Students of the Future: Fin Irwin

This is the ninth in a series of articles covering extraordinary CFHS students, and in this issue we will be highlighting sophomore Fin Irwin, his plans for the future and how he hopes to become a social worker for the disadvantaged youth. As a social worker, Irwin will identify communities and people that need help and get them the help they need. 

Currently at the high school, there aren’t many classes focusing on social working; however, Irwin has taken classes such as sociology in order to better understand people. Irwin’s mother is also a mental health nurse practitioner, which also helps Irwin get more insight into his chosen field. After high school, Irwin said he hopes to get into a college with a good social working program, possibly places such as the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). 

“I’ve always wanted to help people, and so, it took a lot of career decisions,” Irwin said. “Like, I wanted to be a lawyer for a really long time, and then I wanted to be a nurse and a teacher, but none of those really seemed right to me, but then I heard how my mom dealt with her patients every day, and I thought that sounded awesome.” 

Irwin said he hopes to help disadvantaged youth such as people from the LGBTQ+ community, as he is trans himself and feels what they are going through. Irwin also said he hopes to help decrease homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. Around 28 percent of LGBTQ+ youth report  having experienced homelessness at some point. 

Although bills addressing the LGBTQ+ community, largely surrounding trans people, have been passed in recent years, Irwin, fearful for his future, said he still wants to push through and help the young people who are going through these tough times as well.

For dreamers, Irwin said that, “It’s worth it to follow your dreams. Money isn’t everything, if you have a purpose in what you’re doing. In my opinion, in the long run, it’s a lot better than having a job you hate, but it pays good money.”