Social Network Interview

For the first interview we have Dr. Marie-Antoinette Sossou from Ghana. She is my professor for a class of social work and global poverty, at the University of Kentucky. She is also an educator for undergraduate and graduate programs at the college of social work in the University of Kentucky.

Interview:

Adriana: How would you describe yourself?

Dr. Marie: I am an African woman from the country of Ghana originally and I am currently living in the US for the past several years.

Adriana: What goals did you have when you were younger?

Dr. Marie: As a young girl growing up in Ghana, I was not sure what my future was going to be because education for girls was culturally not a high priority for families. However, our first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah introduced free and compulsory primary education for all children after my country gained independence from the colonial masters of Great Britain. So my goal was to be educated and become a teacher or a nurse. As a girl-child in an all-girl primary school, l looked up to the female teachers as a source of inspiration.

Adriana: And what goals do you have now?

Dr. Marie: I was able to have access to not only primary education but I was fortunate enough to attend college and higher education from first degree to a doctorate degree level and I am now able to share and contribute to the education of other people in Ghana and also here in Lexington, Kentucky.

Adriana: What is your career and what do you like the most about it?

Dr. Marie: I am a Social Work Educator and I teach social work students in the undergraduate and graduate programs at the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. What I like most about my career is the joy of seeing my past students taking leadership positions in Social Work agencies across the country and also seeing some of the students I taught in Ghana, becoming college professors in other higher educational institutions in Ghana and overseas. It is really rewarding to know that I have contributed to other people's success.

Adriana: If you were to make your own non profit organization, what would it be like?

Dr. Marie: My idea of my own non-profit organization would be focused on rural women in the Global South. My goal will be to have a grass-root organization for women and by women and the goal will be on social education, adult literacy, reproductive and sexual rights, and micro-income generating activities to get women involved in economic activities to improve their livelihood and that of their families.

Adriana: What would you say to someone that wants to make an organization like that on their own?

Dr. Marie: One has to conduct a needs assessment and find out what issues are being identified by the target group. I would advise to get the target group members involved in decision-making and setting of goals and what they want to learn from the organization. Therefore, the bottom-up approach should be a guiding principle.

Adriana: What is your definition of success?

Dr. Marie: There are many definition of success depending on personal, social and economic purposes. Personally, I consider myself successful when I am able to accomplish the goals that I set for myself as a woman, a mother, a social worker/educator, family member, a friend, a colleague and a mentor.

Adriana: Would you advice someone into pursuing a career in social work? And why?

Dr. Marie: Social work is a challenging but a rewarding profession of helping people facing social/economic/psychological and other related problems to help themselves in finding solutions and interventions. Anybody who is interested in becoming a social worker must have the conviction, passion, commitment and interest in people and their situations. The decision is personal and would only advise when the person is really convinced about his/her choice.

Adriana: What suggestions can you give to a student that wants to pursue a career in social work for him/her to be successful?

Dr. Marie: The student must be ready to adhere to the professional values, missions and purpose and the code of ethics of social work. He/she must be hard working and be able to work with different groups of people such as children, women, homeless people, people with disabilities, substance abuse and the elderly population.

Analysis for Interview:

One of my long-term goals is to open my own non profit organization to help children in need around the world. I thought interviewing someone like Dr. Marie would be a great idea since her field is social work. Indeed, it was a really nice interview. It was absolutely fulfilling to hear her story and to see that she has come a long way.

She made me realize that to pursue a career in social work is not easy, is not just visiting the elders and sing them a few songs for the Christmas holidays like we see in movies, but it actually requires the passion and the strength to want to help others.

She mentioned that besides accepting the ethics of the career while studying social work you must prepare to understand many economical issues. My strengths are not in math or economics so this was good to know so I can focus more on that sight reinforce my abilities in math so one day I will be able to open my organization and run it in a successful way.