Social Work Personal Statement

I was born and raised in the East side of San Jose, where I graduated from James Lick High school. It was a very tough school when I attended despite all the obstacles I still managed to graduate. I moved on to San Jose City College where I obtained two degrees, an AS-T in Social Science and the other in Liberal Arts and then moved on to San Jose State University. I am the first generation to have attended a four-year University. I am the daughter of two immigrant parents that came to this country 26 plus years ago from Mexico. It was very hard for my parents to have made something out of their life in their home land. Just at the young age of 19 they decided to sacrifice their life to give my siblings and I a better one. I am the first in
my family to have received a Bachelor’s degree and the first to have even gained a degree. It has always been my dream to apply to a master’s program. To have made it this far already is a huge accomplishment for my family and I. I plan on making it a goal that my brother could to follow as well as other younger generations that I come across. Living in San Jose you see many cases where there are kids that don’t even get to see the age of 18 let alone cross the stage to get their high school diploma. I was one of those lucky few that made it to where I am, and I feel like now more than ever it is my turn to give back. My career goals in the profession of social work is to potentially be a Therapist at a probation school or a school where I would be working with high risk youth.
I have been exposed to certain situations at my current job where I have felt stuck because of the limitations that my job offers. I feel like Social Work would help me take that extra step in the right direction. I enjoy working with the forgotten population that I like to call them the ones that everyone over sees. I am applying to the Master of Social Work program because I have found tremendous satisfaction with working with at risk youth. I was stuck on Criminal Justice for as long as I could remember but it wasn’t until I started my internship where I truly knew what I wanted to pursue. The Juvenile Justice System has always been something that I have been interested in. Many of the times the youth are not being given the help that they did. A great deal of the time it is deeper than it looks. My primary reason for pursuing social work is because I want to provide the direct service with the family as well as the child. My passion has always been working with at risk youth, and I believe that by taking the path of social work I can better assist them. I had an incredible experience with the criminal justice program at San Jose State University, and it has encouraged me to further my education on this
campus.

B.
How your background and experience influenced your decision and prepared you to become a social worker, specifically experience with each of the following:
1. Personal and professional experiences (e.g., experiences that have helped shape and define who you are; experiences giving and receiving help, etc.). If you have faced adversity and/or challenges in your life (e.g. trauma, addiction, immigration/acculturation experiences, mental illness, etc.) please explain how you have overcome these challenges and are now prepared for graduate
studies.

On a professional level I have had some experiences that have helped shape me. In the past two years that I have been volunteering/working with New Hope for Youth I have been exposed to some life changing experiences. Many of the families that we work with have little to no support when it comes to getting help for their kids. Many other programs that don’t work close with the families don’t truly know the troubles they have. Others bash on the parents for not being able to discipline their kids because its their kids and not anyone else’s. At New Hope for Youth we have are trained to help out the families and have to work with them on a personal level. From my experience from helping these families I have learned that it comes with a lot challenges. Times we often become like family to these kids and then there are times where it’s not the case. There are many things that come with helping families, there can be many challenges and changes in their life that they need help adjusting to. Whether it is the family of the youth mostly the youth they confined in you and tell you their story. The trauma they once felt and the trauma they still carry starts to take a toll on you. You may have not personally lived it but it affects you. One of the experiences that I came across that I believe made a huge impact is when the youth that we know are on the news as another homicide or suspect in a crime. Going into their home and giving their family members your condolences and seeing them at their lowest has to be the hardest thing. The agony and pain that they are feeling gets passed onto you even though you might not personally have interacted with them much. I have never been in a situation In my personal experience that has ever came close to what I have experienced in my professional career.
This field of work comes with many challenges as well as rewards. I have overcome these challenges by focusing on other things that are more positive. Looking at how we could make a change in other kids lives, even if it’s just one life that I made a positive influence on. I’m not able to make a change in each one of their lives but as long as I’m able to change the life of one is enough to make my job worth it. Although it takes a toll on me at times I turn that into something positive and it makes me want to try harder to be that person that could help them out. I have prepared myself mentally and physically to be able to work in this field of study. My experiences have molded me to what is to come. Many experiences have made me aware of potential things that I may also come across in Social Work. I have proven that I am capable of surpassing the difficulties.

2. Your experience and interest with different cultures and oppressed groups (e.g. meaningful experiences in groups, communities and organizations; thoughts about issues of classism, sexism, homophobia, racism, poverty, and other forms of oppression), including specific experience with each of the following populations-at-risk:
• Latinos/as, Asian Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, and other ethnic minority groups;
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered populations; and
• Communities, groups, families, and individuals who are disenfranchised, oppressed, and/or marginalized

A majority of the population of the youth and families that I have worked with at New Hope for Youth fall under minority groups. About 90% of the clients are either Hispanic, African American, Native American and sometimes Asian American. The clients that I have all fall under many categories some being racism, poverty , oppression , classism etc. One experience that I will never forget is when the San Jose Police Department served a search warrant at a residency to find stolen property and they came out with property that belonged to the youth. When going back to court to claim their property the police officers stated that they had confiscated the property because the family could not possibly afford it. One of the Police Officer claimed that it was because “they looked poor”. It is unfortunate that there are some Police Officers that still oppress certain minority groups. Communities that have high crime rates get looked at differently because where they are and who lives in them. Although times have changed there are always those bad people police officers that ruin it for the good police officers. I have also done some research for my Research Methods Class and I focused on the public perception of police shootings. In this research it was demonstrated that minority groups were much less satisfied with law enforcement than their white counterparts. My whole research paper was about the perception of minority groups versus the perception of Caucasians. I choose that topic because it interests me how different oppressed groups get targeted and because of that their perception changes because of the experiences.
I have had my share of experiences with the LGBTQ community, some of the youth that I Case Manage especially the females who are lesbians and are trying to gang bang. One of the most important things that I learned that will either make or break your relationship with Gay Male or a Lesbian is what pronoun they identify themselves with. If you are not able to get it right your whole relationship with them would be ruined. There is the female that is lesbian that is girly who will most likely be the female in the relationship and there is the butchy female that dresses like a male that will be the male in the relationship. Some “Dyke’s” as they are referred too like being referred to as he, him, or his. Then there is the feminine female where you use she, her, or hers. The same goes for Gay males whether they want to be called she , her or he, him. There also feminine gay males that like being the female in the relationship or there is the masculine male that is the man in the relationship. In my time with volunteering/working with New Hope for Youth I have been exposed to different scenarios with gay and lesbian populations. The most important thing is to never judge and be accepting of people who are different that is how you earn respect from the LGBTQ community.

C. What contribution to the profession and society you expect to make as a social worker, especially in terms of our program’s mission emphasizing culturally competent practice with Latinos/as, other minority groups, and those communities, groups, families, and individuals who are disenfranchised, oppressed, and/or marginalized; I plan on pursuing the School Social Worker route preferably at a continuation school or a school that has mostly high risk youth. The contributions that I hope to make as a social worker is to be someone that they could talk to without judging them because of who they are. Many of the minority families, kids and other oppressed groups that

I hope to get the clients to talk to me about their challenges in life and be a source that that could use when they need someone to listen and understand them and their needs. Be able to control my emotions because some stories are more emotional than others. I am companionate and empathetic which shows that I am able to understand their struggles. Difficult situations call for strong people especially when dealing and working with the most vulnerable populations. I have had experiences with all different kinds of people I feel like I can contribute being culturally competent would be one of my strengths that I could contribute. It is important because it increases the chances of improving the outcomes for those that are being served. I am culturally competent and I plan to have an open mind and the willingness to accept the views of others even if it mean putting my own beliefs to the side.