My first love was Psychology, and my passion for Social Work expresses my maturity, spiritual growth, and desire to help people survive and prosper. The loss of my mother – which shattered my world for a time – caused a profound re-evaluation of my priorities concerning what I want to do with my life; and how I want to go about helping others. While my undergraduate studies have been focused on Psychology, I have now decided to become a Social Worker rather than a psychologist. For this reason, I ask for admission to the MSW Program at XXXX University of Hong Kong – my first choice among MSW programs.
Currently working towards completing my undergraduate studies at Upper Iowa University in the USA, I hold a GPA of 3.56 out of 4.0. My sights are set on Social Work because social workers helped me and my family deal with the loss of my mother. Since then, I have read widely about Social Work, and I feel strongly that most of what I have learned as an undergraduate psychology student will also help me be an excellent Social Worker.
The loss of my mother has made me more serious and, at the same time, less afraid to reach out and envision precisely the kind of life that I want to obtain: a life of service, contributing to those who are less fortunate than I, those who are in the greatest need of my assistance and emotional support accompanied by sound advice and guidance.
I want to attend graduate school in Social Work, and I am sure that the XXXX University of Hong Kong is the ideal location for me to earn the MSW – since it is in Hong Kong, I look forward to decades of social work practice to come. Your program is the ideal location to prepare me for a professional lifetime, studying theory to enhance social work practice and constantly searching for improved ways of caring for the community, each family, and individual one at a time.
My voluntary work in various settings has allowed me to experience the needs of a broad range of clients and acquire an enhanced understanding of the social worker's role in each situation. Working with the Red Cross in support of the elderly has helped me better understand the magnitude and complexity of the issues faced by our older citizens. We better understand the complexity of the issues and problems our senior citizens face. Volunteering. for the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, working with mentally ill and disabled clients, has provided me with great insight into how this organization is integrated into the community, its liaisons with families, and how the referral process works through collaboration among organizations, Having experienced the impact of social workers myself during my mother’s terminal illness, in my free time, I especially enjoy studying the way that social workers have been fully integrated into our healthcare systems and the critical roles they play.
As a Chinese woman born and raised in Hong Kong, now 33 years old, I am fully fluent in Mandarin and English, in addition to my native Cantonese. Optimistic and a fast learner, I take pride in being a good listener, funny, friendly, rational, empathetic, patient, considerate, helpful, cautious, careful, humble, and eager to learn. I am convinced that my academic background in Psychology will help me excel as a graduate student in Social Work, particularly in human behavior and diversity. I am also extremely excited about the prospect of both Fieldwork and Practicum, integrating theory and practice and gaining hands-on, intensive experience aligned with my interests in Social Work.
Highly experienced at working with the mentally disabled, comforting the lonely, and looking after the welfare of vulnerable individuals, I am eager to explore new roles of interaction with my community as a social worker, liaising with families in need and studying intensively the emotional needs of those around me who are experiencing difficulties in life. Earning the MSW at ____ will provide me with the optimal foundation for lifelong learning about my community's and the Venerable's needs and how I might maximize my contribution to society and the Social Work profession.
My experience has given me a deep appreciation of the way that concerning how each individual and family situation is unique regarding needs and available resources. Fully committed to the importance of equal participation and integration, I place a great deal of emphasis and priority on the importance of family, and this is one of the reasons why I am so favorably impressed with the curriculum of your program, with its heavy emphasis on the central importance of the role of the family as well as the community.
My relevant experience in Social Work so far has been as a volunteer. Volunteering is remarkably close to my heart, and I see it as indispensable for outstanding social workers seeking to enhance their contribution to the community. However, my ability to volunteer while studying at the university was very much restricted by my mother’s illness and subsequent passing away. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and died several years later. There were extended periods when I needed to take care of her 24/7, forcing me to withdraw from a course or receive a lower grade than I would have otherwise. During these periods, I learned and reflected most on Social Work's nature, meaning, and purpose since social workers assisted my family and me during our greatest need.
I also worked as a private tutor for many years and enjoyed seeing the look of satisfaction on the faces of both parents and students when grades improved. My work with the Agency for Volunteer Service was multi-faceted, from helping the elderly paint their homes, for example, to supporting roles for specific exhibitions and helping with flag day. I made a monthly visit to an older adult on behalf of the Red Cross and helped an organization named Treats, assisting minority children and those with disabilities. I have learned much about child psychology and mental health challenges - autism, learning disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, etc. With the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, I provided diverse services to the mentally ill and their families. I currently assist with the group visiting hostels for moderately mentally disabled persons in Lok Fu. We support the social workers serving in this hostel with activities such as planting or playing table tennis.
Thank you for considering my application to Social Work at XXXX University.
MSW Born and Raised in China, Military Social Work PTSD
I see Social Work as unique as it serves to forge, preserve, and uplift the community, especially its less fortunate members, providing assessment and solutions. Social workers serve as guides as well as advocates, helping people to move forward in the building of a better life. This represents the ideal career for which I am best suited because of my life circumstances and experiences.
Born and raised in China and coming to the USA for my education, I am one of many young people from my country who have fully adopted America as a permanent home on many levels, cultural, political, and psychological. The fullest expression of becoming a Chinese American has been my service as a soldier in the US Army. As I decide on my post-military career, I still think of military community members, Soldiers, veterans, and their families will always be my central community and social support base; we like to think of ourselves as a family. My sense of well-being is tied to the well-being of military members and veterans. This accounts for my high motivation to serve the most vulnerable members of this community who are suffering. Thus, I am incredibly grateful that Ido does not suffer from PTSD and has no permanent damage from my military service. I see caring for those who have come home from service to our country with long-term, and all-too-often chronic, mental health challenges as a natural choice. Thus, I hope to earn an MSW Degree in Social Work, focusing on social work issues as they apply to military members, veterans, and their families.
My mother was a professional translator while I was growing up, which allowed her to travel and see much of the world. My fondest memories of my childhood are of her coming back home to China for lengthy periods of strongly feel, talking about her travels, day after day, week after week, planting in me a sense of international identity and global citizenry that I retain to this day. I went to an international high school in China. I feel very strongly that learning about many other cultures and having classmates and friends from many other parts of the world helped open my eyes to novel, multicultural forms of learning and teaching. My international mindset and multicultural experience will allow me to excel as a graduate student in Social Work, mainly as it concerns international and diversity issues. I relish diversity, particularly in America, and I am fascinated by the impact of diversity on Social Work, theory, practice, and social justice issues. In the Army, I was trained and served as a Behavioral Health Specialist. During training, I entered the world of psychology for the first time. I was introduced to helping soldiers manage their mental health issues from combat experiences. The training consisted of group and individual counseling, including a 3-month internship at XXXX hospital. My experience working with troubled combat soldiers laid a solid foundation for my lifetime dedication to helping our military family. I have training and experience working with troubled soldiers in combat roles, and I have found my position in this world my cause. I could not feel more confident that earning the MSW Degree is the right step forward for me to continue advancing professionally in my post-military professional endeavors.
My deployment to Afghanistan for a year following my training to serve as a Behavioral Health Specialist was the highlight of my adult life to that point, working under the supervision of psychologists and social workers. For the first six months, I worked in a NATO hospital mental health clinic and performed initial interviews, writing, and filing reports for our licensed provider, upon which treatment plans were authorized and appropriate referrals made. I also taught prevention classes at the unit level to promote mental health awareness and successful coping skills. I like to think that I have a lot to give to Social Work: especially concerning creativity in mental health promotion, making it entertaining for the clients.
I see cultural humanity as a lifelong learning process. There will be clients from different genders, races, religions, and social classes. We as professionals commonly encounter situations or clients, we know little or nothing about, and we must discover their cultural perspectives to help them. I look forward to learning something from each client as I devote a lifetime to studying diverse perspectives related to Social Work. As a first-generation immigrant, I understand culture shock and the difficulties associated with building a new life and a new web of social relationships. My experience in overcoming cultural and language barriers will help me empathize with and have compassion for people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Military service helped me understand military culture and peer relationship issues. As a veteran and a parent, I know the difficulties of adjusting to family members in and out of military life and the struggle of balancing military and personal life.
I am most devoted to the cause of helping my clients as a social worker by thinking from a holistic framework and responding to and guiding my clients in culturally appropriate ways. I received a lot of praise in the military, for example, for forming and running a Taichi relaxation/meditation class which became enormously popular and was a very therapeutic model; I received a lot of praise in the military for starting and running a Taichi relaxation/meditation class, ic. I traveled with my licensed provider to small outposts and bases for missions to provide mental health support in the field for six months. Especially whenever a KIA (kill in Action) or other traumatic event happened, we would get there as soon as possible to facilitate Trauma intervention and provide individual counseling services for our traumatized soldiers in the field. We are trusted by the soldiers and thus able to advocate. After experiencing countless memorial services, tears, and the sobs of our brave warriors, I have come to thrive on feeling a solid connection with them, which is why I hope to give back to military families.
I began my undergraduate studies at Troy University while deployed in Afghanistan. I had initially intended to major in Graphic Design, one of my early loves, but my heart was stolen by my work in mental health. Therefore, I completed my studies toward a BA in Psychology with a Minor in Applied Behavior Analysis. Nevertheless, I am convinced my GPA does not accurately reflect my ability to perform as a graduate student. My grades have improved; early on, they were affected by the fact that I was studying in a war zone, authoring essays with bombs going off, and the Internet coming in and out. I missed an examination on several occasions because I was on a mission. After returning from Afghanistan, I served as a soldier in the US Army Reserve. I continued my studies in Psychology, working part-time and gaining experience with individuals suffering from developmental disabilities, serving as their direct care worker. Since earning my bachelor's degree, I have further expanded my involvement with children with mental health disorders and autism. As a result of these experiences, I have already had an opportunity to acquaint myself with many of the basics of social work, especially regarding our legal and educational systems here in the State of XXXX. This is the principal reason XXXX University is my first choice for graduate school in Social Work, in addition to the sheer excellence of your program.
I hope to become a clinical social worker in Wisconsin, a licensed social worker in the Veteran Affairs system, helping veterans and military families. I believe my military experience will allow me to connect with and understand them better. My experience with special needs children will help me provide an elevated level of service to the children and spouses of military personnel. My cultural background will allow me to understand clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. My creativity and skills in art and art therapy will also provide me with resources to make the therapy process fun for those who have difficulty putting their emotions into words.
I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life during my first two years in the United States. I was always a creative child interested in art and design. This is why I chose graphic design as my major. That was when I decided to become financially independent and achieve my "American dream" on my own by joining the US Army. I did not know what to expect at first, but I was always the person who would act quickly when it was called for. The Army helped me break the language barrier and overcome the culture shock. I became entirely whole in the US Army and someone most keen to give her life to social work.
I look forward to exploring innovative technologies and therapy methods to help veterans and family members deal with PTSD, depression, transition, adjustment, and resiliency. I also look forward to lifelong engagement in promoting mental health in the military and learning how to prevent and heal invisible wounds. After several years in Psychology, I spent most of my time being the direct caregiver under the direction of licensed providers. For me, being a leader means taking the initiative in seeing that the needs of one’s client are met. I want to continue learning from my clients and use my experience in the field to pass on the things I have learned to my fellow caregivers. The process of healing is always a group effort. I want to fulfill the role of coordinator who unites the client and directs caregivers, families, and community resources to work together in harmony with Social Work best practices. I see the goal of social work to be improving the social system itself, enhancing social functions and well-being for all. I will put my effort into exploring untapped resources, technologies, and therapeutic methods for helping our communities.
Thank you for considering my application to the MSW Program at the University of XXXX at XXXX.
MSW Social Work Personal Purpose Statement Example