Nicholas Beaty: Supplementary Statement, November 2020

I believe that a purposeful life involves decreasing human suffering for as many people

as possible while also applying one’s knowledge, experience, and skills to make a positive

impact. This powerful combination of purpose and use of one’s gifts unlocks the ability,

resilience, and passion to address and improve issues of social justice. The social justice issue I

aspire to address in my career is mental health. While mental health is experienced on an

individual level, alleviating mental health challenges is also a social justice issue because of

mental health’s broad impact and social repercussions.

I believe I can address the social justice issue of mental health in a unique and

differential way based on my own experiences as a psychology major within the world of

athletics. I have been a competitive athlete my whole life and currently play at a collegiate

level. Additionally, I have worked with sports psychologists and seen the positive impact on

myself and many others. This perspective has provided me with deep empathy and the desire

to positively impact athletes, as well as people beyond the world of sports. The lessons learned

in the process of dedication to one’s sport are relevant to all areas of life – working through

adversity, disappointment, pain, questions of self-worth – as well as embracing the process,

experiencing triumph, and seeing the results that come out of hard work.

I learned firsthand that this is the vocation I want to pursue when I was fortunate

enough to volunteer with a sports psychologist and mindfulness coach based in Minneapolis,

Minnesota. I saw the service he provided to young athletes in a variety of different sports, and I

witnessed the power of mindfulness as a tool for improving mental health as well as

performance. He created and activated comprehensive coaching plans that were customized
for each athlete, and I was inspired by the range of services he provided – some athletes were

looking for ways to maintain their focus over long stretches of competition, some were

considering ways in which they could create space between their mental health and their

competitive results, and some were seriously struggling with their overall sense of self-worth. I

firmly believe that the advice, teaching, and guidance provided in this career has implications

that go beyond the individual and into the community. Creating positive change in a person’s

life means that they can become positive advocates in their relationships and communities.

It is a goal of mine to study in the Master of Social Work program of Interpersonal

Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, & Substance Abuse. The program would provide

me the incredible opportunity to learn skills and gain experience necessary to provide

meaningful and beneficial services. The coursework would allow me to learn about the roots of

mental illness in relation to the individual and their community. I would learn how to correctly

assess and treat persons suffering from mental illness and gain real world experience in

interpersonal practice. Learning and practicing the skills necessary for interpersonal practice is

vital in the career of sports psychology and working with athletes in diagnosing certain areas of

improvement in their attitudes, thought patterns, and habits, involves a knowledge and skill

base that the MSW program would amply provide. It would also give me the invaluable

opportunity to work with a diverse group of people in the Ann Arbor and Greater-Detroit

communities – places which I have been proud to call my home in the past four years. I am

eager to give back to that which has given so much to me.

A core social work value is putting service to others above one’s own self-interest. One

of the most poignant examples that shows my ability to serve others is my captainship of the
University of Michigan tennis team. I made it one of my primary goals as leader to establish a

championship culture based on encouraging others and improving your teammates every day. I

have seen over the past two seasons the positive effect on both attitudes and results when the

team identity is rooted in unselfishness and outward positivity. I push and encourage my

teammates to be the best that they can be on court even when I am not playing well myself or

when I am tired while also relentlessly pressing them to do the same. There have been times

over the past few years where I wasn’t put in the lineup for competition, so I made the decision

to be the best teammate on the sidelines knowing that this is what is best for the team. The

lessons I learned from this experience are crucial in my goals for social justice: the collective

goal of a just and equitable society for all people is more important than my own wants and

desires.

When I practice social work in my career, I aspire to be excellent in my service to others;

that is why I am hoping to strengthen the social justice value of competence in my time in the

master’s program. I know that to tackle issues of mental health and development appropriately

and effectively, I need the broad, real-world, service-based instruction that the Interpersonal

Practice program provides. I recognize that the skills and knowledge offered by the program is

the proficiency I need to be an effective change agent. I believe this program will be a vital step

in my development from a person who cares deeply about issues of social justice and mental

health, to a person equipped with the necessary tools to make positive, lasting change in the

community.