Why Community Support Work?
Why CSW?
Short answer: Why not?
Long answer:
Hello, my name is Mayon Marcelino, and the reason why I’m in the Community Support Worker program is because of something that happened on April 20, 2014.
Did that sound a little dramatic? Sorry about that. Don’t worry. Nothing bad happened. I wasn’t involved in any car accident or anything scary like that.
April 20, 2014 was Easter Sunday, and a new friend invited me over for dinner with her family and friends.
When I say new friend, I mean really new as in I forgot her name and I’ve only met her once before and we talked for about 5 minutes. Maybe friend is the wrong word then. Acquaintance, maybe?
Perhaps an introverted person would say "no thank you” to the invitation under those circum-stances. As a semi-introverted person it did cross my mind to say no. I didn’t really know the person who was inviting me, but at the same time, I do get hungry sometimes, it felt good to be invited and I felt it would be rude to say no. So I said yes to the invitation.
What’s the worst that can happen if you are invited by someone you don’t really know to a place you’ve never been? (Nevermind don’t answer that!)
There was a lot of food and everyone I met was very nice. After dinner, I had a conversation with one of the family friends and the topic of work came up. He shared some information about his profession that I was very surprised to hear. He said that he considers his work to be a form of ministry.
I found that interesting because I work as a youth minister in my church and I consider what I do to be a form of ministry as well. The more information he shared about his job the more I agreed with him.
He explained that his job was to support male adults with autism. The way he described his work led me to believe that it can be a mentally and physically challenging profession at times, but it’s also incredibly rewarding to serve others, empower people, and be a source of consistency and support in their life.
I’ve always wanted to serve and help people. I’ve always wanted to find great joy and meaning in what I do. I decided that whatever my next job would be, it would be one where I am supporting, caring and showing compassion for people.
I left that Easter Sunday dinner party a rejuvenated person. I had new purpose and new meaning in my life. I did research on different programs and different schools and I chose the Community Support Worker program at Sternberg College.
I haven’t always been open to change, but I’m glad I am now. I hope everyone can experience fulfillment, happiness, and true meaning in their life’s work. I’m very fortunate to have found this program, this school and this profession.
Let the journey begin.
Why CSW?
Short answer: Why not?
Long answer:
Hello, my name is Mayon Marcelino, and the reason why I’m in the Community Support Worker program is because of something that happened on April 20, 2014.
Did that sound a little dramatic? Sorry about that. Don’t worry. Nothing bad happened. I wasn’t involved in any car accident or anything scary like that.
April 20, 2014 was Easter Sunday, and a new friend invited me over for dinner with her family and friends.
When I say new friend, I mean really new as in I forgot her name and I’ve only met her once before and we talked for about 5 minutes. Maybe friend is the wrong word then. Acquaintance, maybe?
Perhaps an introverted person would say "no thank you” to the invitation under those circum-stances. As a semi-introverted person it did cross my mind to say no. I didn’t really know the person who was inviting me, but at the same time, I do get hungry sometimes, it felt good to be invited and I felt it would be rude to say no. So I said yes to the invitation.
What’s the worst that can happen if you are invited by someone you don’t really know to a place you’ve never been? (Nevermind don’t answer that!)
There was a lot of food and everyone I met was very nice. After dinner, I had a conversation with one of the family friends and the topic of work came up. He shared some information about his profession that I was very surprised to hear. He said that he considers his work to be a form of ministry.
I found that interesting because I work as a youth minister in my church and I consider what I do to be a form of ministry as well. The more information he shared about his job the more I agreed with him.
He explained that his job was to support male adults with autism. The way he described his work led me to believe that it can be a mentally and physically challenging profession at times, but it’s also incredibly rewarding to serve others, empower people, and be a source of consistency and support in their life.
I’ve always wanted to serve and help people. I’ve always wanted to find great joy and meaning in what I do. I decided that whatever my next job would be, it would be one where I am supporting, caring and showing compassion for people.
I left that Easter Sunday dinner party a rejuvenated person. I had new purpose and new meaning in my life. I did research on different programs and different schools and I chose the Community Support Worker program at Sternberg College.
I haven’t always been open to change, but I’m glad I am now. I hope everyone can experience fulfillment, happiness, and true meaning in their life’s work. I’m very fortunate to have found this program, this school and this profession.
Let the journey begin.
