Mentor Youth, Build a Life

As my first quarter at UCLA encroaches, a barrage of emails and general announcements have started to hit my inbox at an accelerated rate. The majority are, of course, posts from my future MSW classmates, eager to introduce themselves or hunt for potential roommates.

Sifting through my daily digest of the 1st year MSW emails, one particular post caught my eye: "LA Conservation Corps - Mentoring Future Leaders Youth 16 to 18 years of age." I barely finished reading the subject line before I found myself googling the organization.

What I found was truly inspiring: LA Conservation Corps is an organization that seeks to help at-risk youth through a number of free programs: after-school tutoring, academic scholarships, work-skill programs, transitional living programs, one-on-one mentoring... the list goes on and on.

As I dove deeper into each initiative of the LA Conservation Corps, I was extremely impressed by the YouthBuild Mentoring Program. Young adults develop relationships with volunteers by meeting on a month-to-month basis. Mentors guide mentees in numerous ways, whether it is exploring career options, developing strategies to achieve academic success, or discussing how to reconnect with their families and communities. Ultimately mentors are there to guide program participants on how to build a path for a productive and fulfilling adult life.

The influence of programs like the LA Corps YouthBuild on young adults are limitless. Many attribute mentoring programs for reducing juvenile crime, substance abuse, and recidivism rates among young adults. Imagine what a collective initiative by the community to mentor youth could do? YouthBuild alone has allowed 725 young adults to complete their high school education, 99 more to earn their GED, and 626 to receive their high school diplomas - it's pretty remarkable.

What is so clear in the minutes that I researched this organization, is that the program's success is completely dependent on the talent and passion of the staff. Mary Starks, director of the YouthBuild program, shared a small window into the world of devotion she provides for these at-risk teens:

"During the youth recruitment process, I walked in a classroom filled with 16 to 18 year old students waiting to hear about our LA Corps YouthBuild Mentoring Program. To my surprise the room was packed with students looking for a chance to be a part of the program. From that moment, I made them a promise that I would find them mentors even if I have to work nights, evenings and weekends to do it."

There is no denying that the LA Conservation Corps is demonstrating how a successful non-profit should operate: with an ironclad mission, a committed staff, and a proven devotion to their population. Should you or anyone you know have any interest in becoming an LA Corps YouthBuild mentor, please contact Mary Starks (mstarks@lacorps.org).

Personal Statement Inspiration

Knowing that I had applied to grad school this past fall, a friend of mine recently asked me how I went about writing my personal and professional statements for the UCLA MSW program. It's incredibly challenging to give a "statement of purpose" or describe exactly why you want to pursue a particular profession, but I found that reading the stories of others was the best way to help me articulate answers to the following questions:

1. Describe the significant relationships and life experiences that have influenced your decision to seek a career in a helping profession.

2. What values affected your decision to enter the social work? How are these values reflected in social work practice?

3. Describe your experiences with diverse populations and groups, and how those experiences have contributed to your interest in social work. Which population (defined by culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and psychological and physical functioning) would you like to serve?

4. What are your expectations of graduate education in terms of your own development? Indicate any problem or limitations that should be taken into account in planning your graduate program.

I conducted a lot of research and drew on many sources for inspiration, but one website I consistently went back to was Harvard Business School's "Portrait Project" which features most students from the incoming class. All participants answer the following simple yet thought-provoking question:

"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

The responses are truly moving, and vary from poems to songs to anecdotes. I found Jonathan Wilkins response among the best (I'm a runner, what can I say?). For all of you who are struggling with ways to answer those tricky questions, I hope the Portrait Project provides some help!

UCLA MSW Recruitment Materials

Nearly 6 months after I decided to pursue a Master's of Social Work, I received an acceptance to UCLA's program. Those 6 months were not fun. My days basically consisted of working full-time, completing a 40 hour domestic violence counselor training program, studying for the GRE's, and of course, completing my applications to 4 programs (The University of Michigan, The University of Texas in Austin, UCLA and USC).

Because I live in Los Angeles, I was able to attend local info sessions for UCLA and USC. One event in particular, UCLA's Diversity Recruitment Fair, was by far the most informative and useful info sessions I attended. What I liked most about the Diversity Fair was that it was designed to help applicants better position themselves for acceptance to the program.

Best of all, they distributed a packet which contained all kinds of valuable information about the application, admission requirements, personal statement writing tips, etc. While it was great to receive it, I wish they had distributed or posted it on a website at least 3 months earlier than they did... which is why I posted materials to this site.