I am applying to XXXX University for the Master of Social Work program. My career goal is to work with underprivileged adolescents, especially those with a history of a full-time position with a recruitment firm, I am a relief counselor for a target group in a residential treatment setting. I want to complement this practical experience with specialized training to best serve those individuals who most need our support as a society.
As with many social workers, I have chosen this profession because of troubles in my own childhood as a foster child of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Both of my birth parents abused me physically and emotionally, prompting the courts to permanently remove me from their power.
I subsequently moved through a succession of foster homes and adolescent shelters. My high school years were, therefore, highly traumatic. I could not have survived them without the aid of the counselors and social workers that were so kind to me. And my problems were not all on an emotional level.
I constantly battled financial difficulties to graduate from high school and embark on college. I paid all my way through college working a minimum wage job. This made my first two years especially difficult. But I persevered and achieved an overall G.P.A. of 3.5 for my final two years in school. I also dedicated much of my time to campus activities and have held several leadership positions.
Today, I work with an international recruitment firm that allows me to travel throughout the United States and Europe. This has given me a sense of accomplishment and maturity, yet I feel a deep void in my life. I need to give back to the community that helped me so much. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of social work. I am thus in a unique position to understand the conflicts within the hearts of troubled adolescents.
I comprehend, for instance, the importance of such issues as trust. I believe that a child in foster care would be naturally more inclined to trust someone who had also experienced the system firsthand. I believe that my background, my ambition, and my resourcefulness will enable me to make a valuable contribution to your social work program.
MSW Statement of Purpose Samples