My First Semester as a Social Work Major.

     This semester I'm taking a full course load. Though none of my courses are program courses, as I don't interview for admission into that until later this month. They all count towards my degree though and are prerequisites to the Social Work Program. I am taking a Business & Professional Writing course (online), which I am really enjoying as it comes naturally to me. It is also helping me to fine tune my approach to professional communication which will be very important in the future when coordinating resources and care for my clients. I am taking an Intro to Sociology course, though not through UWS, as the options for that course at UWS did not fit for me life so I am taking that through LSC (online), which is where I just transferred out of after completing my AA degree. I need this course to satisfy my Sociology Minor. It seems kind of silly to me because I've already taken 14 of the required 21 credits to qualify for a minor, but none were an intro course, so I have to do this one. I'm really okay with it though as I LOVE sociology and it helps to deepen my understanding of people and improves my cultural competency. I am taking a course called Law and Human Behavior (online) as well. This course has been super intense! There's a lot of reading each week and writing. I am learning a lot though and I feel i'm getting a better understanding of the history of law and why it works the way it does. First Nations Studies is a social work course I am taking, though I didn't have to be in the cohorts to take it. I am gaining a deeper understanding of tribal culture, structure, and history. I do have some familiarity with First Nations (online) as I lived on a reservation for a couple years, and have many friends and family who are band members. This class is exposing me to a lot of things that I didn't know though so I am really thankful that I am taking it! Finally, for my one and only class on campus this semester, I am taking Intro to Social Work. This class is not in the cohorts but it is a requirement to get into it. I love this class, because it focuses on a lot of discussion and features case studies and current events. It is really shaping my perspectives further, and even challenging them, which is an important part of being a social worker. I have found the material covered to both be easy, and affirming in that I have a lot more life experience than my classmates to pull from, having been a foster and later adoptive parent for nearly a decade now. It is affirming in the sense that it has built my confidence in my chosen degree and future career path. 

     In my Intro to Social Work course, I have learned a lot about the importance of ethics and values in social work. This information will continue to be elaborated on and developed as I proceed through the cohorts and will factor into my daily home and work life for as long as I bear the title "Social Worker". I feel appropriately burdened with my title as a Social Work Student as I have learned through this course how important it is to keep this perspective and the accompanying ethics in practice as I move forward and work with clients. I expect a lot of personal development to come out of the months and years ahead and if what I've learned about myself thus far is any indicator, I have a long way to go and it will be a lifelong process of self-reflection and accountability to work through any of my personal bias that may arise and create at least the possibility of a barrier between my ability and my willingness to do the right ethical thing for the clients best interest. Humility will be my strongest asset.