Social work is a profession where practitioners are given the opportunity to work with individuals or a family in crisis. Social workers interact with their clients at some of the worst times in their life but work collaboratively to find the best outcome for the client or client and their family while striving for long-term success. Collaboration is accomplished using the social worker’s education, experience, and the code of ethics. In addition to utilizing the client’s strengths and self-determined goals set to help reach the desired outcome. My goal for long-term success as a social worker is to earn an MSW from George Mason University. My second goal is to work in the field of geriatrics as a Care Manager and advocate for my clients. By earning an MSW at George Mason’s advanced standing program in Adults and healthy aging, I hope to fulfill these two aspirations. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have grown and will continue to grow my education in the classroom and through experience with junior and senior field placements. After completing my first field placement with Centra PACE Farmville, I became enamored with the geriatric population. I enjoyed my work so much that I often went above and beyond on my days off and attended additional meetings with coworkers. At PACE, I have totaled over 717 internship hours working with the geriatric population developing a love for and growing knowledge in the field. Additionally, 500 hours were completed during my senior field placement with Elder Tree Care Management. I will continue working for the company as a Care Manager while completing my Masters’s degree at George Mason.

 My most important goal, not only in my career but also in my life, is to help others whenever possible. This will be done through advocacy for my client’s needs. In addition to my overall career goal, I would also like to aid the caretakers of the clients. I have had firsthand experience with the toll it can take on caretakers when caring for an ill loved one at any stage in life. My brother and I were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at a young age, and I would later be diagnosed in high school with POTS. It was from my hospital bed that I learned of the profession of social work. Immediately, it clicked, and I knew what I wanted to grow up to be. Over the years, I have witnessed the toll illnesses took on my family and would like to use this experience in practice through support groups dedicated to caretakers. From the adversities I have faced, I have become a hardworking, determined individual who has learned to fight through hard times. My favorite word growing up was hope, hoping for a better future; this changed to the term resiliency. I embody resiliency in my professional, educational, and personal careers. My experience in my undergraduate studies has taught me that I am a leader. My peers selected me as the treasurer of the Federation of Student Social Workers at Longwood University. I was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor Society for academic excellence

At the end of my career, I would like to look back on my time in the field of social work and say I have positively impacted my clients and community and supported their families, caregivers, and coworkers.