Military Child Observation Report

When I graduated University of Southern California in May of 2014, I was so ashamed of my 2.59 GPA, I didn’t even want my parents to fly to California to see me walk on Graduation Day. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my Bachelor’s in Social Sciences; and in fact, I didn't have any future plans beyond that point. I tried applying to this program, months before graduation, but became disheartened and couldn't follow through. I also tried searching for a job in California, but that also failed and I was forced to move back with my parents in South Carolina. I had no car of my own and this town has no public transportation, therefore, I already suspected it was going to be tedious finding a full-time job with my social sciences degree.
There, I met and befriended many students and teachers that have ties to the Military. The majority of children has excellent manners, and is very smart; others were not quite there. There could be a number of factors why a child is acting out or behind in school, especially for a military child. Having a parent in the military is challenging. Having gone through it myself, I sympathize with them, but it wasn't until meeting these kids and realizing how much support they needed, that I decided to seriously pursue a Social Work degree. I say all of this because I want to be completely transparent as to why I am applying to USC MSW program. Relieving the obstacles military children encounter because their parents are protecting our country is how I want to support our troops. On a larger scale, I desire to help build school programs to support all youth who many not have both parents constantly in their
Beaufort, South Carolina may be a very passive town, but it’s exactly where I should be when pursuing my Master’s. USC accepted me because during high school, I received remarkable grades while being in honors classes, and while having many different extra-curricular activities. I’m more focused here because throughout middle school and high school, I learned to flourish in such an environment. Beside that point, I’ve already started forming relationships with students and staff in the schools on the Laurel Bay military base. I would love to intern and possibly research in schools where I’m currently working. I would love to replicate research experiments previously done on Camp Pendleton and see how they may differ from a base in a much smaller town. Being in Beaufort will bring new perspectives to the table, as well as new research material. In the next five years, I would have already attained my MSW and would have moved to Jacksonville, NC. I want Jacksonville to be my permanent residence because it fulfills my professional demands, as well as my social desires. It is not too far from my parents, it's near a military base, and it is also only four hours away from the largest city in North Carolina, Charlotte. I would have