My career in social work is the culmination of a long life of personal and professional preparation. I have so enjoyed working with people, helping them with their problems. At 40, I now feel that I have the necessary maturity to perform at my very best level, again, as a student. I now also have an especially high level of motivation that accompanies my current position working with at risk young men, mostly minority. Frankly, I am deeply saddened by the explosive incarceration rates in America, and the way that black boys lead the way going to jail, rather than college, working, etc. This sense of urgency makes me an excellent candidate for your Masters program because I am so fully engaged with my place of employment; it is my mission, and an excellent place to complete my internship. It is my sincere hope to be able to make some modest contribution to discussions of how to best counsel and care for at risk youths, in my case my research interest is in boys, especially those at risk for spending their young adulthood behind bars. My inspiration, zeal, level of motivation, it all speaks to be graduate school as a place where I belong. My family is now in a position to give me the necessary space as well.

I come from a long history of concern for women's issues, and being a woman is equally if not more important to my application to your program than being black. I am still a volunteer at a shelter for women who have substance abuse as well as mental health issues. It would be more convenient for me, however, to do my research where I go to work every day. And these boys are stealing my heart. They can be just enormously difficult. I am glad that as a woman at least, I am now an older woman, and thus avoid many of the problems that are exacerbated by male hormones. I work with those who are chronically afflicted with the worst of life's problems, and it is here that I find my greatest joy. I follow what Jesus said about helping the most poor, showing them love.

I rise in the morning thinking about my clients because their hope is my hope and I am always excited to share. My work thrills me, and it is here that I find my deepest spiritual fulfillment, in my service. I also work with women who have children in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In fact, for the last 13 years, I have been a volunteer and have also help professional positions in this area women, children, and Family Services.