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Major: Personal statement
Until a few months ago when my family moved, a yellowed picture was taped to the side of the refrigerator. There were coupons stuck over and around it but some crayon scribbles and a signature still peeked through. This picture, drawn in first grade, showed a smiling figure wearing a blue and red cape. The caption read, 'When I grow up, I want to be ________.' Filled in the blank and with backward E's, I had carefully printed 'A SUPERHERO.' Some things have changed since first grade, and some have not: I no longer write with backward E's, but I still intend to save the world. I recognize that this goal cannot be achieved only with optimism and good intentions. Achievement will require comprehensive preparation, wide exposure, well-cultivated contacts, validated moral courage and strong communication and reasoning skills. I hope to improve and develop these abilities at ______ Law. I am interested in public international law, particularly dealing with war, peace, and human rights. My ambition is to be a leader committed to peace and willing to achieve cooperative solutions in international forum. I hope to prepare myself for a career in diplomacy and policymaking, and then help educate the next generation of leaders through teaching and research. [school name] Law offers this opportunity, with great name recognition and leading authorities in the field. I have much to contribute to the ______ Law community: enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity, and a humanistic academic background developed through the Boston College Honors Program. My research skills are well practiced from my current research fellowship position, from a senior thesis on South Africa's nuclear weapons program, and from an internship with the IISS, London. At IISS I helped the Senior Fellow for European Security track the progress of the Common European Security and Defense Policy in becoming a viable instrument, able to work with NATO and promote regional confidence. This was my second summer abroad: in June and July 1999 I studied language, history, society, and politics in Paris as a Presidential Scholar and in Strasbourg at the Council of Europe. I attended the first Council of Europe Summer University, designed to raise awareness of human rights and international law as well as to foster cultural exchange among students from over twenty different nations. I intend to pursue a public service career, and I recently completed the first step - a year as an Americorps VISTA volunteer. My placement was in the U.S. Operations Division of ACCION International, a prominent non-profit microlender with Associates throughout the Americas and Africa. I was responsible for special projects under the Senior Director of Operations, including the development and implementation of a loan-application tracking system, maintenance of network policy and procedure, and ongoing support and computer systems training for the ACCION Associate programs. Through this work, I learned a great deal about development and finance and improved my management and strategic planning abilities. I was also fortunate enough to witness job creation and hard-working small business owners rising from near poverty to middle income. Achieving superhero stature is a challenge, but I have been raised to believe challenges can be overcome and goals achieved through hard work, determination, and positive thinking. My mother always said, 'You WILL succeed' and by believing this, I have. For example, when I began work at ACCION I was asked to learn Microsoft Access programming. At first the task seemed daunting, but after asking many questions of on-line workgroups, experimenting by trial-and-error, and reading help files, I built an extensive impact- and portfolio-tracking database. Another example of positive thinking paying off was my experience with the BC Varsity Fencing Team. I 'walked-on' to the (Div I) team freshman year. With hard word and perseverance I excelled, developing proficiency for independent action within team goals and a 'clutch' ability for success under pressure. In four years, I advanced from a beginner to MVP 2001 and a competitor in the 2001 NCAA National Championships. I was elected captain twice by my teammates, in recognition of my leadership, dedication and work ethic. Thank you for your consideration of my application.
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What is your interest in the law/general statement--Personal Statement
When I tell my friends and family members that I want to attend law school, they wonder if I will find satisfaction in such an environment. 'Law school will suck the life right out of you,' said my parents' friend, 'and you are such a creative person.' However, from my experience working at a non-profit organization as a Children's Advocate, I disagree with his perspective. I believe that a successful public-interest lawyer is a person who can weave creativity into the law and find unique solutions in situations with limited resources. A creative comprehension of the law, coupled with a strong sense of social justice, adds to a lawyer's ability to work effectively with clients in the public sector. The journey that brings me to the doors of law school is unusual. I have always pursued artistic interests through painting, composing music, tailoring, and drawing an ongoing autobiographical comic strip. During high school, my volunteer work teaching English at Wat Parinayok Elementary in Bangkok, Thailand allowed me to apply my creativity toward successfully engaging young children. In an educational environment that emphasized learning by rote, I developed fun musical and body-movement exercises to help the students access the English language. Over the course of three summers, I also taught art and photography to inner-city youth while volunteering at the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club summer program. Incorporating nature and science with art, I provided creative outlets of expression to children who generally turned to video games and television for entertainment. After high school, I made my creative inclinations a primary focus of my academic career. My undergraduate education in Fine Art at UCLA and in Fashion Design at FIDM allowed me to express myself through painting, photography, and design. After completing these two degrees with high honors, I entered the workforce hoping to satisfy my desire for expression in the fashion industry. Yet, while I excelled in this field, I still felt a void in my work, and after a year of designing women's underwear, I realized that I wanted to apply my skills toward helping those who cannot help themselves. Looking back on my extra-curricular activities, I noticed that I gravitated toward public interest work, particularly in low-income and Asian communities. That drive has brought me to where I am now--a Children's Advocate in an emergency domestic violence shelter serving the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Five days a week, I see women and children who could be my mother, sister, aunts, future daughters, neighbors, and coworkers pass through our shelter doors. I help them find housing. I help them find pants. I file child abuse reports to protect their children, and then I enroll their children in schools, so they can pursue their education amidst the chaos. These acts of assistance strengthen each family's process of renewal. I witness the rebirth of these families who have made the choice to sacrifice their past in order to save their future, and I feel satisfaction in helping to rebuild their lives. I recently handled a difficult child advocacy case in which I utilized my creative perspective to achieve a successful outcome. We accepted a mother and her four children into the emergency shelter program aware that the eldest son had mental health concerns. We could not imagine the extent to which the boy's mental health issues would pose a safety risk to his siblings, our staff, and the other residents. Two days after entering the shelter, the child erupted in a violent outburst. His mother attempted to remedy the situation by physically restraining him, and eventually I had to hold down his legs as he thrashed and screamed. This would not be his last outburst. Three days later, he threatened his sisters and other residents with a pair of scissors, kicked staff members, and bit his mother, forcing the shelter to call in law enforcement who took him to the county hospital for a mental health assessment. Because of police intervention, the Department of Children and Family Services interceded. After a hasty assessment, DCFS threatened to remove the child from his mother, reasoning that she was guilty of neglect. As the boy's advocate, I battled through our social service system--rife with red tape--to make sure that he would not be removed. I advocated with a myriad of agencies to provide the child with a safe environment that included mental health support. Being shuffled back and forth between various offices that refused to take responsibility for this family's well-being, I realized that my traditional approach to the situation would not suffice. Trying a different tactic, I went through the Los Angeles Unified School District, citing a policy requiring the school district to ensure every child's access to education--for mental health issues and family disruption certainly hinder the ability to learn. Using a non-traditional route, I accessed supportive services for this child, keeping the family intact and emotionally supporting his mother and siblings through the painful ordeal. Although I was joyful about the success, the experience taught me that many of the services that are intended to protect families actually become impediments against securing their welfare. Simultaneously, I learned the value of a unique, problem-solving approach and fulfilled my desire to help others by providing a voice to the disenfranchised. I helped a family learn how to navigate through the American social service and legal system. I empowered the mother by showing her how to support her children and gave this family the tools to advance toward a better future through my creative advocacy. At the same time, I recognized that even with the changes that my organization and I have helped to bring about as direct service providers, a dire need still exists for organization and action in long-term policy changes through legislative participation and advocacy. I saw first-hand how our public welfare system can fail those who need it the most. Regulations and legal ramifications designed to help actually become obstacles in survivors' paths to recovery. I believe that unless improvements are made in the foundation of our social service and legal systems, the resulting environment will not be a safe and secure refuge for families and children. Furthermore, as the only daytime Thai-speaking hotline counselor at our shelter, I recognize the lack of support services--specifically for the Thai population. I disagree with my parents' friend. I believe that law school, coupled with an innovative approach, will infuse the legal system with life. I want to expand my capacity to serve - not only my community but all communities - through the vehicle of the law. I know that with a strong legal education followed by a few years of hands-on experience, I will be able to contribute my gifts and unique background toward strengthening our social and legal systems so that they truly are instruments that nurture and empower individuals.
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Essay Question:
Please provide more information about yourself in a written personal statement. The subject matter of the essay is up to you, but keep in mind that the reader will be seeking a sense of you as a person and as a potential student and graduate of Boalt Hall.
The practice of law, some activists have insisted to me, is not a tool to bring about justice, but rather a hindrance to its realization. Usually fueled by more than mere radical posturing, this sentiment reflects a seasoned disillusionment with the law's perceived shortfalls - evidenced by, for example, adamant protection of propertied interests, relatively underpaid public defenders, cuts in legal services budgets, the unnecessary inaccessibility of the language of law, and the disproportionate number of incarcerated black men. I want to be a lawyer to rebut this cynicism by working with other progressive attorneys in helping to open the avenues of judicial relief and reintroduce to the disempowered and disillusioned an ownership of our courts - and indeed, our democracy. I have been involved in many different types of social justice movements in a number of different capacities, testing my aptitudes, broadening my interests, and searching for my niche. I have sat on the board of directors of a non-profit anti-death penalty organization, worked with a community garden, organized teach-ins on immigration policy, and most recently participated in mass direct action demonstrations for fair trade in Seattle, to name a few. But three specific experiences have shaped my desire to go to law school and formed the image of the type of lawyer I aspire to be. In the summer of 1995, I worked with the XXX mediating conflicts with prisoners, their families, and prison officials. When a prisoner needed to be furloughed to go to a family funeral, I helped him navigate through the bulky bureaucracy. When an inmate's mother was concerned that she had not heard from her son in several months, I visited the prison to check on him and arranged a meeting with his family. It was rewarding, enjoyable work, but my ability to negotiate sticky situations was impeded by my limited knowledge of an inmate's legal rights and the XXX's lack of legal enforcement capability. I often exhausted my advocacy capabilities short of an acceptable resolution, and the clients with whom I worked were frustrated at my inability to demand that their grievances be fairly and completely heard. Later, working with the XXX, my approach to resolving conflicts with inmates was grounded in legal resolutions and rights-based advocacy. I responded to over 60 letters a week from inmates requesting legal assistance. I explained the law to them and advised them on how to enforce their rights. In particularly egregious cases, our office sought legal recourse against the institution. But again, I found this work somewhat exasperating. Our office pursued only two options: we advised inmates on how to file suit on their own or did it for them. Perhaps overly conscious that we were the only prisoners' advocacy organization in the state with an attorney on staff - and therefore access to the courts - I think we often viewed our role in the narrowest of terms and prematurely hurried past informal extralegal advocacy or mediation. My work at XXX provided an opportunity to attempt to synthesize these two approaches. When I was unable to obtain for my clients what they needed by negotiating with welfare or Social Security caseworkers, I engaged in an adversarial bout of legal appeals to hearing officers or administrative law judges. I quickly learned the nuanced regulations governing public benefits and their intersections with child dependency, child custody and support, and housing law. While an understanding of these matters was critical in providing appropriate legal advice, my ability to advocate successfully on behalf of my clients also depended on working outside the traditional legal structure of third party adjudication. Moreover, I learned the value of empowering clients to be their own legal advocates. I facilitated self-advocacy workshops for welfare recipients; used three-way calling so clients could advance their own demands with the welfare office while I stayed in the background for support; provided clients with copies of applicable laws so they could see behind the bureaucratic veil governing their lives; and wrote community education pieces that explained the law in more understandable language. In the dozens of trainings I facilitated, I always explained the law, but just as importantly, worked with people to figure out how they could best enforce their rights. I worked extensively with the XXX, for example, to educate community organizers about how poor people could access subsidized child care, medical care once they left welfare, and meaningful job training on their own without relying on someone to fight for them. From my clients and colleagues, I have gained an extraordinary education about systems of power, how people live, and how I can best serve my community. I have chosen law as a vocation in order to increase economic opportunity and - to the extent possible - social compassion in a sustainable and participatory democracy. I look forward to law school as a way to advance my analytical skills and critically examine the law and its application to the lives of poor people with whom I enjoy working as I dedicate myself to using my privilege as a lawyer to expand our nation's base of power.
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Personal Statement
Personal Statement Cleaning my room is a gentle excavation. During summers at home, I rumble the dust and sift through the layers of my accumulating life. Recently, I read through what classmates had written in my high school yearbook. It was a strange and unsettling experience as these words spoke directly to a self that I had nearly forgotten. I felt as if I were one of those Russian nesting dolls that hold several smaller dolls inside; the thought of multiple past identities coexisting inside me was new and wonderful. The words 'Do what you do best' caught my eye. If there were a way to know what one did best and could then train this possibility to the fullest extent, how could life not be both fruitful and enjoyable? Instead of asking the daunting question of what I did best, I thought about what I liked to do and what I did often. Perhaps in time, the source of these questions will lead me towards what I do best. I have always been drawn toward writing: creative, analytical, expository and critical. I realized that whatever I was pursuing, the beginning and end result for me were often made possible through writing. Thinking back to meaningful academic experiences in college, I realize all of them began with a presentation of my self and my interests through the medium of writing. I believe the only thing we can write about well is what we know, for this is the only truthful and never-ending source we are given. Often I was in the situation of writing a proposal to an audience of strangers, whether it be a scholarship committee, participants at the symposium, or fellow researchers at a presentation, and the only thing I could tell them was who I was and what I knew. Many times, these experiences culminated in reflective writing as well, not only a testament to what I had done but more an examination of where I had been, what space I had occupied and what space I now occupied. Writing became a way to capture the changing of my spaces, both around me and inside me, for I had to take into account the spaces within myself which had been excavated, explored, or widened because of particular experiences. My interest in law school received a personal and directive boost this summer while working as an assistant for a professor at my home town laws school. In the spring, I found his website and was intrigued by his work in international criminal trials and Asian human rights. I wrote a letter to the professor expressing my interest in working with him over the summer and thus began my first dip into the legal education. I began by learning about the fundamental conceptions of international law and the beginnings of the United Nations by way of an introductory textbook, and supplemented by meetings with my professor. Every time I stepped into the law library for research, I looked up into the winding staircases and ceaseless rows of books and I was captured by an overwhelming sense that in here existed something bigger than me; it had a long history and yet it pressed its urgency onto the future, and onto me as a burgeoning student in the legal education. Soon I began my project on the difficulty of international human rights standardization in Asia from a cultural perspective. I complemented research with current developments in human rights violations by reading and editing articles related to this topic, written mostly by scholars working from Asia. I brought into formal research my own cultural values and these two bodies of knowledge supported and challenged each other. These few months were an inspirational stepping stone for my future; it reconfirmed my dream to one day become a law professor and I also found a way in which my personal interests and academic strengths engaged each other. Since I have lived in Asia for only the first year of my life, I cannot explain exactly what draws me there and what strings pull at me to learn more, but friends and my own family are always perplexed at my fascination. In the past few years, my interest in Asia has extended into an academic context. In the spring of 2002, I was awarded a travel scholarship from my undergraduate university to travel and explore the relationship between culture and religion's sacred space. In the fall of 2002, I began a writing project on Asian-American attitudes toward their native language and I had the opportunity to present my work at a geo-linguistics conference. This past summer, however, was the turning point; in my study of Asian human rights, I realized the significant legal implication of cultural studies and as a Asian-American, the impact was deeply personal. I struggled with questions such as: What are the cultural origins for domestic legal policies on human rights in Asia? How can international policies regarding human rights be both effective and culturally sensitive? The overlap of culture and law offers a rich body of knowledge and I am eager to begin my scholarly pursuits in this area. The prospect of being a law student and with time, becoming knowledgeable in the area, is exciting to me because it combines what I enjoy and what I consider to be my strongest points: initiative, writing, and reflection. I would like to go into a discipline in which applications of what I have read, been taught, accumulated and experienced through the years are given concrete structure. For me, law represents the process in which philosophy is given solid construction; thoughts are grounded in reason; and writing becomes a powerful record of principles that guide and protect a society. I see law and writing as ways in which space is defined and thereby protected; both define boundaries and fill in necessary and often unrealized gaps. In the occupation I will later pursue, I would like to have the mind of a lawyer and the techniques of a writer. With these tools I believe I can become closer to the person who can fully realize self-potential; I believe I will be able to live out the words of advice 'Do what you do best' and thereby contribute positively to the society in which I live.
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Major Essay
"My fear is that you're selling yourself short." David's sincere expression tempered his words, but still I bristled. He went on, "everyone goes to law school." And so it began: an after-work head-to-head at a Grammercy cafi, four hours on one theme - why I shouldn't go to law school. My challenger was David Robinson, an author and political scientist who co-founded the organization I've dedicated myself to for almost two years. David is the kind of person any young professional would be honored to have as a mentor; he is accomplished, connected and most importantly, seems to genuinely understand me. We have counted on each other for honest debates about everything from the shareholder-worker balance in the New Economy to the meaning of global democracy. From his first words, I realized that debating this new challenge - my own future - would be uniquely taxing, but the truth is, I welcomed it. For throughout my life, dialogue and exchange of ideas has been the soul of my education. It began in the crowded Chicago public schools where I grew up; my favorite teachers would indulge me in long conversations after hours until my mother got off work. I was only eleven years old when I left home for a boarding school in rural Western Massachusetts, but the intimacy and rigor of that immersive academic environment was just what I needed to thrive. Through high school I counted teachers among my closest friends. At Yale, where faculty-student relationships were more rare, I found a brilliant peer circle. We lived and studied together, challenged and taught each other-- in the liberating new discipline of cultural studies and in theater, where we directed ourselves in productions every semester. After more solitary experiences living in five different cities since graduation, I have rediscovered an intellectual community at the organization I work in now, and hope to find another in law school. But first I had to convince David, and myself, that law school was the right decision... Our conversation flowed from the personal to the political and back again. David insisted that the life of a lawyer is arduous and demanding. I agreed, but cited experiences - like running a business in a foreign country and caring for children - that were no less of a challenge. He complained that the cause of social and economic justice doesn't need any more lawyers. "You've studied culture and worked in media. You understand film and television, which are these incredibly powerful resources that we need to harness," David said, hands wide and gripping the air. I smiled across the table at this Ph.D. political scientist who doesn't own a television set. "Well, I did spend the year before I met you in Hollywood, David. I know the six people there who want to use the media for social change, and when I told them I was leaving to work at a think tank, they practically packed my bags for me." We laughed, but I didnt disagree with his argument. I had moved to Los Angeles believing that popular narratives from Hollywood shape Americans sense of themselves and the world in more powerful ways than do edicts from Washington. But against the backdrop of major political and policy upheavals, including the start of the Iraq war, my film career seemed an inadequate tool, and I returned to policy. "So fine," David ceded, sitting back in his chair. "Ill shut up. You tell me why I should support this decision." I decided to use a familiar application. "Take, for example, the issue weve been working on -- household debt. It's such a multi-faceted trend, and the more parts of it we understand, the more effective we can be. My education and experience have helped me grasp some of the dynamics, such as the cultural issue of consumerism; the way that finances function in families, and the structural economics behind inadequate incomes. But two huge factors, the business model and the legal and regulatory framework, are outside my reach now. This is just one example, but I could give you dozens more issues where a legal education could make me more effective." David then made the very accurate point that there are others who have a legal education. I laughed. "So you're saying that I don't have to know it all? I hope I never accept that! I will have been out of school for 4 years next fall. I'm ready for the next level of intellectual rigor. I want to learn to speak an entirely new language, to begin to master a whole new system of thought..." and so it went on, until the wait staff was putting chairs on tables around us. We settled the check and headed towards the subway David would take uptown, and I to Brooklyn. As we shook hands goodbye, he said, "The truth is, I can only really tell you to do what I've done. That's the only sure path I know." "I guess thats the trouble with mentors," I said, and he grinned. Over the next few weeks, I went over our conversation again and again. Doubts advanced and then receeded, only to return. Had I defended my position well? Was there something missing? And worse, was he right? The thought that I could make a major decision and have it not be the right one, as David seemed to believe, was stultifying. Every leap I've ever made - from leaving my family 1,000 miles behind at age 11 for an educational opportunity, to deferring my creative pursuits in favor of more direct public service - has enriched my life. As a rule, I refuse to know regret. But in the past two years, my life has acheived a focus that, I began to worry, may have narrowed my margin of error. I feel certain now in what I must accomplish in life. Had that very commitment raised the stakes to the point where I could actually choose wrong? Doubt about the future, I must admit, was a new and unwelcome sensation. And then, one quiet evening, I settled on David's first assertion, and found it flawed. He had initiated the conversation by saying that going into the law would be selling myself short. I thought of all the dreams I've had, my talents and all that I have yet to learn. Running through everything is the need to understand this country and its people, and to help bend it towards its highest ideals. The law is not the only system that guides us; it works in concert with culture, economics, and religion, to name only a few. I am applying to Boalt Hall because the school has recognized the evolution in legal studies and practice, and encouraged the inclusion of other disciplines. I believe that Berkeley, more so than other schools, offers the clinical experience, curriculum diversity and mentorship opportunities that would help me determine how best to pursue my goals as a lawyer. I am also very interested in applying to the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program during my first year of the JD. The program is uniquely well-suited to my interest in public policy issues of regulation, economic fairness and public finance, among others. Having graduated from college at 20, I have to keep reminding myself and others that Im only 24. I must study and practice the law; it is a deep compulsion that I have felt for as long as I can remember, and which grows with my commitment to social justice. But in a complex world, the modern lawyer is improved with every additional discipline she masters. To assert that the choice to attend law school limits the impact I can have in the world is in fact selling myself, and the law, short.
