Grad's guide to graduate admissions essays - Colleen Reding 2015
Columbia university - School of international and public affairs
General graduate studies
What distinct impact do you hope to have on the world in the future? Please be as clear as possible about your future goals, the policy/public service issue(s) you are passionate about, and your personal motivation(s). Be sure to include details regarding the features of SIPA that you believe are integral to helping you in your pursuits and what skills you need to develop to achieve a lasting impact.
A city where policy makers and public officials recognize, understand, and appreciate the economic, political, and scientific connections of today’s most urgent environmental issues and in response design smart, innovative, high-impact projects aimed to improve residents’ lives, reduce emissions, and increase resilience to climate change. A city where leaders learn from peer cities across the United States and around the world on what projects and policies have worked or failed, and most importantly—why. A city where sustainable objectives are communicated effectively and residents are positively motivated to participate in achieving sustainable goals. A city where residents trust in their public officials to deliver the highest quality public services. As a graduate of the ESP program, it would be my goal to be a public servant who develops and implements policies and programs to make cities like the one described above a reality.
As part of my undergraduate experience, I was fortunate enough to partake in University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea study abroad program. During the 4-month educational circumnavigation of the globe, I was exposed firsthand to the interconnected nature of environmental issues. For instance, I learned and subsequently witnessed how decisions regarding natural resource management of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam affected the economic well-being of the communities living on the Delta who were dependent on the natural resource for their livelihood. Another eye-opening example was how a poorly designed public transportation system in the city of El Salvador, Brazil, sequestered poorer populations in favelas, cutting them off from economic opportunities in the city and further exacerbating social inequality. The exposure to global environmental issues I gained from this voyage sparked my interest so fervently that upon my return, I changed my undergraduate study course from focusing solely on international affairs to integrating environmental studies and politics. I believe that SIPA’s MPA in Environmental Science and Policy would be the perfect program to build off these studies and acquire new skills to become an effective and well-rounded environmental leader.
I have been fortunate enough to have professional experiences working at organizations that are dedicated to solving some of these issues. For example, the World Resource Institute’s (WRI) strategy is to spur progress toward solutions to urgent environmental challenges by providing practical strategies for change and effective tools to implement them. It is my responsibility as Program Coordinator for the Government Sector to communicate to national and international government donors how WRI’s programs are effectively making positive change in the world toward achieving environmental and sustainable goals. However, I am no longer satisfied playing a supporting role. The curriculum offered by the MPA ESP will build and enhance my current knowledge and provide practical new skills to become a well-rounded problem solver. The core curriculum’s emphasis on science and management analytic tools will build off my United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program management experiences, which includes financial, contract, and project management. The natural science component will enhance and deepen my understanding of Earth systems and how humans interact with these systems. The quantitative and policy analysis courses will provide invaluable opportunities to analyze environmental problems in structured and holistic ways. The social science courses will further deepen my comprehension of the political and economic issues so integrally connected to the causes and effects of environmental problems.
Through my experiences, both educational and professional, I am confident that I am an ideal candidate for this program. I believe the unique skill set offered by the MPA ESP program will provide the perfect professional degree to advance my career in the direction of solving environmental sustainability issues. I pursue this degree in hopes of becoming a professional well-equipped to work with city, state, and federal government to achieve the realization of sustainable, forward-thinking, and healthy cities and communities.
