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Why I Became a Social Worker

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Why I Became a Social Worker

Program Transcript

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DONNA MCELVEEN: I came across social work in a very indirect way. I really didn't know what social work was, didn't know any social workers, but knew I wanted to enter a helping profession.

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I picked up a pamphlet on helping professions and began to read. And as I read the social work section, I noticed two really important words, justice and social change. And it resonated with me because my whole life, I've been really a person of justice and a person who wants society to be good for all people.

And as I read this, it became part of me. And I began to explore the field of social work. And that was about 17 years ago.

DEBBIE RICE: Well, I was raised in a family that was very much oriented toward other folks. And so we learned from a very early age to be concerned with the needs and what was going on for other people in the community.

And so at first, I wanted to be an attorney. And then I realized, I'm really concerned with what goes on before somebody gets arrested rather than after they get arrested. And so seeing how my mom and dad did things and just being part of that kind of family process, said, social work's where you belong.

PETER MEAGHER: I wanted to help the community be better. And I was inspired with a social justice lens. And that moved me into, down the road, into really wanting to experience people and places that were different than me.

And I ended up joining the Peace Corps, and did a stint there, spent some time in Africa teaching, and had some amazing experiences there. And I thirsted for more and ended up getting connected into a homeless and runaway youth agency. And honestly, I was surrounded by social workers.

And I was like, I want to be like those guys. I want their job. And so that inspired me to go on to get a master's degree in social work, and then go off into the community, and do those things that really moved me and made a difference in my life and the lives of others.

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