Personal Statement

I am a conscientious, responsible, enthusiastic and an open minded person who is compassionate for others and as a social worker. I am a hardworking and motivated by challenges. I enjoy

embracing new experiences and am avidly interested in listening to peoples problems and finding strategies to help solve them. I want to be that person who delivers a good service to people who are in need of it. I believe in equal opportunity and am

ready to be challenged by any unfair discriminative actions. During my studies in the School of Social Work, my concentration in interpersonal practice provided me a living and unique lens through which I observed how policies affect peoples quality of life. I have witnessed how vulnerable community members are who are struggling in their environments. I am becoming more aware of the disadvantages people living in poverty are sadly forced to face each and every day. These experiences provided me with a valuable insight into the aims, values and ethics of social work within the local authority and how these are applied in practice. Through applying these values and ethics in my voluntary role I not only gained a great sense of job satisfaction, I also came to realize how important these are to gaining respect and

trust from clients, a necessity as a foundation for any client work in social services to be effective. I have gained an insight and practical experience myself of the challenges of working with clients in a social work setting. My ability to demonstrate personal qualities of diplomacy, tact and empathy in these situations have further convinced me of my suitability to pursue this profession. I fully appreciate additional

challenges social workers face in relation to working to modern strict procedures, I understand this career path requires the ability to take a multi-agency approach and skills to multitask, plan and work concisely and accurate. All these skills I have gained not only from academic study and relevant work experience. I now identify myself as a professional social worker and have learned to conduct myself accordingly. I have applied social work ethical principles to guide me in my professional practice. I have also engaged in diversity and difference in practice, as well as evaluating individuals, and families in their environment and community. I have familiarized myself with the foster care culture as well as the community and gained an understanding on ethical standards. I have also become more knowledgeable on the importance of social workers ethical

responsibilities to clients and colleagues, as well as social workers ethical responsibilities in practice settings. Throughout my internship at DHS I have developed an array of skills that has helped me grow not only as a social worker but as a person as well. I have been given the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people that has opened my eyes and allowed me to gain a different perception on certain aspects of life and how people function. I have gained many insights from my supervisor and the social workers I have shadowed over the past six months but mainly it is the experience I have gained from working with the clients that has taught me the most. The clients have taught me most of what I know now opposed to what I knew before starting at DHS. This experience so far has shined a major light on culture awareness. I have become more aware of my own values and biases, which has helped me better work with clients. I am learning the impact of culture and diversity on a persons perception of their world and have tried to take all perspectives in to account. I am continuously acquiring a growing knowledge base about clients cultures that can be applied to practice and am considerate and appreciative of their differences. I am learning the nature of oppression and social diversity as they apply to various groups.

Working amongst different people has assisted me on gaining a better understanding on other cultures and their expectations. Through learning about other cultures and ethnicities other than my own, it has allowed me to become a more rounded individual. This has also helped me better interact with the clients as well. As I continue to grow more culturally aware and more

knowledgeable about the field and my clients I am able to continue flourishing as a social worker and as a person. Throughout this experience I am continuing to better myself and most importantly the people I encounter on a daily and professional level. Today my values stand strong on being the best person I can be, speaking out by expressive actions, having compassion for others, and always treating others with respect and equality; the way I would like to be treated. Each day I work on becoming better for myself and for others around me. I want to be able to say with confidence that I made a difference; and as a social worker, I helped my clients as best as I know how with unlimited, non-biased, and honorable intent.