Personal Statement

I live in a small diverse low-income community where I have interacted with various
cultural backgrounds since childhood. Growing up in my community I have noticed the influx of
immigrants settling in the city since over a decade. This has influenced my interest in cultural
related topics and cultural perspectives of a topic. When I began my studies at Wayne State
University I decided to pursue a Bachelors of Social Work degree due to my interest in helping
the immigrant population. Immigrants are a unique vulnerable population that is misunderstood
often. The lifestyle of a low-income immigrant is very different from a non-immigrant. Their
lives often contain family responsibilities, language barriers, financial stress, and fear of the
unknown. Although I was born in the United States, I felt the experiences of immigrants who
lived around me and it has built my passion to be an advocate for this population.
Through my journey as an undergraduate student I have developed an interest in
international issues related to the socioeconomic development of third world countries. I have
also taken an interest in economic issues that occur in foreign nations and its relation to history
and political structure. In addition to these interests, my involvement with International Social
Work Organization has helped me gain some skills on how to collaborate with other individuals
in order to help bring awareness to social welfare issues on a global scale. When I now consider
my involvement with the organization and my independent research on international issues, I
realize that the immigrant population is a true interest of mine that motivates me to do my best as
a social worker in terms of following research studies on immigrants and policies, and
interacting with different cultural communities in order to help advocate for the needs of this
population.
Personal Characteristics
As a person I consider myself to be open minded, curious, passionate, self-disciplined,
and a constant thinker. I have always been an open minded person that is interested in

understanding different perspectives of a topic and exploring new areas of my learning. Learning
about something new excites me, especially when I can apply my learning later on. My curiosity
often leads me to new areas of learning and experiences. My self-discipline comes from my
cultural background and my independent nature. This characteristic has helped me stay on task,
be organized, and has influenced my success at Wayne State University. When I reflect back on
my high school years up until now, I remember having moments late at night or in the early
morning where I would think about how I wanted to help others, and have this burning desire to
do so. In those moments, I felt so confident in my abilities to make a difference. Today, I would
define those moments as times of self-inspiration and passion. I think experiencing those
moments is what helped keep me going when my desire to move forward in life decreased due to
difficult circumstances.
Professional Development
The B.S.W. program has exposed me to social work knowledge and skills that has helped me
grow as a future social worker. Through my social work practice method courses I learned how
to conduct interviews with clients using skills like paraphrasing, reflective responding, and
summarizing. Then, I learned about how social work practice can be conducted in group settings
based on the type of group, characteristics of group members, and group environment. Lastly, I
learned how to assess organizations and communities on the macro level. Aside from my practice
courses, I gained field experience in both a micro and macro practice setting. This helped me
gain diverse a set of skills. From my micro experience in field I learned how to effectively
communicate with, technically train, and assess behaviors of developmentally disabled adults.
On the other hand from my macro experience, I learned how to use the homeless database
system, analyzed the process of policy creation by agencies, and understood how issues are
discussed and resolved through community collaboration. Both of my field experiences

challenged me to think differently and open my mind to possibilities through group or individual
efforts.
Philosophical Approach to Service

When I think of how I would like to service individuals I think of various settings. I think
that all levels and types of services are important for whichever oppressed population it is for.
Service should also mean to communicate with others, be cognizant of ethical standards, and
often open to improve services that not only supports agencies, but the profession as well.
However, it is also important to note that the availability of services for different populations
vary. For example, the immigrant population currently often relies on existing services for their
needs such as employment assistance and federal assistance. There are very few programs that
are focused on providing for the unique needs of immigrant populations. Currently, some of the
programs that do exist are to help increase the achievement rates of immigrant students, but very
few focus on the needs of immigrant populations through a family perspective. For this reason, it
may be better in certain cases to put emphasis on services that are currently lacking. As social
workers it is important to help fill those gaps in services because it may be more effective in
creating positive outcomes for an oppressed population. I would like to become a social worker
that can one day fill one of the current gaps in services for the immigrant population.
Based on my personal background, personality, and exposure to different levels of social work
practice, I now have a firm understanding of where I would like to make a difference. My pursuit for a
Masters of Social Work degree will help me further engage in research activities and community projects
that will help me assist and advocate for the population of my interest. This portfolio reflects some of my
qualities, skills, experiences, and knowledge that I have gained since the start of my B.S.W. program.