Tamia Forrest

What can be more rewarding than finishing work and going home knowing you have made a difference in someone’s life? That is my ideal life career. My name is Tamia Forrest, and I am a Master of Social Work candidate at the University of Southern Mississippi. Such studies, I believe, are imperative for my career development and will benefit me my whole life.
Before graduating high school, I had already etched in my mind that “when I grow up, I want to be a social worker.” Just as some people admire lawyers, teachers, nurses, and etc., I’ve always adored social workers. I do not think that this was just solely my decision to major in social work; I believe the profession of social work was destined to be my career. I was first introduced into the world of social work early in my childhood, even before I knew what it was. Being that my mom manages a dialysis clinic, I was introduced to the profession of social work by the social worker that works closely with my mom. Growing up, and even now, I would hear the stories of different cases that she encountered at work. Each story would end in a meaningful life lesson for me. However, instead of taking in what they were saying, I would be thinking about how and what could I do to possibly help these people.
Now that I am actually pursuing a career in social work, I have a much better understanding of social work as a profession. My understanding of social work is as a profession dedicated to enhancing human capacity, to solve problems in order to create a more humane and just society. Social work is a helping profession, characterized by a commitment to social justice in the service of empowering individuals, families, and communities to meet their needs. Social work does not just focus on the shortcomings or an individual’s internal struggles but also help clients identify their strengths, determine their skills and capabilities, what they have done well and how was that accomplished, and then analyze ways that those strengths might be applied to identified problems.