professional Goal statement

Beatrice Dazouloute

02-26-2008

Master in Mental Health Counseling

I am writing this essay because I fervently want to attend graduate school in your esteemed institution , Walden University . I am not a stranger to hard work and I assure you that I will be able to give more than the regular amount of determination and perseverance that Walden University requires of its students . I am a conscientious student and I take my GPA very seriously . I view my studies as a commitment . Although many extraneous variables can come into play and affect

my schooling , I do not make these an excuse . Instead , I take family problems and other personal hardships as challenges and I have not yet been hindered from fulfilling my academic requirements despite these challenges

During my undergraduate years , I was able to experience social work with many individuals of different nationalities . Most of these were people with great financial needs and were individuals who needed much assistance from their families and from the government . I was thus trained to be a highly adaptive individual attuned to the needs of a culturally diverse group . It was also here that I first found an overwhelming compassion for individuals with so many things going against them . Most of the people I worked with during that time could not even be helped by their own family member and they had to look for assistance elsewhere . I ached to be able to provide them with some form of relief . This is one of the reasons why I want to become a mental health counselor

Another experience during my undergraduate years that led me to desire a profession as a mental health counselor involves one of the many research s that I wrote . The last undergraduate I wrote involved repeat offenders (Recidivism . I was exposed , this time , to inmates of the Miami-Dade Country Corrections Department . I found the plight of these inmates moving . They viewed themselves as having no choice when it came to their perpetration of their second crime . Society refused to give them proper jobs and decent living quarters because of the fact that they were ex-offenders . As a result , they had no choice but to live a life of crime and in the end they once again found themselves in the confines of the corrections department . I saw in these individuals a sense of futility . They would rather go to jail where they would at least have a place to sleep in and where they would be able to have regular meals than to live in the outside world where they would only face rejection , where their only perceived hope of survival was a life of crime . I empathized with these inmates . I could not help but feel a deep sense of sadness for the life they lived and again , it built a longing inside of me to be able to effect change in another person 's life

However , not all the inmates felt this way . There were those who only laughed when asked about their repeat offense . They were vocal about their inability to accept authority figures in their lives and about how they could and would not work for others . They wanted to live the fast life and if that meant having to commit criminal offenses then that was acceptable to them . When I turned my in , my professor gave me an A . I felt pride in my work but I also felt emotional . There was so much more in that than just a good grade . It was an experience that affected me and it made me want to do more

I now work for a facility that houses mentally ill prisoners . Some of these include severe cases that warrant professional help . This is the only experience , as of yet , that I have had in relation to mental health counseling . Working here drives me to become a mental health counselor I want to be able to professionally mentor some of these people . My exposure to the prison system has made me realize that most of the inmates in these facilities are in dire need of medical and professional assistance . Not many are willing to give it to them but I want to be able to change that

It is clear that these inmates have nothing and no one to turn to . Just as with the people I worked with during my undergraduate years , there is no one who can help them . Their families are not financially capable of giving them the help they need . The government , with all its good will is not able to provide adequately for these prisoners . For the prisoners with serious mental illness , the abandonment of the family and state is even more pronounced . There are not many family members who are willing to take the responsibility of taking care of someone who has been imprisoned and who has clear mental disabilities

I know the problems in these institutions . I have witnessed it first hand . I want to apply what I have learned from my working experience in the jail systems to create a program to help these prisoners . I will ask for aid from the government . However , I also need the help of you institution . I need to be increase my knowledge about how to best address the needs of these prisoners once they are released from prison I believe that Walden University is the best choice for furthering my studies with mental health counseling

Your esteemed university can help me further my educational level . With a degree in mental health counseling , I can take a more active role in helping other individuals with their life struggles and worries . I want to be able to start my own practice so that I can reach out to more lives . I want to become a professional mentor in the mental health field . I have seen so many people who are struggling with the everyday decisions that they need to make . I find that the knowledge I have now is not enough to help them and so I cannot help but seek to improve myself so that I am better equipped to help those people

On a more personal note , one of the members of my family suffers from depression and is still continuing to see professional help up to this day . I admit that this one of the driving forces for my desire to pursue a degree in mental health counseling . I believe that Walden University and its teaching environment can inspire me to become an inspired student so that I can reach my dream to be able to help others including my family

I want to be able to expand the horizons for people who view their lives as limited . I know that by becoming a mental health counselor , I can more effectively draw these people out of the desperation that has infected their lives . I can confidently present myself to you and say that I am driven . I am determined to take charge and create the change that I want to see in this society once I graduate . I am competent in what I do . My work involves being able to work not only independently but also productively as a part of a team . I know that two heads are better than one . Working with others has taught me the importance of listening to others and of being able to couple the ideas and advice given by those around me with my own concepts and plans . I believe that it will be with the guidance of Walden University that I will be best able to address the concerns crowding around those I want to help . I need to couple the passion that I already feel with the knowledge that Walden University can provide me

After being referred by one of my colleagues , researching the merits of your university , and comparing the demands of your university with other promising schools , I am certain that Walden University is indeed the best choice for the furthering of educational studies . I hope that you will allow me to acquire my degree in mental health counseling in Walden University and that you will aid me in the mission that I have dedicated my life to . I am convinced that your university is the best choice for me and I hope that you will also feel the same way . Thank you

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