the road to social work

By: Jake Carabajal

You can always aspire to be something In life to help your loved ones and to help people, but you can work for something so hard but change it at the last second.

In this case, A Social Worker at YB, Crystal Hoang, was studying to be a Chemistry major, an optometrist, as she was very influenced by her parents and views of successful people based off of society.

But after taking more classes and time passing, Crystal then realized that she wants to be in a field to still help people but she also really admires the field of Mental Health.

She then took a psychology course. She soon made the decision that she really wants to be some sort of Therapist or counselor.

Crystal: “I realized, I want to be in a field where I help people still, but I also realized that I really love the field of mental health, So I took a psychology course and I just figures out that, like I wanted to be, some sort of like Therapist/counselor, um not knowing exactly where that will take me”

Ever since Crystal was a kid she always wanted to help people, she just did not know what that role was, she liked talking to people and supporting them even at a young age.

Growing up in her culture, therapy and social working wasn’t really mentioned or talked about, or wasn’t known, especially for older generations. Crystal was unaware that what she loved doing was a career.

Crystal: “I first started thinking about it, I would say when I was very little, I always wanted to be some sort of a counselor, like talking to people and helping them with their problems, but when i was little I didn’t know what that role was”

Crystal was born and raised here in San Jose, she went to Cedar Grove elementary school then soon after she went to Quimby middle school  then she moved on to Evergreen Valley High School after High School she went to University of  San Francisco, where she would soon discover she wanted to be a therapist after majoring in chemistry for 2 - 3 years.

Crystal was working towards being an optometrist, an eye doctor, she was very influenced by her parents and society, she just wanted to make money and be successful to help her parents, she was determined, she had that goal set. 

Crystal started taking more classes, changing the way she views things, she still wanted to help people like she always had but in a different way, she wanted to talk to people, she discovered that she wanted to be a Therapist, so then she switched her major to psychology, basically restarting, calling it her biggest sacrifice, then went to San Jose State University for her master in social work.

Crystal: I changed my path in college and that was really hard for me, just because I already gone through 2 years or 3 years of chemistry and I was almost done with it and I kind of had to start over when I changed it but that was probably one of the best decisions I have made”

Soon after Crystal graduated she interned at an elementary school and middle school, she would check in on students one on one and occasionally do group sessions and took it as an amazing learning experience

Crystal: “Before I came to YB, I was a social work intern and so I interned at an elementary school and Middle school, so i did similar to what i am doing right now where I’ll check in with students one on one”

She is very grateful for all the support she has from her family and other social workers.

Not long after Crystal graduated and after she interned, Crystal came to Yerba Buena High School as a Social worker in the Wellness Center.

Crystal is in her first couple months at YB, not only is it her first couple months at YB it's her first couple months as a full time social worker. She is learning from other staff members and she loves getting to know everyone and connecting with them.

Crystal: “It has been so amazing, just full of learning, not only has it been my first couple months at YB but also my first couple months as a full time Social Worker. So just like learning from other staff members, learning from the students as well and like getting to know them, being able to provide a space for them has been really nice”

As for the future, Crystal is set on being a social worker, as that is what she loves doing and is her passion, as she always saw herself doing, helping people and she loves working with children and adults as she sees herself always being there for others and holding a place as a mental health worker.