I was born and raised in Poland and moved to the US 15 years ago. I hold a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by XXXX University, Chicago in 2002. Since 1999, I have been employed in various administrative roles. My goal now is to change direction by joining the Clinical Counseling program, excelling and then to practice as an effective and compassionate counselor, working specifically with members of immigrant communities.
I have been happy in my career to date and feel that I have done an excellent job in the roles that I have held. However, I have also been involved, for over 10 years, in volunteer activity as a legal and medical Polish-English interpreter and in tutoring the children of Polish immigrants in English. I have worked with the charity, ‘Chicago Cares’, for example, in a program for adult and child education. I feel privileged to have been involved in these projects and have gained as much in the way of satisfaction and self-knowledge as have the clients that I have been able to assist. Self-knowledge is the first step in understanding the attitudes and motivations that drive others and have always sought to develop this during my life. I have concluded that although the world may not lack excellent administrators, there is a shortage of people who can effectively help others by applying counseling skills to assist them to face and to deal with the many challenges that life presents to us all.
During my voluntary activity, I have seen the effect that an excellent counselor can have in helping distressed people to accurately identify their problems and to achieve the optimum resolution in dealing with them and this has fired a very strong desire in me to acquire the skills and knowledge to enable me to emulate them.
I am aware that an ‘outsider’ to the caring professions often has an unrealistic expectation of such work. I know that there are clients who are difficult to help and that not every client will do what is necessary, at least in the short term, to deal with identified issues. However, I also know that to identify and present challenging but realistic options to a client will often fire in them a willingness to face and resolve the matters that are at the root of the problems that they face.
The skills and knowledge that I have acquired in my working life to date may not be obviously applicable to the role of counselor, however some skills are relevant. I have learned be a confident decision maker, to approach problems analytically, to be determined in finding and applying solutions to problems, to apply interpersonal skills to create and maintain excellent working relationships and in co-operating with others to form effective working teams.
I believe that my substantial voluntary work has provided me with an excellent base to enable me to profit from the program, to excel within it, and, eventually, to become an excellent and effective counselor. I have also developed an understanding of legal and medical terminology in my interpretation work that will be useful in my professional training in the program.
I have carefully considered the characteristics required of an excellent potential clinical counselor and feel confident that I possess them. I know that communication skills form the basis of all effective counseling. From my experiences, and my informal studies in counseling skills, I know that it is important to be able to interpret and react appropriately to non-verbal signals provided by clients and to develop a general skill in ‘reading between the lines’. I have the empathy, patience, and communication skills necessary, and I possess the ‘emotional intelligence’ necessary to appreciate situations, to some extent, from the sufferer’s perspective.
My special interest is in the immigrant communities. Having been an immigrant myself, I understand many of the challenges faced by those coming to the US and that some need help to assimilate properly. I am aware that immigrants are over-represented among the financially challenged, those suffering family instability, drug, and alcohol abusers and the homeless I hope to be part of the solution to some of these problems by providing early, effective, and compassionate intervention. I also hope to assist in research into the special challenges faced by immigrants and their communities and the ways in which counseling might be applied to reduce their impact.
I have happily studied, worked, and socialized with people of many diverse cultural and social backgrounds. I regard myself as having a prominent level of cultural awareness and sensitivity. I love the variety of diet, art, music, and language to which US society has exposed me to and I look forward very much to broadening this experience within the program and to sharing knowledge of my own culture with others. As part of my high school social studies, I spent a few days in every single country in Europe, this was a hugely enjoyable project that gave me substantial, if limited, exposure to a wide variety of cultures. I have also spent time in Mexico and Canada since my arrival in the US which I enjoyed very much and provided an insight to non-US American cultures. I hope to be able to travel more widely in the future. I speak English, Polish and Russian fluently and can communicate at a basic level in German.
I have carefully considered the programs available to me and conclude that your own is an excellent ‘fit’ in enabling me to achieve my goals. I am particularly attracted by the emphasis on taking a ‘holistic’ approach to helping clients, on cultural diversity and in applying the skills and knowledge over the whole life span in an aging population such as our own. I am also attracted by the integration of theory and practice in the program. I undertake to work diligently and to participate enthusiastically in the program if selected. I have experiences, knowledge and insights that will ‘add value’ to my class and am extremely excited at the prospect of doing so.
I know that this program will attract many professionally qualified applicants and that the members of the Admissions Committee will have tough decisions to make. However, I do regard myself as being an excellent candidate. I have considerable volunteer experience working with individuals facing challenges of various kinds, I understand the characteristics required of a highly effective counselor and believe that I possess them and have demonstrated them in my own relationships, volunteer work and, to some extent, in my professional life. My main recommendation is a passionate desire to ‘make a difference’ rather than to merely ‘make a living’ and to do so for those who face particularly challenging situations in their lives.
Thank you for considering my application.
Master’s Clinical Counseling Personal Purpose Polish Sample
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