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It was in this spirit of informed decision-making, that we sat down with two of our expertSocial Workersand asked, “Why did you decide to become and earn an MSW?” Here are their answers:
Carolyn, what inspired you to become a social worker; specifically one so involved in helping to heal the collateral damage which results when a family member is serving time in prison?
Among my earliest and most vivid memories is my very first day of school. My mother had diligently read the instructions sent to parents of first graders, and packed all of the right supplies and a plentiful lunch in my shiny new lunch box. But as the mother of an only child (at that time) while all of the other parents of first-graders had “abandoned” their young protégés soon after ushering them into the classroom, my mother refused to leave. Instead, she planted herself firmly in a straight backed wooden chair she pulled close to my assigned desk. I recall feeling embarrassed that she remained hovering over me, while the parents of the other fifteen or so students obviously felt their children were mature enough to face the vast unknowns of first grade alone!
Around noon Ms. Myers, the first grade teacher, instructed us to go quietly to our lockers at the back of the room to retrieve our lunches and return to our desks. First graders would be eating in the classroom. As we opened our first, first grade lunch and I eyed the bounty my hovering mother had literally crammed into my lunch box, my mother observed that the tiny disheveled girl seated in the desk next to me had no lunch. It was then that she gave me my first real lesson in compassion for those who are less fortunate. She suggested (rhetorically, I now realize) that I give half of my fat sandwich to the little girl, because she was “probably too poor to have any food in her house.”
As an only child who rarely needed to share with others and obviously was somewhat spoiled, I balked at the thought. “This is mine,” I remember saying selfishly, grabbing the plump tuna sandwich in my fist. Whispering, my mother explained that the girl might be poor and perhaps her mother couldn’t buy food to make her lunch. Her description of how hungry the little girl would be all day and possibly even go to bed hungry that night softened my heart sufficiently to allow my mother to tear my sandwich in half. I placed one of the two cookies at the bottom of my lunchbox on top of the sandwich, wrapped it in my only paper napkin and without another word, stood up, walked across the aisle, and laid it silently on Mary’s desk.
The thought that Mary would go to sleep at night hungry painfully gnawed away at my six year old psyche.
You explain in your book the painful childhood and young adulthood you experienced, as well as the obstacles you had to overcome in order to experience success. Was it during that time that you decided to become a social worker?
I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I was not quite sure. When I finally decided that social work was my profession of choice, the next question was: Why would you choose to be a social worker? Many people had formulated an opinion about the social work profession and dwelled on the fact that social workers did not make much money. While everyone meant well, what they really should have encouraged me to do is find my passion and discover my purpose. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to discover your purpose for being here on this earth. Everyone was placed here for a reason and when you find that reason, you are going to have a new perspective on life.
In Summary…
It might easily be said that with regards to social work, it is not necessarily what the field has to offer the worker; but rather what the worker has to offer the field. Both of our experts were led to the profession as a result of their unique backgrounds and perceptions. Once they entered the field, each molded and shaped their academic and experiential qualifications into that which best served the communities in which they lived. That being said, it might be concluded that becoming a social worker is more about becoming one’s best self and sharing the results with others, rather than simply obtaining an education and looking for a job. Are you suited for a career in social work? The answer is up to you.
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