Welcome

Introduction

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        My name is Meagan Sanders and for the past two years I have been attending Western Washington University. During that time I have been working towards my bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Rehabilitation. From the time I was young I’ve enjoyed working and helping people. Throughout middle school and high school, I was active in volunteer projects and community service groups. Therefore, going into the Human Service field seemed like a natural fit. I have a passion for women and children and have worked with both populations quite a bit. Through my internships at Womencare Shelter and A Child’s Life Learning Center, I got to explore the different styles of helping. Although these two populations are very dear to my heart, I am excited to be learning more about working with people who have special needs. As an Employment Specialist at Washington Vocational Services, I help to coordinate job matching between my customers and employers. Each person I work with has a very unique set of skills and, in just the few months I have been working there, I have learned a lot from my customers. They show me every day how special each person is and how I need to continually appreciate both the things that make us different and the commonalities we share.  

Professional Philosophy of Helping
        Working with people is very different from other fields; everyone has their own thought process and ideas as to what is right for them or a community. Part of my philosophy for helping is to recognize that each client I work with is an individual. They are unique and that he or she knows themselves the best. As I have learned over the past two years helping does not mean doing all of the work for the client and it is important to support a client’s self determination. Through training in advocacy, coursework and professional experience I feel that my role is to be a support for those I work with. I am there to provide the knowledge that I have and the serves I can provide to encourage them on their journey. Supporting them in recognizing their strengths and how to use them to obtain the goals client’s set for themselves.  

Professional Purpose
         My goal for each client I work with is that they leave my services feeling respected and supported by me. I wish to leave the professional relationship knowing that I did everything I could to provide high-quality services and encouragement to each client. I believe that by having this as my goal for each client, I will always be able to feel successful in my work. I understand that in this profession there will be ups and downs, but I feel that by being a part of a supportive and uplifting team I can weather the storms. As a co-worker I hope to always inspire those around me. The people I have the honor of working with will affect me and I will learn from them. They will cause me to change either personally or professionally and making great change starts from the foundations. My overall goal is to create change, whether it is with one client, in my community or on a global scale. There is no such thing as a small change because with each injustice we conquer there will be ripple effect.   


Organization of Portfolio
         This portfolio not only displays my knowledge of the required coursework, but also my personal creativity. I enjoyed creating this project because it allowed me to share some of my personal side as well. Part of my self-care is taking pictures and then producing scrapbooks with them. I love this medium because can use different items such as: papers, stickers, and calligraphy to express my memories. For the purposes of this project I have shared photos that I find relevant to the different sections, whether they be of me or of people I care about; each picture holds a very special memory.
          In addition to pictures, there are links to different items. Anything highlighted in red is linked to another page. If it says CSHSE Standards it is linked to the National Standards document. If a standard is mentioned then it links to my Standards Page that contains the synopsis of the standard, e.g. Standard 11. Each time an appendix is mentioned, you can click on the link and it will take you directly to the document itself. I hope you enjoy my portfolio and get a better understand of who I am.