Congratulations to Angela on winning Course Hero’s monthly scholarship! A current Kaplan University student pursuing her degree in Human Services, Angela is also a first-generation high school grad and college student. Her story is an inspiring one, as she looks to her own past experiences to fuel her passion for helping others.
We caught up with Angela to learn more about her story and to share her response to our February scholarship question “What is your dream job?”
I have lived in Indiana my entire life and am the first in my family to ever obtain a high school education or a college degree. I am currently attending Kaplan University and am going for my Bachelor’s in Human Services, with an emphasis in Child and Family Welfare. After having no choice but to live in a homeless shelter with a small child, I realized how many people there were that simply didn’t know how to find resources.
I hope to finish my degree so I can help people become more self-sufficient. My dream job is to work in a government or not-for-profit organization as a Child and Family Social Worker, Case Manager, Human Service Assistant, or as a Rehabilitation Assistant. Either one of these careers would be enjoyable for me because I would be helping low income and disadvantaged families and individuals become self-sufficient by providing them with resources that would help with food, clothing, employment or shelter.
As someone that was raised in poverty, I was unaware of the resources that would assist me when I became an adult and was kicked out of my mother’s home. My situation only became worse when I married at a young age and became pregnant. I found myself living in a homeless shelter with a toddler. Had I known what resources were available to me before things got too out of control, I might have been able to budget my income better and would have avoided going to live in a homeless shelter.
However, it is because of these circumstances that I believe I found my calling when, through the assistance provided by the shelter, I was placed in employment training at a reentry facility for ex-offenders. Although it was only meant to be unpaid training in the front office as a receptionist, I was eventually hired full time and promoted to Administrative Assistant, aiding the case managers with any tasks they were working on.
During my five year employment at the reentry facility, I helped ex-offenders by finding shelter, connecting them with public benefits, helping them complete resumes, and so much more. I developed a love and passion for helping others in need and decided that I wanted to make a career out of it. It is my dream to complete a degree in Human Services and continue that career!
Thanks for sharing your story, Angela, and congratulations again on winning the Course Hero scholarship!
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