AMANDA CUMMINGS

My reasons for seeking social work as a profession are many and the goals I have
set for myself are far reaching. The aim of a social worker is to help people achieve
change and make decisions that will improve their quality of life. I believe as a social
worker, you must be genuinely committed to working with people and serve as a guide to
help people with social issues solve their problems. Being sympathetic and having a
caring nature, as well as having the ability to empathize, provides you with the ability to
earn the trust of people from all kinds of backgrounds. Other important qualities to have
in the field of social work are good communication skills and being observant. I have
chosen to pursue social work as a profession as I feel I have these important qualities,
which will enable me to provide successful outcomes for the clients I will one day serve.
I feel strongly that social work is where I am meant to be and it is one of my strongest
passions. I feel that as a social worker I can help make a positive difference in the lives of
individuals and provide them with the best opportunity for success.
My career objective with an Masters of Social Work degree is to work in the
school environment but specifically with children and families. My goal is to pursue the
interpersonal practice. I have a strong interest in working with individuals, families and
small groups to focus on the transactional relationship between people and their social
environment. I have chosen this concentration, in particular, due to the fact that I have a
great deal of experience working with children and families. Further, I have a high level
of interest in serving this population and enjoy working with these individuals. I would
like to work with the at-risk population within the schools and help make a positive
change in the lives of young people. I believe implementing intervention strategies at a
young age is very important as it can make a strong and lasting impact on an individual

AMANDA CUMMINGS

for the rest of their lives. Achieving a Masters of Social Work degree will help me
accomplish my goals and it will allow me to work in the field that I am most passionate
about. It will help me gain the skills and knowledge that I need to be successful in
helping the population I plan to serve.
Earning my Bachelors of Social Work education helped prepare me in so many
ways for my intended field of practice. One of the first things I learned and did my best
to memorize was the NASW code of ethics. I believe the code of ethics is one of the
essential things a successful social worker must know. Also, I learned about many
different social issues while writing all of the papers required throughout my BSW
education. Some of the important things that I learned include understanding policy,
ethics, human behavior, personal values and values of clients, different assessments for
clients, the importance of research and how to utilize it, and how to perform group and
individual work with clients. Additionally, I learned a great deal during my BSW
education through my field placement. The hands on experience taught me many things;
most importantly, it confirmed to me the fact that I want to be a school social worker. My
field placement was in the Pontiac School District. It allowed me to be very involved and
hands on with social work services. I mainly worked with special education students in
the elementary and preschool. I learned a great deal about disabilities and the appropriate
interventions to use for this population and age group. I was able to use everything I
learned in the classroom and from the training that the school district provided to help me
best serve the clients we worked with. Overall, I felt that the BSW program at Wayne
State University gave me a very rich learning experience and I feel competent as a result
of everything that I learned.

AMANDA CUMMINGS

There are many ways in which I conceptualize the practice of social work with
client systems. By virtue of my social work experience, I have learned how to assess the
needs of an individual, utilize the social work skills that I have learned and developed
over time and use knowledge gained through evidence based research. A bio-psychosocial assessment is one client system that I have become very familiar with in practice.
It helps define what social work skills to use, what type of goals to set with a particular
client and how to prioritize their needs.
My life experiences have had a great impact on my potential for success in the
social work profession. In my past I have volunteered with International Student
Volunteers, volunteered at Lighthouse Emergency Services in Pontiac, participated in the
Oakland University Alternative Spring Break and interned in Pontiac School District.
Firstly, I am proud to say that I belong to an incredibly diverse group of
International Student Volunteers whose sole purpose is to impact the world we live in. I
traveled to the Dominican Republic with a group of student volunteers from all over the
world. The experience was incredible and we were able to be apart of a wonderful
purpose, community development. It was inspiring to see a group of college students act
so selflessly. Then to see the gratefulness of the people in the community was very
humbling. It was impossible to come out of an experience like that without a broadened
and life changing perspective. I learned through my visit to the Dominican Republic and
hopefully other countries in the future, that regardless of the college a person attends,
regardless of what country a person comes from or the language they speak, every person
is a unique human being with special gifts and talents.

AMANDA CUMMINGS

Additionally, volunteering at the Lighthouse Emergency Services of Oakland

County was another great experience I had the privilege to be apart of and I believe has
had a great impact on my potential for success in the social work profession. Lighthouse
Emergency Services helps people who deal with poverty, hunger and homelessness. The
individuals who come to Lighthouse are all in need of immediate and emergency
attention. As volunteers, we helped initiate the healing process required to overcome the
crisis situations people who visited us found themselves in. We provided a continuum of
services designed to move people from crisis and instability to self-sufficiency and
independence. Volunteering here helped me develop a better understanding of all
different types of people and all the resources that are available to help people in need. I
also learned many skills with working with individuals. These are just some of the many
life experiences I have had the opportunity to be apart of, which have impacted my
potential for success in the social work profession.
As an imperfect human being, I recognize I have strengths and limitations. I view
my concern for alleviating social problems as a strength, as I do have a heart for service
and helping others; however, a limitation I would confess is that I have never known
what it is like not to have a meal available to me or a warm bed to sleep in. So, I think I
can empathize with people who find themselves in this situation but sympathizing is hard
to do. Concerning the nature of my relationships with people, I believe I am an openminded, extroverted person wiling to engage people openly and honestly. I love to learn
about different values, life styles and cultures that are not always the same as mine. I
believe there are so many benefits from learning new things, including what others
believe. Relating to my ability to be self-critical, I do not believe this is a problem for

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me. I am able to accept constructive criticism or feedback given in the spirit to help me
become a better person and provider. As I previously mentioned, I am an open-minded
young adult with much to learn and experience but I believe I have an attitude that
accepts those who are of a different race, religion and culture. I do have a strong
Christian faith but I think this benefits me, as I believe the main thing about being a
Christian is to love people and accept everyone without judgment.
As of this moment, I am fortunate to not have any major responsibilities or life
challenges that would interfere or limit my social work education. I have few obligations
and responsibilities aside from developing myself as a person so that I can provide for
others and myself in the future. I have a savings account that I have been putting money
into my whole life, specifically to pay for college. My main goal and focus is to
complete a Masters of Social Work degree and I am willing to embrace all of the
demands of graduate studies at Wayne State University.
Wayne State University is a nationally recognized urban public research
university and the mission is to create knowledge and prepare a diverse body of students
to excel in an increasingly complex and global society. I have high interest in urban
communities and I feel that graduate school at Wayne State University is the best place
for me to become equipped to meet the needs of those who are in need of social services.