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Hello! I am Allison May, a soon to be BSW graduate from Grand Valley State University. Coming from a small town North of Detroit four years ago, I was excited to embark on my college journey. Freshman year challenged me both academically and mentally while feeling lost as to what my declared major would be. After testing the waters and finding support from family, friends and Grand Valley faculty, I found social work and fell in love. Not having many social workers in my family, I have been exploring my passion for this field while also reassuring my family that this is the path for me. With a few weeks left during my time in undergrad, I am both excited and scared for what the future holds. I will be starting my MSW program through GVSU in the Fall of 2022. Making this decision to hold myself accountable for continuing my education was to keep me aligned with my career/life goals. Planning on continuing my education as a part-time student will allow me to further my education while also gaining greater work experience in the field.
Passions:
Mental Health: College brought about many internal struggles and I entered my own journey to battle mental health. One counselor in particular who worked with me through my personal mental health journey, really ignited my passion for providing that assistance to someone else in the future. During my senior year in the BSW program my field placement was through Hope Network at a short-term crisis residential, Robert Brown. Working one-on-one with individuals who are experiencing mental health crisis exposed me to many situations I would have never thought. I became increasingly better at addressing crisis situations and maneuvering a system in which does not receive the proper funds it deserves. Witnessing first hand the broken system that is mental health in the United States added fuel to the fire for my passion to continue work in mental health.
Non-Profit Work: While completing my BSW degree, I had an opportunity to intern at two non-profit organizations. One in particular, Kids' Food Basket I stumbled across my opportunities within this organization through a community outreach project I led while enrolled in Generalist Practice 1. Through researching, talking with individuals at this organization, and spending time volunteering, I gained an internship at the Holland location summer of 2021. I got to learn so much regarding their programs, mission, and innerworkings being a non-profit. The connections and experiences I made will be something I hold onto and carry with me throughout my career.
Advocacy: While advocating for human rights is one of the Competencies highlighted later on in this portfolio, I have found several ways in which to advocate not only in my developing professional life, but my personal life as well. Throughout the work I did as an intern at Kids' Food Basket, my coworkers and I were continuing to advocate for the continued work conducted by this organization. In addition, I completed a mini community outreach project myself towards the end of my internship, reaching out to local high schools making bringing awareness to opportunities to get involved with this organization. I have also taken to advocating outside of the classroom and advocate for the women in my community and beyond. Being a part of the March in Lansing for the MI Body MI Choice movement was an amazing experience. I have discovered that advocacy can present itself in a variety of ways and can be incorporated in different aspects throughout our personal and professional lives. I continue to post relevant information about social issues I am passionate about and educate myself about the politicians running for local, state, and federal offices that will work towards social justice and reform.
Graduating: Graduating with my BSW is something I never had imagined. There was a point in time that I didn't think I was going to graduate from college at all. Finding community amongst my peers in the social work program has helped me tremendously in building a strong support system. I am excited about all the connections I have made during my college career and for the opportunities the future holds. Obtaining my BSW degree presented the opportunity to work in a variety of fields within social work and it made me excited to explore from the very beginning. I am beyond grateful for the family, friends, and faculty that helped and supported me along the way to find social work where I can turn my passions into a career. Post graduation, I will be returning to Kids' Food Basket to work temporarily throughout the summer. I am excited to move into the city with friends who have supported me through my lowest days and make memories before I start my graduate program in the fall at Grand Valley. As I work towards completing my MSW as a part-time advanced standing student, I am planning on applying for a position in which I can continue to gain experience in the field while advancing my education. Throughout this portfolio there are a variety of assignments, projects, forms, and experiences I have had throughout my BSW degree in relation to the 9 competencies set forth by the NASW. All the experiences I have had inside and outside the classroom have contributed to the building of my professional self and have shaped me into the soon to be social worker I am today.
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