[Yamena]

Yamena Taha
Professional Essay

Being a Human Service student will teach me not only about the field, but also a lot about myself. My name is Yamena Taha and I am 23 years old. I was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I began attending City Tech, after I received my associates degree in Children’s Studies. I look forward to receiving my BA is Human Services next year. I am the first person in my family to go to college so my education means a lot to me. In this assignment I will be writing my professional essay.

I decided to enter the field of human services because of my SEEK counselor. I had many tragic life experiences, and without my SEEK counselor, Ms. Swaby, I would not have made it through those life experiences. She counseled me through depression and helped me find my identity again. This degree will allow me to help different populations the way Ms.Swaby helped me. Prior to entering the Human Service program, I knew nothing about the field, except that it was a type of helping degree. This is my second semester in the program and I already learned so much. What intrigued me about this degree is the varies job opportunities. There are so many ways that I could use my degree to help others, and I plan to do so.

Deciding to be a HUS professional, I had to first identify my strengths. I would characterize myself as self-determined, goal oriented and a people person. Beyond helping others, the studies, I have learned so far have helped me became more self- aware and encouraged personal growth. These are some characteristics that make an effective human service professional. A factor that influenced these characteristics is my religion. In Islam, helping others is a core principle. In Islam it states “Whosoever alleviates [the lot of] a needy person, Allah will alleviate [his lot] in this world and the next.” My religionist teachings correlates with the basic principles of human services. Another way to help is to advocate. Advocating is an important role of a human service worker. I have been advocating and protesting for issues that are important to me, and change has been made. For example, a few years ago I have protested for equal rights in my home country of Palestine, with the power of protesting and advocating we were able to have the same rights as men. This proves that advocating does make a change. As I began and continue to take courses in the program, I gained another trait, being culturally competent, which I learned is a very important trait for this field. These are some traits that I believe would make me an effective a human service professional. My family have also been a great influence in my education of human services. They are proud to learn that I could help people of the geriatric population, because they also share my thoughts of the help this population needs.

The client population I would prefer to work with is older adults. I believe the geriatric population is the most overlooked population. My late grandmother was terminally ill; she did not get the proper care or attention that I believe she needed to overcome her illness. I will advocate for educating the population to stay healthy and safe. Working with this population, I have the chance to advocate and make a difference in their lives for the better. Understandably, working with this population I need to learn certain skills. I need to be patient, competent with their feelings and their perceptions of life. I need to understand that they were born in a different generation then I was, and their views on physical and mental health will be different than mine. Another challenge that I might face is the stubbornness of this population. I need to be able to apply my education in the field to assist them in a healthier life. Since I want to work with this population, I need to gain skills that will better accommodate the clients. Some skills that I need to develop are deeper understanding of empathy, emotional intelligence and ability to deal with deaths. These skills are particularly important when working with the geriatric population. Some human service needs that this population has the right to health and right to work. Also understanding, how medication effects them will be an important aspect in the population might be a challenge. I would like to ensure that this population are in a healthy environment to be able to live life safely. With my education and my internship experience I will hopefully be able to accommodate this population.

Ten years from today I envision myself with a Master’s degree in Social work. After graduation with my BA degree. I would take a break from my education, and do some self-care. HUS workers are always ready to help their clients, but we forgot about ourselves. Research by Kate Jackson (2017) writes, “It’s axiomatic that if social workers don’t care for themselves, their ability to care for others will be diminished or even depleted” (Jackson 2017). After I relax and take a break from school, I would continue my education, earning my Masters in Social Work. Towards the end of ten year plan I would like to create a nonprofit organization to advocate and assist older adults. Advocating will be big component in my future because I believe that when change is needed HUS professionals need to apply their education to make positive change. Hopefully in the next ten years I will achieve my goals.

In conclusion, as a human service student, I hope to gain the knowledge I need to become successful in this field. I learned that in this field, we do so much more than just help clients. Our work can change lives and I hope to do so in the geriatric population. I am glad I choose this program and hope to help and advocate for my clients.

Work Cited
Great Valley Publishing Company, I. (2017). Social Worker Self-Care — The Overlooked Core Competency. [online] Socialworktoday.com. Available at: http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051214p14.shtml [Accessed 24 Oct. 2017].