Personal Statement
Master’s in Social Work (MSW)
1
I am enthusiastic to apply to the Master’s in Social Work (MSW) program at Boston
College. I strongly believe that this program is the next step on my path to being a mental health
advocate for disadvantaged and underserved populations, a goal that has motivated me
throughout my educational and professional experiences. As an undergraduate student at the
University of Connecticut, I pursued vigorous curricula in the fields of psychology and human
development, with a concentration in social policy and planning. This course of study allowed
me to develop a strong knowledge base in development and behavior, family structure, diversity
issues, and public policy. It was through these classes that I discovered my passion for serving
vulnerable populations and promoting child welfare, which I have been able to further develop
throughout my education, research, and work experiences.
My initial exposure to deeper exploration of mental health through research began during
my position as lab assistant on a grant through the Child Health and Development Institute of
Connecticut. The research team and I investigated the impact of mobile psychiatric services on
emergency department services for behavioral health issues. For this project, we collected data
on the individual characteristics of youth aided and the provided services in order to better
understand the efficacy of emergency mobile psychiatric services. This provided me the
opportunity to collect data on mental and behavioral health care utilization in the state of
Connecticut, as well as to see changes in trends over time. I was dedicated to this project as I
believe that a commitment to delivering evidence-based practice is imperative as a clinical social
worker. It was made clear to me that research evaluating existing practices is vital in order to
provide adequate care for communities and individuals. This opportunity nurtured my interest in
mental and behavioral health care and has driven me to pursue work with children and families.
