Hello, I am Jacklyn Flores, a BSW student at Grand Valley State University. During my final year at Grand Valley, I had the pleasure of doing my internship at Morley Stanwood Elementary,working with the school social worker and learning many things while being there.
My service-learning reflection paper in competency one is an artifact from my portfolio that influenced my direction in school social work. This paper made me reflect on my experience there, learn what a school social worker does, and learn how much I like working with children.
Throughout my social work course at Grand Valley, I learned how to find organizations and understand what each organization does to help the community. For competency three, I also became a part of it by creating a clothing drive for Mel Trotter. Also invovled explaining the research done on Mel Trotter. I also learned interviewing skills, implemented them, and got feedback on areas where I needed improvement. In competency eight, my Sim Center Reflection shows how I have improved my interview skills. All the skills I have learned in the BSW program have benefitted my internship.
Some of my interests in the social work field are school social work, CPS, and possibly medical or mental health social work. I have always enjoyed working with children from a young age. Since I did my internship at a school, I have gained a lot of knowledge. I have learned about safety plans for children and IEP meetings for children to receive the right resources.
This portfolio has become very beneficial because it has demonstrated the importance of being a social worker. Interviewing skills, research, and understanding policy and code of ethics are essential. All these skills are learned through the BSW program to advocate for people when having no one else. I am eager to enter the social work field and be able to advocate for and impact people's lives.