Career plans consist of my experiences in social work, my goals and passions for my future, what I’ve learned throughout social work journey, and how I can apply it to my future career of social work.
Throughout my social work courses, I was able to learn about the importance of a role of a social worker within society. During my junior and senior internship, I was able to put the information I learned throughout my course into real life situations. During my junior internship at The Department of Social Services at Manassas Park, VA. Throughout my internship I learned about the importance of social services and foster care/adoption care programs. This taught me how social services is advocating for children’s well-being and promoting a safe environment for children whether that is in their home or with a foster parent. learned the goal of this part of social services is reunification of the family although that may not always be the case due to safety precautions for that child/ adolescent. During my time at social services, I also learned about benefits side of social services and providing resources to low-income families. Service plays a significant role in social services because you are proving families and children with support and resources that they have previously not received.
My senior internship is at The Infant and Toddler Connection of the Heartland. During this internship I learned about the importance of early intervention services. I have become more knowledgeable about early intervention provides services to children birth- three who may be experiencing developmental delays, atypical development, or have a health diagnosis. Working at this internship has showed me how crucial early intervention services can be to one’s development and how it can help children meet all developmental milestones and improve areas of concern. The importance of human relationships also plays a significant role in early intervention because service coordinators work with therapist, schools, and early head start programs to provide children and families with resources to continue their growth. Once a child ages out of services they can transition to school services to help continue their developmental needs.
I decided to pursue a career in social work to help vulnerable populations with their overall well-being and help meet their basic needs that they do not have access to. My social work courses helped me gain insights on advocacy and collaborative problem-solving by identifying how it will serve as guiding principles to help accomplish my personal and professional mission goals. This contributed to deepening the understanding of how leadership skills apply to the social work field, in addition how advocating on behalf of a vulnerable population such as children and adolescents, can help create positive impacts in their lives and help advocate for changes in society. As my time at Longwood University is coming to an end, I would like to continue my growth and education by attaining my master’s in clinical social work.
I would like to work with children and adolescents experiencing behavioral or mental health conditions and create strategies and treatment plans to assist them with their needs. Working at both my internships have showed me the importance of children’s mental health during their years of development because their social environment can impact their emotional and mental wellness tremendously. I want to be able to help alleviate some of that stress, pain, an anxiety children may be experiencing and help prevent it from happening. This enables me to have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a social worker and the importance of a clinical social worker in society. My social work courses have taught me how becoming a social worker can be challenging on one’s mental health because you want the opportunity to help everyone who enters services and provide them with resources and assistance but sometimes it’s not always up to you. I want to make a difference in one’s life and do everything in my power to create a better life situation for that individual. Although social may be challenging it is also rewarding making differences in people’s lives which something I am passionate about.