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We All Had Aspirations
“I was only able to help myself when I could really understand and internalize that I didn’t have the answers.”
I would like to be able to contribute to help people follow through on their dreams. I kind of evolved into a social worker. I been on the other end of needing assistance. People were there for me. I kind of found out that I had a knack for assisting people. And so it just seemed a natural transition into the profession.
A lot of times people don't know that they have an option. Just giving them an option is that enough to help a person walk through the door. I don't see myself as very different from people I work with. Looking back and reflecting on it, I'm sure that it was some form of social work or social workers who played a vital part in me being a more productive member of society.
Meet Bobby Staley, a GSSW alum and social worker with The Bridge Assertive Community Treatment program in the Bronx. After experiencing hard times in his own life, Bobby only emerged a happier and more stable person after realizing he couldn’t do it alone. That’s why he enrolled in GSSW—to develop a skillset for helping others still struggling that provided an outlet for his hard-earned empathy. In 2008, Bobby was honored as valedictorian of GSSW’s first-ever graduating class.
“You can’t know the effect you have,” he reflects, “but I firmly believe that the investment you make in an individual comes back. Social work is a profound profession because of that. I see a connection between everyone. I feel a connection.”
This is Bobby Staley's story.
