Personal statement
The innumerable challenges facing needy people on a periodic basis heightens my desire to help. I am compelled by the desire to help people regardless of their color, race or gender matters increases my passion and my lifelong ambitions of becoming an advocate for humanitarian needs. Brought up as a diplomat’s child, in a place surrounded by people languishing in poverty, was both a prologue as well as a bizarre experience. As much as I am aware that almost everyone encounters challenges in their lives, I do have a shared believe that the positive outcomes in life are based on the mentioned challenges. Nonetheless, in all my undertakings in life, I hope to leave an impact in making people’s lives better, particularly those with disabilities. In part due to my efforts and lasting relationship formed with a blind beggar, my appreciation, and wish to continue helping needy has flourished.
As I reflect back to my school days, I grasp memories of how I set aside my hardly earned weekly allowance of seven Birr, as well as stolen goods, clothes and food, inclusive of my own desert from my family’s home to help a blind beggar. Despite having helped the blind beggar, I still was not contended because I could see more beggars in the street during my other visits on the streets. Irrespective of my urge to help, I could not figure out a proper means of extending a helping hand.
My interest and my decision to work with people who are deprived of the most basic human needs explain why I am suited for this Scholarship. Whereas my interest in helping the needy is broad, the overarching reason is my interest in the vast and challenging aspects associated with international humanitarian action, and the desire to satisfy my enduring interest of helping needy people. My parents have always taught me one thing—do what you love and love what you do and I intend to abide by the tenets of this principle in all my lifelong ambitions.
I have always achieved outstanding performance in my academic life. My intense interest in education dates back to my college experiences while pursuing my education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA where I managed to attain outstanding student performance, as I appeared in the dean’s list for three subsequent semesters. My childhood memories have remained stuck on my mind. Precisely, they form the context of my career goals as I pursue my education. As of now, my passionate interest in education has developed into an aspiration and a pursuit of a career in social justice. To this purpose, I will be able to work with people who have for a length of time been deprived of the fundamental human needs.
My intense love of social work in support of vulnerable communities, and with a distinguished undergraduate performance I chose to volunteer with a local NGO on a Librarian Refugee camp in a Women’s Empowerment Program whereby I assisted in the creation of handmade bags and sold them to support families at the camp. The sense of love for this profession has evolved within due to my experiences in the field of social work coupled with profound responsibilities. Currently, I am a senior at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. I major in International Relations with a concentration in Social Justice and minor in African Studies. I consider VCU my third University as I have also studied abroad at the University of Ghana in Legon, Ghana. Moreover, I was a degree-seeking student at the American University of Rome (AUR) in Rome, Italy.
I choose the University of Oxford as my first choice since it is a long time honored academic community providing an ample environment, which cultivates student initiatives towards ensuring that they achieve the best. The Department of International Development at the University is more competent compared to other counterparts in the field. At the same time, it would blend me with an elite group of scholars thus providing a basis for brainstorming mutual benefits. I do hope to find myself at the welcoming doors of Oxford University in the next dawn. As a hardworking, disciplined, and a self-motivated person, I believe that I possess the flair and motivation needed to pursue a lifelong career in helping disadvantaged people.
