Admission Essay to The University of Texas – Austin

Admissions essay to The University of Texas – Austin

(Please keep this response to FOURdouble spaced typed pages)

How did you become interested in socialwork? What relationship or experiences–personal, education orprofessional–caused or confirmed your interest in this profession? Whatindicated to you a need for professional education? Students are expected tounderstand and respect human diversity, promote social justice and socialwelfare through the empowerment of at-risk populations, and demonstrate acommitment to the values and ethics of the social work profession. What is yourunderstanding of social work? What has contributed to your understanding of anddesire to work with disadvantaged groups? What groups or issues would you findchallenging? Discuss those personal qualities and abilities you feel will behelpful to you in the social work profession. What do you currently see as yourstrengths and areas of improvement? Discuss your professional interests andgoals. Indicate which fields of practice, client groups, and special socialproblems interest you and why. What contributions do you hope to make as aprofessional social worker?

Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist

Present day, I work at a reputablenon-profit in Austin, TX as a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist

I am funded by a grant from the TexasHealth and Human Services Commission, with matching funds provided through theCity of Austin

Our prevention program uses six preventionstrategies to help youth resist alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs: preventioneducation classes and groups, alternative activities that promote a “no use”message, substance abuse prevention presentations, information dissemination,community-based processes to coordinate services between organizations, andappropriate referrals to other services as needed. The goal is to enhance theresiliency of youth served by increasing protective factors (such asparticipation in pro-social activities and optimism about the future) anddecreasing risk factors (such as a low level of self-regulation skills).

Our preventionprogram incorporates the Developmental Assets Approach in order to promote healthyyouth development. Strengthening external assets such as caring school climate,positive peer relationships, and supportive adult role models as well asstrengthening internal assets such as social skills (emotion management,impulse control, problem-solving) development, bonding with school and theircommunity, and developing positive self-identity (recognizing their strengths,sense of purpose), better prepare youth to successfully manage challenges.

I provide class and group substanceabuse prevention education to elementary and middle school-aged youth usingevidenced-based curricula at identified schools and community sites in areasthat report high crime rates, and whose student populations are characterizedby high rates of mobility and economically disadvantaged families.

I use an evidence-based curriculum whosegoal is to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related toalcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among youth in grades K-12. The curriculumis designed to develop five essential life skills: (1) goal setting; (2)decision making; (3) bonding with pro-social others; (4) identifying andmanaging emotions; and (5) communicating effectively. Drug and alcohol informationare interwoven into the curriculum lessons. Strategies and methods to buildfamily and school connectedness reinforce the healthy social and emotionaldevelopment of youth.

I also provide activities andpresentations to both youth and adults where class and/or group preventioneducation is offered. The purpose of these activities is to provide youth andadults with opportunities that endorse a “no use” message and to promote asense of belonging and bonding with peers, family, school, and community. Examplesof such activities include but are not limited to: activities and games thatfocus on teaching or reinforcing skills learned or taught through thecurriculum, activities and games that teach leadership skills and promoteteambuilding and peer bonding.

Presentations create awareness andknowledge of alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drug use, abuse, andaddiction, its harmful effects and consequences on individuals, families, andcommunities, and laws as they apply specifically to minors.

Interactive teaching methods encourageyouth to bond with pro-social peers and engage youth through role-play,cooperative learning, games, small group skills-development activities, andclass discussions

Support groups strengthen social andpersonal skills and provide substance abuse education for youth who areidentified as living in adverse family situations, displaying gaps in copingand social skills or showing early indicators of antisocial attitudes andbehaviors.

The goals of the substance abuseprevention program are:

-Improve class, school, and community siteatmosphere by fostering an environment where youth and adults listen to andrespect others’ ideas, opinions, feelings, and respond to feedback

-Improve academic environment by decreasing theamount of time teachers spend addressing behavior/discipline problems withyouth

-Improve social interactions among youth throughteaching youth positive social skills

-Increase ability by youth to control behavior,manage anger, and handle problems by teaching youth skills related to theseareas, and providing continual reinforcement for using these skills throughoutthe day

Roles occupied outside of current jobdescription at current place of employment

A member of the racial equity and inclusion committee-spearhead the development of such collective/effort in the organization; plan andcoordinate racial equity efforts with CEO and two co-workers of organization;plan and coordinate agency wide racial equity book clubs (e.g., WhiteFragility) and workshops (e.g., People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond)

I graduated in May of 2013 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology. I have investedinterests in social/racial justice and serving under resourced communities ofcolor.

GPA: 3.92/4.0

Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

the oldest academic honor society in theUnited States and is often described as its most prestigious honor society, dueto its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promoteand advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and to induct themost outstanding students of arts and sciences at American colleges anduniversities

The organization has chapters in about10% of American higher learning institutions, and about 10% of these schools’Arts and Sciences graduates are invited to join the society

Ronald E. McNair Scholar

Participated in higher educationpipeline program

•Designedand obtained approval of Institutional Review Board protocol.

•ExploredAfrican American racial identity and academic achievement using the 2008General Social Survey.

•Analyzeddata through scientific software SPSS.

•Presentedquantitative analysis at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and the UniversityCalifornia, Berkeley.

Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience(UCARE) Grant

An additional higher education pipelineprogram

Supports undergraduates to workone-on-one with faculty research advisors in research or creative activities

•Conductedsemi-structured focus groups, recorded, anonymized, transcribed, and codedresponses with twenty-five African American young adults to further investigatethe perceived relationship between African American college students’ blackracial identity and influences on college achievement

•Developedsenior thesis, entitled “The Perceived Relationship between Black RacialIdentity and Academic Achievement at a Predominantly White Institution”

More about me:

-I am a black woman and therefore a member of agroup that is underrepresented in graduate education and the field of socialwork

-I was raised in a military family; father was inthe Air Force for 20 years

-Servant leadership is my leadership philosophy

-I firmly believe that all people should betreated with dignity and viewed in terms of their potential

-Burning passion and ability to serve youth(edifying and empowering youth to make healthy choices)

-I was raised with two parents- mom and dad- twobrothers and one sister

-Growing up I constantly asked questions and peoplesaid I cared ‘too much’ about others

-I have served as a Substance Abuse PreventionSpecialist for 4 years; just over two years at my current organization and fora year in a smaller non-profit in TX

-My desire is to serve under resourcedcommunities of color

-I want to amplify the voices of historicallymarginalized people

-I understand the importance of serving from ananti-racist lens

-Deeply invested in dismantling racism

-Posses cultural humility

-value diversity (partnering with others toadvocate for others and commit to fixing systemic power imbalances)

-see myself as a life-long learner (engaged in alifelong process of self-evaluation, and learning and growth)

-self-aware and conscious of my own bias, so thatit doesn’t manifest in an adverse manner in the services I provide

-Flexibility/ Adaptability- At any given moment,working with, as opposed to against the many variables of any givencircumstance/moment (e.g., During a classroom presentation a student appeareddisengaged and served as a distraction- as he was making loud noises andtouching other students. Therefore, discreetly I asked the student forassistance with the lesson. I informed him that his role would be using theclicker to transition from one topic or ppt. slide to the next. The studentappeared elated that I chose him to contribute such a role in the presentationand I was excited that the presentation wasn’t further interrupted)

-Demonstrated ability to manage time and scheduleefficiently (For example, when scheduling services in the beginning of thesemester, I assess what agency goals need to be met and what services areneeded in the community to schedule services accordingly and utilize timeefficiently)

-Ability to establish priorities (according torelative importance) and deadlines (e.g., prioritize task given- knowing thedifference between the level of importance of given tasks that I am assigned tocomplete- responding to an e-mail regarding group scheduling for the nextsemester vs. a student referral- as it concerns student drug possession;maintaining consistent, thorough, documentation for provided services to ensuredeadlines are met

-Strong interpersonal, verbal and writtencommunication skills (e.g., demonstrating this behavior when working withco-workers on presentations or projects within the agency and when working withschool personnel (counselors), community agencies, families, and the generalpublic)- culturally sensitive (responding with respect and empathy to people ofall nationalities, classes, races, religions, ethnic backgrounds and othergroups in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values their worth) assertive,professional, respectful, and responsive

-Strong critical, analytical, and problem solvingskills (e.g., when a student shares sensitive information in group or classsetting and responding or behaving in a professional/responsive (addressing theconcern in a reasonable time frame) manner; being patient, professional,sensitive, and responsive to parents who are resistant to or inquisitive aboutthe services, as it concerns their child being in or involved in group orattending classroom presentations)

-Strong leadership skills (e.g., leading byexample- conducting myself in way that positively reflects the agency-inaddressing conflict, in dress, and in speech)

-Weakness: Becoming overly committed or investedin service- however- I consciously seek support (from colleagues, friends,family, and professionals in the field or related field) and engage inself-care practices (meditation, prayer, exercise) to maintain and support myoverall wellness and to strike a balance between professional and personallife.