[nádej]

I'm a social worker! I'm only 23 as well, so I don't have a ton of experience, but I do have a bit. I don't know if I'll stay in social work forever, but perhaps. I'm considering getting my Masters in counseling, so we'll see.


1. Why were you interested in becoming a social worker? (eg. personal experiences, inspiration, etc.)
I went through a slew of majors during my first two years of college, and social work was the first thing that actually felt right. I also grew up around social workers, as my family's done foster care for years and years and years. I was somewhat aware that it was something I might like to do for a while. Furthermore, my aunt and one of my cousins are both social workers and I admire them a great deal.

2. What social issues do you care about?
Kids getting the opportunity to grow up well. I mean I care about a lot of things, but this is the big one. It's where my heart really lies.

3. Are you able to address these issues in your career? If so, how?
Currently yes. I mean, it's not changing the world, but it is changing the world for some kids - hopefully for the better. I work in foster care.

4. What type of social worker are you? What populations do you work with?
I work in foster care currently. I have a caseload of fifteen kiddos who are currently in care, and mostly my job consists of working with them and their foster parents and their biological parents. And trying to figure out how to meet all the needs of the child and how to make sure that they are in a place where they can grow up well. This means a lot of home visits, a lot of coordinating therapy and things, a lot of court hearings, and a lot of phone calls and paperwork. I really like it.

I used to work with an adult homeless population in a big city. I was a case manager working with people on employment and housing and also helped run a day center with things like laundry facilities, a computer lab, etc. I hated it. While I loved some of my clients and sincerely hope for the best for them, my heart really is not so deeply passionate about that population as it is about the kiddos I currently work with.

And before that I worked with runaways and homeless youth as a case manager. I loved that work. It was mostly trying to make sure they got through school, learned how to live independently if necessary, and doing what could be done to keep them safe. A lot of the time it was visiting my kids at school and just being someone for them to talk to. It was difficult in that some of my kids were extremely obstinate, but sometimes it was unbelievably rewarding - like seeing one of my clients have a baby and really get her act together and finish school and start to live independently and be a really good mom.

5. Do you enjoy your work? What do you find most satisfying? What do you find most difficult?
I do now. The success stories are the most satisfying. Seeing things go right. The most difficult is how complex and deep-seated these social issues are and realizing you can't change the world, you can only do what you can to change one tiny aspect of it in a few people's lives. There are a ton of obstacles to even doing that.