Revised Research Paper

Human Services… Wanting to Help Others

Going into college I thought Marketing was going to be the major I would go into and stick to. When I enrolled in St. John's University I chose to major in Marketing because it seemed an interesting career. As my first semester here came to a close I realized that the business world wasn’t for me. I have realized my passion, and it is to help people. I love the feeling I get after helping someone. It could be the simplest thing but I love knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life. I love seeing people smile and bringing at least a little bit of joy in their lives.
In my journey to seek a new career path and a new major I decided to speak to my Freshman Advisor. He asked me why I wanted to change my major and I told him I didn’t think the business world was for me. I know every field out there requires a lot of persistence, challenges and competition. But I believe that the business world requires a lot more because it is for your own benefit, it is more of a greedy field. Then he asked me what I see myself doing. I told him I would love to have a career helping people. He told me that I should look into Human Services. In perfect time our Research papers were being assigned to us and I thought what a perfect chance to look into my new career choice.
Human Services careers offer many opportunities. Some are Human Service workers and Assistants. This term is used for people who are responsible for various jobs. Some are social service assistant, social work assistant, community support worker, alcohol or drug abuse counselor, mental health aide, community outreach worker and life skill counselor. These skills require fields like nursing, psychiatry, psychology, social work, rehabilitative or physical therapy. These fields are ones that require much attention and a passion for the job.
Social workers are split into about four areas in which they can work in. Some of them are individual and family services, residential care, job training and vocational rehabilitation services, and various social services. The individual and family services provide welfare, counseling, home-delivered meals, adult day care and home health and personal care. Other services that this field offers focus on children, such as youth centers or groups, foster care and adoption services. I love working with children so I am leaning more towards helping children. It could be either in a foster home or in an Adoption Center. Somewhere where I know my services will be appreciated and I can make a child smile or happy at least for a little while.
Residential care units help children, the elderly or anyone who does not have the ability to care for themselves. These people also deal with residents of group homes and alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers. Job training and vocational rehabilitation centers train the unemployed, disabled or people with any other disadvantages. This also seems like a great opportunity to help others, especially these people who have trouble finding the help that they need and the jobs that are more adequate for them and the skills that they have.
As a follow up on my Research I decided to look up what others in this field have said about the work I would like to pursue. Before I did that I decided to look into what people I know that do this think about it. I was discussing my interest in this major with my friend Maribel because I recall her working in this field. Maribel went to St. John’s and received her bachelors in Human Services then went on to Stony Brook to receive her masters in Social Work.
She has worked with women who were on Medicaid to make sure that they are ready to get jobs and be on their own. After that she worked in a Social Service office helping many people such as the elderly, young and the disabled. She helped them get jobs and get on their feet. Now she works with kids at P.S. 318.
She told me that her job is her life, she loves it. She is eight months pregnant and she still goes to work. Maribel told me that her job fulfills her in all ways possible. She loves going to work and knowing that she can help people in any way possible. I would love to feel like that one day. I would love to wake up every morning with a smile on my face because I am going to work in a place that makes me happy.
As I spoke to Maribel she told me that one of her friends is majoring in Human Services and I asked her if there was any way I could reach her or get in contact with her. We decided to go visit her and the only question I decided that I needed to ask her was why that major. She told me she has worked with kids and the disabled and loves the feeling she gets after a day of work. She loves knowing that because of her someone smiled, laughed and felt loved. I agreed with her 100 percent because I have worked in after school programs and I have spent a day with disabled people. I don’t think there is any feeling better than the one I receive after a day of helping someone.
After all of my own interviews I decided to check what others in this field thought of their own jobs. One that really caught my eye was Ms. Jill Eisenhard. Ms. Jill Eisenhard works with teenagers in the Human Services field. She was interviewed on her view about her job, what she loves about it, how she came about to this career, and she gives some advice too. She was asked what she loves most about her job and she responded by saying that the best part of her job was working with the teenagers, developing programs and ideas and making a difference. I have to agree with this because even though I am not in this field yet I know I would definitely agree with the idea of making a difference.
Ms. Eisenhard was asked what makes her get out of bed every morning. She responded and I quote, “At the end of every day there is at least one person who is a bit happier, more confident, or in a better position because of the work I did to help him or her.” This says it all to me; this is why I want to help people. I want to become that person that at least one or two people can say I helped them or I made them smile or made them just a little happier than they were before they came to me.
Here she was asked how much of her time does she spend doing each of these tasks:

Talking on the phone 35%
Dealing with email 5%
Meetings with individuals 40%
Meetings with groups/committees 15%
Traveling 5%
Writing 10%
Reading 5%
Researching 5%
Other: Supervising 65%
She elaborates on some books that she has read that will help me in understanding this career a little better, such as There Are No Children Here, The Welfare Queen, and Savage Inequalities. To end her interview she was asked, “In what ways have your values changed since you graduated from college?” Ms. Jill Eisenhard answered, “I've learned far more since college than I did when I was in college. I've worked with low income families, immigrants, drug addicts, pregnant 13-year-olds, and people living in total poverty. I have become a more emotional person and have become thankful for everything, every day.”
I would love to be able to graduate with a degree in Human Services from St. John's University. I feel like I can learn a lot more about life and myself in general working in this field. I get to see events and feel things that I might not see or feel in other professions. I feel that this could help me become a better person and help me appreciate everything I have.