Good day my fellow bloggers,
First and foremost I would like to state this first week of
school has been very stressful…maybe I just been out of practice with summer
and all.
So let’s get to it…
Social work definitely found me. I like to say it all started when I was laid
off and I moved back home (well where my mother lived). I was working for Intel Corporation for six
years and when jobs where being transferred to other place; I got a nice
severance package and took a year off.
When it was time to look for work I could not find a job so I moved to
Crescent City.
Before I moved I applied for a job with the county was not
the first pick for the job and was called stating I did not get the job. Fortunately for me the person they hired did
not work out and I was called back for an interview and I got the job! I started out as a legal clerk for child
welfare. Well, that is the official
title of the job but I basically did anything they really asked of me. Boyfriend just moved from Nebraska to be with
me (Yes we met online, we are now married for six years and have two wonderful
kids) he was unable to find a job in this rural area. We decided to move to Eureka for better employment
options for him. I do have an AA in
business and it was easy for me to find a job.
I found a job with a construction company. Two days after I left Child Welfare I was
begging for my old job back. =(
No luck getting the job back. I decided to quit my job and look for
something else. We moved back to
Crescent City and I became an assistant manager for US Bank in Crescent City. Well two years later and vigilant scoping of jobs
with Del Norte County specifically in Child Welfare I was hired back as the
legal clerk (with a huge pay cut which I was willing to take to go back to a
job I loved).
I worked as a legal clerk for six months and then they
opened a job as a training social worker (specifically for me to get case
management experience) in Adult Protective Services. I worked in APS/In home supportive services
(IHSS) for three years. Moved up the
ladder and have obtained Social Worker III status.
Then one day I went to a meeting where Humboldt State was
presenting a new program called Pathways.
Pathways is grant program where they will pay for people currently
working for Child Welfare or people that are working for a Tribal government to
go back to school with a commitment in the end.
Similar to CALswec program that was spoke about in our orientation
earlier this week. I had to choose
between staying with APS or moving to CPS and receive a college education that
I could not afford on my own due to family obligations. I moved to Child Welfare for the betterment in
my professional career.
Currently I have worked for the last year and a half in
Child Welfare as a social worker in the ongoing court unit with a wide array of
cases, from reunification services, to family maintenance cases, or guardianships.
I absolutely love my job. The best part
of being a social worker is empowering families and becoming their cheerleader
and giving them hope. Without hope we have nothing…
