Graduate School; Personal Statement:
I want to understand the differences that exist between cultures as well as the commonalities that unite all cultures as part of the human family. I want to learn about how other cultures function, about how they see themselves and others, about how cultures can interact, and about what makes for successful or unsuccessful common efforts.
I want to help – I have too many times seen people I can’t help. I have seen some of the worst poverty in the world, from the Dalit villages of untouchables in India, to orphan children in Burma and Shantytowns in Peru. When I meet the people who live in these forgotten, forsaken places, I feel the entire burden of my own humanity and want to empty my pockets and bank accounts and give them everything I have. But I know it’s not that simple, and that helping people is not that easy. I feel lucky and blessed to have the life I do and to have had the experiences I have had. I want to help people less fortunate to achieve the same sense of control over their lives that I take for granted. And to do that it takes me – in person and working hard – to make even a small difference in the lives of a few people. I believe I can make such a difference and that in the long run, real change for the better can only be accomplished by the efforts of individuals willing to act and to take responsibility for doing the hard work of change — one person, one family, one community at a time. As an American, I take seriously the notion that all people are created equal and are endowed with certain inalienable rights. It is a noble ideal, but to make good on it as a promise requires the personal commitment of each of us.
I have traveled the world a great deal in recent years and it has given me a realistic sense of the difficulties out there and of what is possible and practical in terms of solutions. These experiences have led me to a determination to get involved, which I believe is the best and most effective way that anyone can choose to make a difference. If I could work anywhere, it would be in countries and villages in Africa trying to create peace while working to bring justice to the untold suffering caused by female circumcision, and other public health issues. I believe I could be effective at this because I have come to understand the scope and origins of these issues, as well as the role played by local knowledge and custom in shaping the problems. My goal is to help people find a new understanding of themselves and the world, while not denouncing the understanding they presently have. In that way, the universal goals of happiness, health, learning, and peace, can be brought a step closer for each of us.
This past winter I spent time volunteering at an orphanage in Lima, Peru. I spent my days with two young toddlers, Guadalupe and Rosa Christina. Part of my job was to take these 18-month-old children back and forth to a rehabilitation center for children with physical disabilities. I was told they were developmentally slow and needed help. I sat and watched for hours each morning as the staff at the rehabilitation center performed a very unusual and jarring kind of therapy – they would swing these children around like rag dolls, claiming that it helped their brain function. It was painful watching the kids cry inconsolably while this “rehab” was going on. While I could tell they were not in any real pain — only discomfort — my first impulse was to stop this distressing activity and take the girls away. But I gathered myself and looked at the situation from the perspective of both the therapist and the girls. I found that if I could let go of my first reaction and focus on the therapeutic goal and the girls’ own experience, my presence began to calm them. Within a week they were laughing while being swung from their feet. I do not know whether this unusual therapy works, but I learned that by setting aside my initial reaction and seeking to understand the norms of the place, I was able to become a helpful part of the situation. My short time in Peru underscored the importance of being able to take a step back and look past the immediate novelty or strangeness of a situation, and to remember why you are there in the first place. I remembered why I was there — I was there for the children.
Spending day and night at an orphanage run by nuns was an eye opening experience in other ways as well. The nuns had a way of doing things and (as they say) that was that. A way to wash the dishes, a way to wash the clothing, a way to paint a fence and so on. Although they were not my ways, they were the established customs and standards of the place, and I was a guest. The experience taught me that flexibility is essential in cross-cultural interactions and that leadership comes in many forms. The children taught me a lot about love and faith – an experience for which I am grateful every day.
SIT is about world learning, shaping minds to work in NGO’s, charities and other world health and aid organizations. Since traveling abroad for the first time I have been rethinking a direction and career path, but the direction and focused study that SIT offers is in many ways exactly what I have been looking for. I hope for SIT to teach me more about how to get involved and how to do so in a meaningful way. Willingness and drive is where it starts but getting involved to make a meaningful difference is much more complicated. I was looking for a traditional future while in college, but I found my career path traveling the world. I know that I want to help make even the slightest difference and I think SIT is the place that can help me achieve my goals.