Another SOP

Here's another one. Lots of the same thing, but more words allowed, so I used them allllll. :) Any last typos?


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1. Applicants should discuss the professional, academic and personal experiences that have most contributed to their desire to study international relations, their specific interest in the intended area of focus at dc, and professional goals/objectives upon graduation. This essay should be no more than 600 words.



For six years, unforgettable experiences, unbelievable privilege and hard work was the fantastic international lifestyle that I loved. Working onboard C Cruises, I explored the globe in luxury, visiting almost every port on this earth on three world cruises.

It wasn't enough.

As much as I love my theatre and ship life, I want to make a more tangible contribution.

My unusual ship life provided me with invaluable training. For their six-star experience, our guests demanded and received the very best. As the only Production Manager onboard, my job required independent initiative. I worked extra hours to ensure that everything "exceeded expectations." It was also my privilege to work with people from around the world, fully appreciating for the first time that my values were not globally homogeneous. Most significantly, I observed the way different societies tackle environmental issues and, throughout my travels, witnessed environmental crises requiring urgent action.

In Australia, where I lived and worked for two years, they are experiencing record setting droughts and cyclones. Australians are hyper-aware of their environment, and government is taking pro-active measures. While volunteering on organic farms in Queensland, I experienced first-hand the challenges faced by small, self-sustaining farms. We ate off the land, consuming primarily what we produced or traded: milk, wheat, honey, etc. Kitchen waste was routinely composted-- transporting waste away was difficult and costly. Living there showed me that it was possible in this modern day and age to choose to sacrifice and live a significantly greener lifestyle.

My ambitious quest makes the most effective use of my energy and talents. Improving the local community isn't enough; I hope to transform the environmental policies of the world's most challenging country: China.

My American upbringing, coupled with a strong Chinese family background, and augmented with a year of language study in Taiwan, gives me a competitive edge in tackling the world's environmental issues through China, where even tiny changes in policy are magnified billion-fold.

China is making huge investments in clean energy technology in response to this decade's dramatic environmental decline. They are receptive to educated professionals who can assist them in their goals in a diplomatic manner that prevent locals from "losing face". This is where I see the most positive change taking place in the next twenty years.

China-oriented non-profits here in the US would be my ideal post-graduation assignment. I have observed NGOs such as JUiCCCE (Collaboration on Clean Energy) leveraging their finite resources to effect real change at the ground level. Compared to larger government bodies, I feel enthusiastic smaller organizations are more flexible and focused, and where an individual like myself can make the greatest difference.

I appreciate the global reputation of dc as a leader in international affairs, and I am excited about pursuing the field while in the heart of the decision capital of the world. During my graduate career at dc, the Energy, Resources and Environment program will allow me to absorb everything I can about an exhaustive variety of environmental challenges and solutions from around the globe. Additionally, the China Studies Program will educate me further on policies in contemporary China. My future aim is to use these tools to engage in an effective dialogue with local Chinese leaders toward quantifiable benefits. I strongly believe that I will be an enthusiastic asset to dc and a credit to dc in my future endeavors.




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2. Discuss an issue of national or international importance and its concern to you. This essay should be no more than 600 words.


My Shanghai cousin CC and I met for the first time in 2004.

He was in California studying for his MBA. After I decided on environmental policy, I consulted CC in Shanghai last summer. My intensive year-long study of the Chinese language gave me a thrilling newfound independence with public transportation. This day, however, CC fetched me from my family's gated community in a Shanghai suburb to meet his parents in downtown. Sitting inside his air conditioned car, I asked what he thought of China's environmental future. His response: growth first, protect after. I knew China's leaders had this attitude, yet it surprised me to hear it from my own cousin. Because he received his graduate degree in California, I had expected him to be more... enlightened?

The encounter forced me to rethink my assumptions that this plan was espoused primarily by Big Bad Government, and gave it a very personal, familiar face. Selfishly, I want the best for my family. Why shouldn't he enjoy the advantages of his hard-earned MBA, and purchase a comfortable car and home? Have I given up my car, heated home, energy-sucking computers, or foreign produced foods? It was a revelation how hypocritical we must seem; the American consumers' electronic toys getting produced cheaply in China, while simultaneously demanding that the toys' manufacturers cut down on pollution.

I read about a Chinese attitude that environmental protection was a first world problem, for people already warm and well fed. "Is your stomach too full?" How can we begrudge rural China the coal they use to stay warm? Were we in their shoes, would we choose to "save the environment" or would we choose to not freeze? Environmental Altruism can only have so many expectations before it becomes unrealistic. Sometimes I wonder if environmentalists see only that the earth needs to be saved at all costs, and they miss that we need the cooperation of those with human needs and human wants.

This is one primary reason I am pursuing policy instead of a straight sustainability graduate program. As a former sales representative of New York Life, I understand that long term benefits may not be readily apparent when weighed against the current cost. Environmental goals need to be grounded in reality, idealism with practicality.

My career in finance taught me valuable skills in asking the right questions to understand people's wants, and tailoring the service and product for their needs and budget. In a way, I feel policy is the same thing. It's important to find out what will convince people to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that the generations to come will be able to enjoy life on earth as we do.

I am attracted to the Energy, Resources and Environment program at dc, which includes courses on markets and developing countries. To fully integrate environmental awareness into the community takes a combination of policy and motivation. Through the Regional Studies Program, I'll gain a deeper understanding of contemporary China. I am also applying for the Nanjing Certificate program, and look forward to spending more time in Nanjing.

From my conversation with cousin CC, I wonder if the way to treat environmental degradation is to attack the source: people's desire to live like wealthy American consumers. It will take education on both the American and Chinese sides to convince China that the American Dream isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I look forward to the day when CC in Shanghai is the model of green sustainable living, and our children compare their green cred instead of the latest internet meme.