Shanise Tuitt

HUS 1207 – Human Services Seminar

Professional Essay Assignment

My name is Shanise Tuitt.  I currently reside in Bronx, New York. I was born in Montserrat, West Indies. At a very early age my family which included my mother, my father and three older sisters moved to the United States. Even though I was not raised in my country, I lived in a Caribbean oriented household. My parents brought the islands traditions and practices along on the move. My sisters and I were brought with very high morals & academic expectations. I not only went to school but I graduated and earned my High School Diploma. I am currently enrolled at New York City College of Technical College where I am pursuing a Bachelors degree in Human Services.

It was not until high school that I was first exposed to the fields of Psychology and Sociology. By the end of that semester, I know there was something about the subjects that intrigued me. In the fall of my junior year I started applying to colleges.  It was the process of completing college applications that encouraged me to think more seriously about my career.  I was drawn to Human Services because of its close relation to Psychology and Sociology, as well as the diversity of the field.

Generally, I would describe myself as a very calm, cool collected person. I embody a lot of patience and I am extremely compassionate. I have always found myself wanting to help others. During high school I enrolled in an internship program. I was placed at an after school program where I worked with school age children.  My responsibilities included helping the kids with their homework. Once homework was completed I had to find other interesting activities to keep them occupied. I grew up in a very diverse community of various races. I am use to interacting with different kinds of people.  In my opinion, this is a very important strength. Persons who need Human Services are generally from various walks of life.

I very interested in working with the teenager population. I am most fascinated with this group of people because I was not so long ago a teenager myself. During my teenage years I felt it was the consensus that most adults did not understand their children and now as an adult I realize that most teenagers don’t understand their parents. In my opinion, the disconnect between parents and teenagers is the stem to a lot of the problems that teenagers go through. For example, teenage pregnancies, run- away kids, high school drop outs, drugs and gun violence.  I feel that these are the outlets that teenagers find themselves faced with due to lack of support and guidance. My hope is to work closely with the teenage population and eventually fully understand the mind set behind a lot of the choices made. This way I would be better equipped and able to match the right human services to a teenager at risk of making bad choices. There needs to be more community base centers and programs that are geared specially towards teenagers, offering them a healthy and productive alternative to the streets. A Human Service skill that I have started to develop is a keen attention to detail. I am a good listener and I think that is necessary in order to help someone you must first know their concerns or problems.

After graduating school I see myself seeking employment in an organization where I would be allowed to have a direct impact of the lives of teenagers. I probably would start out as a program coordinator and eventually move my way up to the Program Director. However, I don’t want to box myself into to any one area. While I think reaching out to teenagers before they have fallen down the wrong path in life is important, I would also like to offer my services to those who are looking to recover from their mistakes.  This would therefore open me up to options like