Integration Statement

The issues that most interest me have become more defined but have never stopped growing over the years. Those interests include: volunteering, helping others, social work, religion, fight for the equal rights of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, the medical field, art, web design, and women's studies to name a few.

I have spent my life living this child-like dream of changing the world of being a superhero. You can call me "Super Woman." I see things that need to be changed, and I work on them. I develop them. I will achieve my dream of changing the world like the superheroes of my youthful years. I know that if I can change one person's life positively, I have changed the world for that one person.

In The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work there is a shirt that states, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Winston Churchill" I try to lead my life by what I can give to others. Helping people has always been an interest of mine because I lost my home in a fire at the age of ten and lost another home to a fire at the age of thirteen. My family of eight brothers and sisters (two had moved out) could not afford to keep rebuilding our home, so we moved into a smaller home in a poorer neighborhood, to a house that my parents could afford. I began to see problems of hunger and mental illness. I saw them in the outside world and in my own home. I knew from then on that I wanted to find a way to help people and make their lives better.

When I started college I had explored different majors such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology. I had decided on psychology, but realized in my second year of undergrad that I could not fulfill my passion for helping people doing psychological research. A professor suggested that I look into the School of Social Work; it was the perfect fit! Over the ten years I have put more of an emphasis on my interest in cultures and identities. It is an important tool for social workers to understand how culture and identity affect the client.