WHEN I LOOKED AT TODAY'S DATE, I knew there was something significant about it. Hmm... March 8--what could it be? Then I realized that it is exactly two months from graduation day! May 8, 2010 is truly just around the corner. We passed the half-way point of the semester last week, completed our mid-terms, and we are definitely on the downhill slide!
I was having coffee with a friend today and I shared that now that graduation is so close, I am having many feelings. I am naturally a bit nervous, and I have a lot of faith in the future. The sky is the limit! I know that I can do many things with this degree, including, and not limited to, child welfare.
As a Title-IV E grant recipient, I still have the option to opt out and pay back the grant that covered my tuition and books. My plan, since the very beginning, has been to pay back the grant with my employment at a child welfare agency.
A friend of mine is chief of surgery at a local hospital in my city and, before I started school, I consulted with him about the child welfare idea. He encouraged me to apply for the Title-IV E grant, and he likened the child welfare agency to the "bowels" of big city hospitals where he completed his residency in New York--where they get the chance to treat the "sickest of the sick." He said the state agencies would be the best training grounds for me, because I would be working on the toughest cases in child welfare.
I am excited about it. I believe I have something to offer, and I want to help. There have been days when I have left my internship deeply saddened and disturbed by the behavior of human beings--and the ways they maltreat children. And, I have not wanted to leave when it was time to go because I was so impassioned about the work.
In a mere two months, I will be a M. S. W., and qualified to take a job as a clinician. It seems hard to imagine, yet totally real! And, what a journey it has been so far.
~Ms. T. J.
It's an awesome feeling, isn't it! My cap, gown & hood arrived yesterday and I did a happy-dance (think snoopy). Exactly 2 months away! I know I'll take a moment to think about you on your stage getting your diploma while I'm up there getting mine!
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ReplyDelete<span>Congratulations! You have worked hard for this moment, soak it up and enjoy it.<span> </span><span> </span>I am not a social worker, but I have been living vicariously through many social worker blogs such as yours. My life circumstances are just not aligned to pursue a Masters. I am a full-time businessperson desiring to leave a greater legacy and live a more fulfilled life. So over a year ago, I "happened" upon a part-time position at a homeless shelter. While it is not doing the work of a social worker, I do have constant face-to-face interaction with all the guests and the experience has confirmed to me that I would love doing social work. I haven't given up on the idea, because you never know what opportunities tomorrow might bring, but I am acutely aware that I am getting older by the minute. But anyway, I am proud for you and I hope you find a place where you are greatly fulfilled and because of your work, children's lives are changed and restored with great hope. Good luck!</span>
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Amy Rose-
ReplyDeleteThat is very cool that you have received your graduation garb. And in addition to Dancing Bear, I can't think of anyone who dances in a more joyful way than Snoopy!
Well, Amy Rose--that is so very thoughtful of you to say you will take a moment to think of me: I will hold you in my thoughts, also.
~Ms. T. J.
Congratulations and welcome to a most wonderful profession. In this joyous time, I hate to be a downer, but there was something in your post that has bothered me for a few days. It is the concept of what "true social work" means. The social work profession is complex and made up of a diverse community. One of my clinical supervisees is fond of saying that a social worker is someone who is called to do social work (which it sounds you are).
ReplyDelete<span>Hi Myke-
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. </span>
<span>I wrote the post after a long day, and sometimes it's a challenge for me to convey my inner thoughts--especially when I am tired.</span>
<span>My belief is that <span>all social work is so very important to society</span>. </span>
<span>I did a bit of rewriting after I read your comments and I appreciate your thoughts. </span>
<span>Sometimes I opt out of blogging when I am tired and I probably should have done so that night. </span>
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~Ms. T. J.</span>