Personal statement and suitability
Hi there,
I'm about to enrol in Bachelor of Social Work degrees in Australia as a lived experience student. I was hoping to get some guidance on if my personal statement is strong enough or if there are any gaps I should be worried about. I don't have much academic experience and I'm worried my career story is weak. I'm also curious, based on my story, if you think I'd be suitable or if there's things I need to work on before enrolling. Any thoughts would be great.
**Here's the statement**.
*I have spent my entire life experiencing and understanding complex care systems. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in childhood, I grew up navigating hospitals, clinics and the kinds of conversations most people never have until late in life. Frequent hospitalisations through my secondary school years made education a challenge, yet I completed my (high school certificate) while simultaneously being an in-patient fighting for my life. In 2005, at the age of 19, I received a double lung transplant at (redacted). It was a moment that saved my life, and one I will never forget. It was a social worker, my transplant coordinator, who held my hand as I was wheeled into the operating theatre.*
*In the 21 years that followed, I encountered many more social workers. I watched them hold space for patients, families and loved ones in moments of profound distress, bringing practical clarity and human warmth to situations where both were desperately needed. I admired what they did and felt, deep in my gut, that this work was calling to me. I just never had the right moment in my life to act on it.*
*Loss has been a consistent part of my life. I have lost CF friends who did not make it to transplant and I’ve sat with my grandparents as they died. I have arranged funerals, helped execute wills, offered counsel and been the person people turn to when things get complicated and heavy. I did not seek out these roles but I never stepped back from them either. I have always been the person who stays, and I have come to understand that this is not incidental to who I am.*
*My family history has also brought me into contact with addiction, autism, poverty and intergenerational hardship. I’ve witnessed the impact the right support at the right time can have, and I’ve seen how much unnecessary suffering occurs when it is absent or inaccessible. As a gay man, with many queer and trans friends, I have seen the realities faced by LGBTQIA+ people in navigating a world that does not always reflect or respect their identity. This has given me both a personal stake in equity of access and a grounded understanding of what culturally safe care actually looks like.*
*Professionally, I have spent twenty years working in UX design and product strategy. On the surface that might seem like a different world, but the core of that work is the same: understanding how people experience complex systems, listening carefully, and finding solutions that genuinely serve them. I have done that work for tech companies and startups. I am now ready to do it for people.*
*What draws me most specifically is end of life care and chronic illness support for young people and adults. I know that territory from the inside. I understand what it feels like to face a serious illness, and I know how much it matters to have someone beside you who is not afraid of hard conversations. I am also committed to working with LGBTQIA+ communities and with people who are underserved by mainstream health systems, where I believe my lived experience gives me something real to offer.*
*I am coming into this degree with a clear understanding of what it involves. I have done my research, I know the structure and the commitment it requires, and I am prepared for that. Academically, my career has demanded the same skills that university study rewards: synthesising complex information quickly, conducting research, thinking critically about evidence and translating it into action. Completing a unit of postgraduate study at (redacted) in 2019, where I achieved a Distinction, gave me a taste of formal academic work and the confidence that I can handle it. I am not a passive learner and I do not take on commitments lightly.*
*This is more than a career change, it’s something I’ve naturally been pulled towards and I’m now excited to have the opportunity to learn it properly. Studying a Bachelor of Social Work at (redacted) would give me the framework, the knowledge and the confidence to turn a lifelong calling into something that can make a difference.*