My area of academic interest in Social Work is Counseling. I have been drawn to this area of study by my keen desire to help people and my conviction that the best contribution I could make to my society and community would be to serve as a counselor. I do not place a high priority on making money; rather, what excites me the most about becoming a counselor and a social work professional is the prospect of making a lasting and sustainable, most positive impact on people's lives, helping them to survive difficult periods and situations and become successful, productive, and happy members of society.
I intend to focus my research on addictions and couple and family therapy because of my profound concern for the considerable damage that untreated habits cause to couples, families, children, and society. As a Black woman whose original home is in Nigeria, I look forward to being of exceptional service to the African diaspora community. Immigrants from Africa to the USA face many challenges, adjusting to culture shock, discrimination, long-distance relationships, the absence of family, etc. I especially look forward to learning all that I can about emotionally focused therapy. I particularly admire the work of Kara Fletcher at Regina University, and I am convinced that no one would be better qualified to help me make the most of my creative intellectual energy. She would be perfect as my academic advisor.
I keenly look forward to contributing to the diversity of your master's degree program at the University of XXXX in XXXX, Canada. I have important things to contribute to your program and valuable experiences to share with my peers worldwide. I earned my bachelor's degree in Nigeria in Counseling and spent the first four years of my professional life as a human resources officer and then as a counselor. I have been a people person all my life, passionately interested in listening to people’s problems and helping others live fuller and more prosperous lives.
As a Human Resource Officer at the Law firm XXXX & Co, I gained exposure to various challenging and exciting opportunities working on several workforce projects and enhancing my understanding of human resource management while applying the skills and knowledge resulting from my education in Counseling, working to increase employee productivity and satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness, all at the same time. I most enjoyed this opportunity to play a pivotal role in enhancing people’s lives through personal and social development.
I have been intensely passionate about the field of Counseling for many years, I think, because of my profound drive and high motivation for helping people to find the strength that is needed to resolve demanding situations in their lives. I have always believed that people are as strong as they think they are and can become as productive and mentally fit as they can learn how to become. Growing up, I have often been that person that friends go to for advice or to bounce an idea off, and I have frequently been told that my efforts to support others make a positive contribution. Thus, as I see it, Social Work is a natural choice for me, due to my character and academic background.
The University of ____ is my first choice for graduate study for several reasons: your program's excellent reputation and its international, multicultural community with students from over ninety countries. I have two daughters, Mariam, 7, and Muminah, 4, and XXXX represents a perfect environment for the ongoing education of my girls. We want to experience and explore Canadian culture and education in a small, safe, manageable college city. I also appreciate the student-to-faculty ratio of 20:1, allowing faculty to give students as much personalized and focused attention as possible. Earning the master's degree at XXXX will enable me to assume positions of increasing responsibility and make significant contributions to my current employer, the Federal Judicial Service Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.
I count the foundational experience of working at the intersection of HR and counseling as foundational to my career. I want to learn everything I can at XXXX about building on our client's strengths and take full advantage of the available resources to help people build stronger and healthier families and communities. I have learned how to conduct detail-oriented research and create structured and adaptive solutions consistent with the desires and needs of the client and the requirements of the law.
I take pride in my problem-solving ability and practical and intellectual interest in the social issues and challenges around me. I like to think of myself as an independent self-starter, a highly computer-literate professional fully dedicated to research, writing, and the ongoing development of my communication and presentation skills. My personal and professional ambition remains to equip myself with a solid, advanced education in the ever-changing, global contexts in which social work practice is advancing. I look forward to decades to come engaging in high-level research searching for more sophisticated understandings of the impact of legislation and social policy on clients and coworkers alike, always with particular attention to Africa.
Thank you for considering my application to Social Work at the University of XXXX.
Master of Social Work, MSW Personal Statement