Check our USC MSW Personal Statement Service

USC MSW Application

The motivation to seek my Master’s degree in Social work is largely because I am going through a high conflict divorce and my soon to be ex-husband took my children and moved them 500 miles away, deceiving family courts in such a way that they did not help recover my children. This exemplifies, parent alienation, and my goal is to help change social and legal policy in this area. My goal is also to bring awareness to this cause and to educate our courts on the important warning signs. I consider this as a profoundly personal and immediate issue as well as considering the magnitude of the changes needed to benefit society as a whole. This, in part, what makes social work so vastly appealing, it encompasses so much that speaks to the betterment of the human condition.

A primary responsibility of a Social Worker is to enable those in need in any capacity to optimally understand, adjust and function in their environment.  It is, intrinsically, a very complex profession that incorporates an array of unique qualities and abilities.  Being devoted to service means reaching out to diverse groups and caring to the degree, that attending to personal needs is often secondary. Moreover, there is no single service offered, rather, they range from services that directly benefit others, as in offering support and guidance in therapy to serving families and even larger groups. They will not only to help in understanding feelings about a particular situation, but also delve further to help co-determine what is actually at issue, constantly exploring and suggesting possible solutions.  In so many ways, social workers strive to find ways to make a difference. This is done largely through abiding by a set of core and unshakeable values.

These core values define and guide social workers continuously in their day to day actions, thus assisting them in making key decisions and helping them to recognize what is ethical and to realize when someone is acting unethically. The core values, stem from one main principle that of being of service to humanity at large or in daily service to others which defines what we do. This value reigns supreme and social workers acknowledge that putting the needs of others takes precedent above all else. In addition, is the truism of social justice, an inherent desire to improve the lives of the underprivileged, the vulnerable populations who are unable to advocate for themselves.

Human dignity and worth, understanding the inherent value of every human life, regardless of background or beliefs as well as holding fast to integrity and proving yourself through honest, responsible and ethical actions are all requisite. This all speaks to what the values of the profession actually mean. Throughout, you must always demonstrate competence, devoting yourself to your area of expertise and not misrepresenting your skills in an attempt to seek advancement.

I have incorporated these social work values in my human services experiences and interactions with others. I have lived a life in service to others—always being the first person to offer assistance to a friend in need. Sometimes I get so caught up in helping a friend with a problem that it becomes my own. As a personal credo, I practice integrity in everything I do and expect it from friends and colleagues in-kind. As I consider my demanding schedule, competence is another value I exhibit daily. It is critical not only to do well, but to give precisely where you know how to excel.
There have been myriad experiences that have bought me to this juncture and the certainty of this important life decision. In the wake of learning I had been laid off from my job, I discovered that I was pregnant. My husband was unemployed, due to a disabling knee injury which had required full replacement surgery. Without health-coverage, I was at a loss, contemplating inadequate care for my child, that is, until I met Sylvia, my new prenatal doctor’s office manager and nurse. At first meeting, she warmly reassured me that all would be taken care of and enrolled me in the Healthy Families Medi-Cal program, which provided excellent health care for the entire duration of my pregnancy.  Essential public assistance didn’t end there. When my son, Hudson, was delivered, he could not make a noise or even breathe and was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with heart disease and had open-heart surgery at only two-days old, remaining in the neo-natal ICU for a full month.  Amazingly, all of this was covered through Medi-Cal.  My son received premium, life-saving care and his surgeon had actually authored cutting edge insights on the exact procedure he was performing on my son. My son has transposition of the great arteries, which means that his arteries were reversed in his heart when he was born, so the surgery effectively switched them back to their normal placement. In that my husband’s nephew died of the same heart disease fifteen years past, the spectre of his tragic, young death was a terrifying prospect at the time.  My son is now 10 and expected to be a healthy, 6 feet 5 inches tall!

We continued to receive assistance through Medi-Cal for my son, who developed arthritis just last year. We were in Children’s Hospital for about a month and while we were there were introduced to a social worker who was assigned to us.  She was effective and knowledgeable and sat with us and carefully explained the range of services that were available. In retrospect, I am eternally grateful for the Medi-Cal assistance, my son would have been lost, and our lives irrevocably damaged.

Throughout my life I have practiced various forms of giving help to friends, family and causes on a daily basis. I never miss an opportunity to give cash donations to Children’s Hospital when they have a donation drive at my local grocery store.

The major driving force impelling me to pursue my Masters’ in Social Work is my relationship with my soon-to-be ex-husband. I was in an abusive marriage for the last 15 years. It wasn’t until my husband got angry and shoved me so that I fell backward and my arm hit a wall and, as a result, my wrist was broken and I had an additional fracture with soft tissue damage in my hand, that I determined change had to be made. This all happened in front of my children. When I finally got up enough courage, I filed for divorce in San Diego only to have my husband deceive the court in Sacramento which then awarded him temporary custody of my daughter. He then demanded custody of our son based on the ruling in Sacramento. The day the court gave temporary custody of our son, he took him away sobbing uncontrollably. The distance between us now is 500 miles and it has been eight months since I have be able to see my kids.

Having profoundly experienced this victimology, I now know I can offer help to many. Being eviscerated by the damage of parent alienation, I am ready to fight for the many trapped in the same exploitative situation. As I fight for my children, I seek to be a voice and advocate, helping develop new policies and laws that will protect our children and hold the alienator responsible. I will also be an educator to our family courts. It has now been 8 months since I have seen my children, and it’s my daughter’s birthday in a week. Without systems and policies in place, countless innocent children begin to lose hope and turn on the alienated parent, resulting in long term psychological and emotional issues.

Educating myself and gaining the resources needed through the MSW program at USC will equip me with exactly what I need in my socio-legal quest. It not only represents my only chance to be reunited with my children, and also gain some form of economic support. My husband also filed a number of false Child Protective Services reports requiring repeated case worker interviews of myself and my children, usually while they were at school. In total, this encompassed more than the loss of my children, but also represented serial harassment, and I am adamant that such manipulative and cruel practices must not be tolerated.

Parent alienation is extremely hard to understand, until you are going through it. My husband believes that alienating me from my children’s lives is actually in their best interest and I will continue to contest such actions until the judges and courts are educated otherwise. Knowing that these children are incurring unconscionable damage, this has become a personal mission in the prevention of lasting scars.

However, I can deal with this adroitly because I know I have several quality ideas that will allow me to excel in this profession. Emotional maturity is a given as it is demonstrative as having innate objectivity and sensitivity to all in need. I am the go to friend of choice for my friends when they have a problem and want someone to listen without judgement and emotions and after listening attentively can offer sound advice. I handle responsibility well and work both independently and as a team player with ease. Whenever I go, I am able to establish and maintain good working relationships with clients and co-workers. As a matter of fact, some of my previous clients are some of my best friends. Throughout my 20 year sales and marketing career, I often had the opportunity to work with people from different cultures, an experience as enjoyable as it has been instructive about cultures, customs and human uniqueness. It was also a fun way for me to learn things about different cultures and make new friends along the way.

When I consider the qualities that set me apart for excellence in this field, first and foremost is a focused determination and a dedication to cause with equal measures of proven care. All issues of social injustice move me deeply, particularly when concerning the unprotected indigent. I am highly informed on issues with respect to needed steps in the realization of the determination of systemic change. As the willing face, and voice, indeed, the life force of the continual fight against parent alienation, I will care for the interests of each and every client’s needs in my efforts to realize substantive change, socially, legally and throughout our society-at-large. I know I have several qualities ideal to excel in this profession.

Bringing the resources of the committed warrior, the seasoned advocate, the knowlegble educator and instinctive mother hen, I know I have the insights and resources to tackle causes to better populations. Moreover, changes are beginning to happen. Superior courts are beginning to hear more cases involving parental alienation and are beginning to understand it out of necessity.

The social welfare areas that interest me the most are social development/Policy and Children, and Youth and Families. The, physical, mental and emotional lives of my children are at stake and that makes social development/Policy as well as Children, Youth and Families, my target interest areas and natural complements in light of my career to date. I feel that armed with the resources and knowledge I would gain from an MSW from USC, I could make a significant impact in issues involving children and abuse. Parent alienation, although not new, has just recently surfaced and research is just now being published and referred to in family court proceedings.

Within five years’ time, I will have an established non-profit organization. This organization will offer resources, support and funds dedicated to paying for legal services and fees associated with upholding the rights of alienated parents. In a decade, I would like to add a reunification program for families that mirrors the already successful Family Reflections Program in Canada, whose program currently has a 95% success rate in re-establishing positive relationships between children and the alienated parent. Again, this work would be at the forefront of all my efforts as a committed social worker.