Why I Became A Social Worker
~ By Jasmine Rose
Thinking about this year’s National Social Work Month prompted me to reflect on how I discovered the study of social work and why I chose the profession. Entering college the fall of 1997, I had my mind made up that I would major in biology in hopes of entering my university’s Physical Therapy graduate program. After studying biology my first semester, I found myself uninspired with the study, reading solely for assignments, and memorizing the cellular structure because I was told to. I also took a yearlong required English course that first year, which had us read Terry Tempest William’s Refuge and volunteer at local non-profits. One of the volunteer opportunities I had was at a Ronald McDonald House, which provides housing and support to young patients and their families during cancer treatment. During this time I wrote a paper that required reflection on both the novel and our volunteer experience, and I found myself wanting to manage a home like the Ronald McDonald House. At the start of my second year in college, I talked to a professor about taking a Social Welfare Class on the history of social work. Not only did I enjoy reading the material, but I found myself fascinated by the history of the social welfare movement and was immediately drawn in.
The mission of the social work profession resounded strongly with me both personally and professionally: The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well¬being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. One of the aspects of the mission and values that stuck out for me was the notion that all humans of every walk of life have the power and knowledge within, to overcome their own challenges and obstacles. The plight of the social worker is to empower individuals to utilize their own strengths, tools, and resources so that they can work through the obstacles at hand. I felt passionately about the values clearly articulated by The National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics: service, social injustice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. I was surprised that I could find something that was so in line with who I had been striving to be my entire life.
Eleven years later, I still find myself embracing this mission and code of ethics. While I haven’t become a manager of a Ronald McDonald House, I have found myself able to work towards helping create environments that remind me of why I loved that place: a place that could support, empower, and witness the evolving healing spirit of humans.
