took away my childhood and innocence. With time and therapy, I let go of the resentment and eventually saw positive results through my childhood experiences. I want to give back and help children develop a healthy sense of self-esteem without traumatizing them. I grew up in a home without help and felt lost until someone came to help me. I have recognized that my personal struggle was a blessing, and this was what the universe had planned for me. This program is a perfect fit for me because there are so many different types of work within the field and so many different places to explore. I am looking forward to field placements to see where I can find my niche. I am excited to learn more about this field and overall ( I am eager to empathize with many people. *I think that sounds better* ) want to use my empathy to help whoever comes my way. 2. Discuss your commitment to and/or experience in working with marginalized and oppressed populations. * In my opinion, the major groups that are described as "marginalized" are ethic and religious minorities, the disabled, LGBTQ people and women. The term that resonates with me the most with my experience is the LGBTQ community. I never understood the “LGBTQ” community until my freshman year roommate came out to me. They explained the definition to me, and as this explanation began to resonate within me, some unconscious part of me shut it down. I supported my uncle as best I could, but I was not ready to admit to myself that I preferred the same sexual gender. It took another two years before I came out, and that was still with hesitati ...

1. 1. Why do you want to complete a Master of Social Work
degree? What do you intend to do professionally after you
graduate? Please respond to both questions *
I chose to go for my Master of Social Work degree because
I have had a passion for helping others ever since I can
remember. Growing up as an only child, I felt my parents
assigned me the “parent” role and my mother specifically, took
on the role of the child. As a child I internalized this role and
self-understanding was the only concept I knew of. While
getting older, I naturally acted as a “mature, responsible adult”
whereas my parents, the actual adults, were taken care of as the
children. I always was the “strong” one, which resulted in me
being disconnected from my own needs and desires. I didn’t
learn this until I went away to college on my own and started
taking Psychology and related certain human behaviors.
Throughout my college experience I became counter-dependent,
where I emotionally acted in an overprotective manner and
wouldn’t allow people to get close to me.
After three years of good therapy, I started realizing I was in
fact in denial of enabling my parents’ behaviors. It was then
time for me to put myself first. Some argue that all of it makes
you stronger, more mature, but I can’t ignore the fact that while
some of the qualities I developed can have positive effects, it
fundamentally took away my childhood and innocence. With
time and therapy, I let go of the resentment and eventually saw
positive results through my childhood experiences. I want to
give back and help children develop a healthy sense of self-
esteem without traumatizing them.
I grew up in a home without help and felt lost until someone
came to help me. I have recognized that my personal struggle
was a blessing, and this was what the universe had planned for
me. This program is a perfect fit for me because there are so

2. many different types of work within the field and so many
different places to explore. I am looking forward to field
placements to see where I can find my niche. I am excited to
learn more about this field and overall ( I am eager to empathize
with many people. *I think that sounds better* ) want to use my
empathy to help whoever comes my way.
2. Discuss your commitment to and/or experience in working
with marginalized and oppressed populations. *
In my opinion, the major groups that are described as
"marginalized" are ethic and religious minorities, the disabled,
LGBTQ people and women. The term that resonates with me the
most with my experience is the LGBTQ community.
I never understood the “LGBTQ” community until my freshman
year roommate came out to me. They explained the definition to
me, and as this explanation began to resonate within me, some
unconscious part of me shut it down. I supported my uncle as
best I could, but I was not ready to admit to myself that I
preferred the same sexual gender. It took another two years
before I came out, and that was still with hesitation.
During my first month of involvement with LGBTQ, I felt so
supported by both my mother and my friends that I finally came
out to the rest of my family. As LGBT person, I have a response
prepared for any opposition that might face me. This level of
preparation can be tiring and having to articulate these
responses is still a struggle. Regardless of the emotional battle
and the criticism, I am proud of who I have become and how far
it has taken me to get there.
Overall, working with marginalized and oppressed populations
was more of a real-life situation that involved me—I had the
training internally. I was able to observe from the outside
looking in and as I grew up and identified with this community,

3. I had the advantage of seeing these people through real life
experience. Navigating coming out is tricky for many people in
a society that presumes heterosexuality, especially when there is
a threat of violence as there was through my process of coming
out. It is important to recognize that even today, coming out is
not a singular experience, and visibility and pride have different
significance to people.
3. Please review the NASW Code of Ethics and discuss what
components you find most appealing and what do you think may
be challenging for you as a professional social worker? *
1. Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of
the person.
One of the core values that resonates with me was the value of
“competence” . I think this can be challenging in the aspect of
knowing the right answer, but having sympathy for the
client/patient. An example that comes to mind for me would be
the challenging response to an elderly person who wants to live
independently but is having increasing trouble to do so. I
would think “which principle should guide my actions? The
clients need for assisted living, Or the clients right to self-
determination. This can be a hard answer to decide – whether it
falls under “competence” or “dignity and worth of the person”.
2. Social workers recognize the central importance of human
relationships.
The value “importance of human relationships” is crucial in the
social work profession where the professional has to try to
relate to clients and build a trustful relationship with them.
There is a close relationship between positive health outcomes
and social support. Close relationships can help a person cope
with psychological distress. In such relationships, people can
disclose and discuss problems, share concerns, and receive
advice keyed to their psychological needs. This value is what
helped me come to terms with maintaining relationships and
developing new ones, as well as not always seeing eye to eye on

4. something, but learning how to accept that not every person we
encounter will be on the same page we are.
4. Please describe how you respond to constructive feedback
and integrate suggestions and ideas into your performance. *
I used to struggle with receiving feedback, even when it
was entirely accurate. It took quite some time for me to get over
the fear of double guessing myself. At first, I would dread my
quarterly reviews at work because I would think the worst as
opposed to the best. Eventually, I started expressing
appreciation with feedback I would receive. This was the first
step for me to understand that I was acknowledging the effort
my colleague took to evaluate me and share his or her thoughts.
After I started acknowledging the efforts in my colleagues, I
realized it was time to process the feedback—I just wanted more
clarity at this point. I started putting my ego aside to hear what
others had to say instead of just listening to them. There are
things that I don’t want to hear, but I know I need to listen to be
the best practitioner I can be. I have learned when I am
defensive, instead of accepting feedback and being grateful, I
run the risk of missing out on this important insight.
Sometimes, the things that are the hardest to hear are the things
we need to hear the most. After receiving feedback within my
work environment, I was open to listen to what my family and
friends had to say. They do say that “The people who are the
worst critics are usually role models and/or teachers“. I was
ready to receive feedback from my worst critics.
I knew a person needed to be this way so I became that person
Constructive criticism is often the only way to learn about
weaknesses. Without criticism, I wouldn’t be able to evolve into
a better caregiver. At this point in my life I am like a sponge. I

5. am here to get better and let it all absorb.
5. What strengths do you have that will help you in your effort
to both successfully complete a graduate degree in social work
and be successful as a professional social worker? *
Social Work requires a variety of emotional skills that I
feel come from experience. Growing up as an only child with
parents who both struggled with their own addictions led me to
learn responsibility at the age of thirteen. My mother was
erratic and there was no in-between with her my whole
childhood. I took the initiative to seek help for my family and
myself by involving CPS to come into my home. It was within
those moments that I didn’t realize that calling CPS meant that
a social worker would be randomly coming to my house to make
sure I was OK and not being neglected.
This experience gave me a sense of empathy. I wasn’t the child
who received help from my parents. I was the caregiver and in
most ways had to be the adult even though I was the child.
Because I’ve had exposure to a rough upbringing, I eventually
learned to take care of not only myself, but my mother. I have
that inside look of how it feels to be at a disadvantage, and the
satisfaction of being able to help others and be a caregiver is
what the universe had planned for me.
Like many people, I’m someone that craves deeper connections
and intimacy from my friendships. In the absence of siblings,
these friendships have become an extended family who I’ve
leaned on for support just as much as my actual family. It took
me a while to learn the value of quality versus quantity. I was
expecting the same amount of loyalty from a new friend as I did
from someone I’d maintained a close relationship with for many
years. This usually led to feelings of confusion, hurt, and anger
on my behalf — I never quite understood why others didn’t take
any sort of relationship as seriously as I did. Fortunately, I’m

6. now in a place where I can recognize and cherish my loyal
relationships and understand why they are so significant to me.
6. How will you balance your personal interests and
professional responsibilities with the time and effort that will
be needed to complete your coursework and field practicum in
this program? Be specific in the description of your plans. *
I’ve learned to prioritize because I know how important
self-care is. I have that self-urgency where if I am unhappy with
where my life is, I always made that effort to get it back on
track. As mentioned, I have always had responsibilities as a
child to prioritize; I had to be responsible because there was no
one else there to guide me down the right road of success.
As I've grown, I’ve learned to strike a balance. I am aware it’s a
challenge, and no matter what obstacles arise, I will prioritize
because I’ve been doing this for a long time and it comes
natural for me. I am able to assess my social, mental and
emotional health as I start this new chapter in my life. I will
still make time for self-care; any activity I find relaxing and
nurturing, I will also make possible.
Time management is a skill that came easy for me, fortunately. I
like to plan god forbid an emergency arises. The first step to
take for myself is to plan a “set time” to work and make sure
my schedule is clear and that I am not available for social
engagements during this time. An example of this was making
sure my manager was aware that I am looking to complete my
masters and receiving all her support with it.
I welcome all the challenges life gives me because I want to be
better and up my game in every possible aspect.

7. 7. How are you preparing to help your family, friends, co-
workers and others in your support circle understand what is
needed to be successful in your program in terms of time
commitment to your studies?
I chose this program because it is most flexible and compliant
with my current, and expected, schedule.
I am aware that I put a lot of effort into satisfying professors,
employers, coworkers, family and friends. I also know how to
satisfy my own needs in order to stay centered.
Setting boundaries is extremely important for juggling many
responsibilities. I did alert my manager and coworkers about
restrictions in my schedule where I will not be accessible to
field call or answer questions. Lastly, I will allot as much time
as possible to all the important people and tasks in my life, so
no one feels undervalued.
I am blessed with a huge support system. My parents, co-
workers, and friends are extremely supportive in my decision to
pursue my career. I plan to continue interacting with my family,
friends and co-workers to get feedback from them as I perceive
them as my mentors throughout this time. In other words, it
simply means making certain that I am communicating
effectively with my support system.