How I Came To Be

Since beginning my classes at the School of Social Work, I have been asked on a number of occasions how I came to be studying social work at University of Washington. The simple and honest answer to this question is that without the administrative and financial support of the US-UK Fulbright Commission I would not be enjoying this amazing opportunity.

The Commission has provided assistance and guidance at every junction and I’m entirely indebted to them for their confidence and generosity. Inevitably some including myself have further wondered just how I managed to secure a Fulbright scholarship, especially as social work is not a ‘traditional’ subject for such academic prizes. So I decided to give you all a glimpse of the personal statement that was at the heart of my scholarship application. Hopefully it may provide some insight into my understanding of social work and balance out the cynicism evident in my previous postings...

This is the first half of the application statement:

During my early and most formative years, my father was employed by the London City Mission, a Christian-based society working with those who were homeless and had substance misuse problems on the streets of London. I spent many obliviously happy afternoons as a child wandering the halls of mission amongst those struggling with individual, social and economic problems. The society was founded in 1835 and in partnership with its contemporaries, such as the Salvation Army, had a longstanding influence on the early development of social services for the people of London. Likewise, the raw and simplistic experiences of my childhood have had a lasting influence on my desire to pursue a career in social work.

For many the profession of social work is emblematic of a broken society, a symptomatic consequence of a modern state of welfare dependency and despair. I have always believed that such sentiments were devoid of both compassion and reason. It is simply too easy and existentially safe to rest of these laurels and to draw comfort from wells of fatalism and individualism. I believe that our challenge is to assert and create a movement of justice and change within our society. This aspiration is beyond the ephemeral realm of politics and prejudices but speaks to the core foundational values of our existence, growth and survival as a people.

The works and words of a great American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, have heavily influenced my commitment to this profession. Dr. King once wrote that, 'true compassion is more than flinging a coin at the beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.’ Dr. King lived in the everyday reality of oppression and injustice but had the personal courage and conviction to challenge these broad societal problems for the sake of his fellow man. Tragically he paid a terrible price his vision and whilst I would not dream to hold an iota of his qualities but do find a great sense of purpose in light of his legacy to us all.

‘We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.’