Anna Faraone
HUS 1207
Human Service Seminar
9-25-2012
Professional Essay Assignment
Let me begin by introducing myself, my name is Anna Faraone. I live in Brooklyn N.Y. I was born in Long Island College hospital on April 20th, 1991. I attended Saint Joseph High School, located on Willoughby Street. Saint Joseph is a non co ed catholic high school. My stay at Saint Joseph’s was a phenomenal experience and I carry memories which will stay with me forever. I pursuing a B/A in human services, I want to use the knowledge and skills I gain from my education into the work field and pursue my dream of becoming a professional guidance counselor in a high school.
I decided to become a human service worker for many reasons, one being that I want to touch the lives of many, I get a sense of satisfaction when assisting others. I find that there’s nothing more fulfilling then guiding those in need towards the right direction or path in their lives. Most of these clients don’t have a support system, as a human service worker you can be their support, their motivation for change and there’s nothing more satisfying then promoting change in one’s life. I enjoy giving advice and helping people find their inner strengths. I also like to encourage people, help build their self-confidence. Take the focus away from the concerns and issues and elaborate on setting goals. The field of human services is all about promoting change in one’s life, and thats something I’m highly interested in.
What influenced me to go into this profession? Well, a good friend Brian actually inspired me to work in this field. After a horrible car accident Brian was no longer able to play football, his dream of becoming a professional player is now crushed. He soon became depressed and dependent on certain substances. I tried to help him overlook the situation and realize that he’s not making the best decisions. It took a lot of time, patience, and effort although within time he slowly got his life back together. I saw how much Brian appreciated me as I helped him overcome his hardships. Which lead me into thinking about how significant it is to help others, and what you get back in doing so. The one thing that intrigued me about this profession is all the different variety’s you can choose to work within such as children, adolescents, elderly, hospitals, etc. You’re options are not limited, which is something that stood out to me because its unlikely to have an occupation with so many different options to choose from.
My personal and professional strengths that will enhance my effectiveness for professional practice, Well my personal strengths consist of having high potential, creativity, motivational skills, I’m a very open-minded person and willing to take risks, inspirational and enthusiastic person. My professional strengths include satisfying consumers, working well with other co-workers, good communication skills, I have organizational skills due to previous jobs that consisted of filing papers and making appointments, and last but not least I’m good at multitasking. The knowledge and skills I have gained from prior job’s has increased my level of intelligence, within time and more job opportunities I will be able to enhance both my personal and professional strengths.
If I were to use one word to describe myself it probably would be genuine. I have been told several times that I will be rewarded for my generosity. I feel theres nothing more rewarding then bringing joy and happiness into one’s life. I have certain characteristics that I feel would make me an effective human service worker. Those characteristics being the desire to help others, I genially like helping people weather it’s physical or emotional. Consider myself to be approachable, ill try to make it as easy as I can for one to feel comfortable. I’m not judgmental, everyone deserves a chance to change and if they are capable in doing so, that puts them on a whole new level. A level that has satisfaction and accomplishment written all over it. A few other characteristics of mine consists of patience, commitment, and trustworthiness. Most clients need that one person in their life for support, as a human service professional you are given the opportunity to play that part in their life. It’s such a thrill knowing that I may have the opportunity to help change or guide someone towards the right direction.
I would like to work with adolescents, high school students in particular. During this time in their lives, students tend to be under a lot of pressure, particularly pressured into doing drugs and having sex. Many don’t choose to live above the influence because they want to fit in the crowd, who wants to be an outcast? Although I feel creating programs and workshops that consist of being drug-free and living above the influence will guide these students in the right direction. Apply reverse psychology and make those that use certain substances feel like the outcast. Educated them about the diseases one may catch from having unprotected sex, teach them how to practice abstinence. I feel like I can relate to this population, I want to change their feelings/thoughts based on certain concepts, give them an insight look on the effects drugs has on a person. What will I learn from working with this population? Well, I will learn about the struggles these adolescents are facing, why they make certain decisions, learn how to use different strategies to go about situations, along with learning how to develop coping skills.
The qualities of this population that interests me is the age group, I feel like I can relate to adolescents. I was in similar situations during my high school years and I know the challenges one may be going through. The challenges in which one may face is the feeling of being alienated, unpopular, bullied, threatened. Certain skills I need when entering this population include good listening skills, patience, good problem-solving methods, maintaining balance within my own life and the lives of other individuals, good communication skills, coping strategies, and last but not least multicultural/diversity awareness. I want to serve this specific population because I feel they need the most guidance, this time-frame could either make or break their future. They can become chemically dependent and go down hill from there. Some human service skills I already begun to develop consist of commitment, dedication, maintaining confidentiality, ways in which you should approach a client. These skills will specifically assist this populations unique needs because students have to be able to trust you, making it clear that their business will stay between just the two of you is highly important. Commitment as well as dedication is very much needed for this particular population, students will soon begin to rely on their guidance counselor therefore you’re presence plays a major role.
Envisions of my career path, well i’m hoping to get a job through internship after I graduate. I want to work as a guidance counselor in Saint Joseph High School for about 4 years, then I want to transfer to a public school. The reason I want to transfer is because I want to have the opportunity to work with students coming from different environments, and different cultures. I want to experience the difference when working with students coming from catholic school vs. public school. After my years of being a guidance counselor I would like to take a short break, perhaps half a year & participate in some voluntary work. Particularly in hospitals or rehabilitation centers. Before I go back to my career as a guidance counselor, I want to work with the elderly population. I want to be able to fulfill all my desires, if I continue to be a guidance counselor for the rest of my life, I would never know what it feels like to work with the elderly and thats something I want to fulfill.
When I did my research based on this profession, I immediately knew that this is what I wanted to do and ill be the perfect fit for this position. I’m really looking forward into learning more about the profession, and see everything it has to offer. I feel human services is the perfect major for me. This major has so much to offer, and has many wonderful benefits that come along with it. I cant wait to start my journey of becoming a human service professional.
