The renewed faith

Just when all looked like it was going bad, i opened an email from the peacecorps that spoke of a program that combines graduate school and the Peace Corps. The program is called Masters International "After completing your initial course work in graduate school and receiving your Peace Corps placement, you will travel to your respective site and begin training. Once overseas, you are given an assignment according to the needs and requests of your host country. Participating faculty recognize that while overseas, your primary responsibility is the project and community to which you have been assigned. Rather than determining a research topic in advance, you will allow your volunteer assignment to shape your academic requirement."
I was initially planning on applying to the program in Denver or Cornell but when i asked my undergraduate college professor at Michigan State for a reccomendation he informed me that the program was going to be implemented at Michigan State University in the Fall.

At this point i took the GRE and am applying to gradschool at MSU. And below is my statement of purpose:

Statement of purpose

I’ve always been confounded by the very idea that there could be so many people living in extreme poverty while others live in affluence and sometimes even overabundance of wealth. As a child, I dreamed of one day becoming a great renowned leader in the eradication of poverty. Though maturity and understanding of the realities of such an endeavor have tempered its romantic appeal, my dream remains quite the same today. In fact I always knew that whatever profession I was going to pursue would have to involve the betterment of human welfare and this became the blueprint for my future career. This blueprint led me to this particular stage of my plans, the completion of a graduate degree in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University coupled with an assignment overseas through the Peace Corps’ Masters International program. In order to explain how I’ve come to this decision a recap is in order.

In 1984, I left my native city of Brooklyn, New York to travel to Dakar, Senegal in West Africa where I was to receive my entire early education from elementary school to high school. By the time I reached high school, not only was I fluent in French and Wolof but I was also familiar with the realities of growing up in a country striving in the throes of development, a region in the process of gentrification, a city outgrowing its bounds and an agricultural community losing ground as my age-mates left the small towns to look for their futures in the larger cities in urban Senegal and beyond. During my time in Senegal I also grew acquainted with the region of my family’s farmland, in rural Fatick. There I found that I came from a long line of farmers, including from my own father who farmed up to the time he left his home to study abroad. My awareness of my family’s background and occupational heritage instilled in me an empathy with interest in the affairs of farmers. When I finally had earned my French baccalauréat, it was clear to me that my future studies would have to specialize in the betterment of farmers’ lives. My reasoning was, however, especially based on my belief that just as today’s highly developed western nations had done, Senegal would certainly need to go through its own “green revolution” before it could benefit from substantial industrial development. And so I decided to pursue a degree in the agricultural economics field and applied to Michigan State’s agricultural economics department because of its reputation in international - particularly African - rural economic development.

In 1999 I began my higher education at Michigan State University with no particular major at the time but with an open eye for a lead to any specialization in the college of agriculture that could be incorporated effectively with my future plans. I found that lead in my Environmental Economics class. During this class I learned of the relationship that the environment has with the economy of a nation and it dawned upon me that in fact an understanding of this relationship is critical in developing a sustainable economy. Therefore I changed my major to Environmental Economics and Policy which was described by the department as a major that “... prepares you for a career that requires balancing environmental sustainability and economic development goals.”

My time at Michigan State was not free of challenges. I struggled with a learning disability (Attention Deficit Disorder) that I didn’t fully understand at first. Besides, I was constantly vacillating between taking my medications while bearing with the side effects and giving up medication altogether to try alternative methods. Also the transition to an American college from a French based educational system and Senegalese socio-cultural environment proved to be more of a challenge than I had expected. Though I did fairly well in most of my classes, I am confident that my current mastery and understanding of my ADD coupled with my present ease with the English language will enable me to show a truer reflection of my capability to excel academically.

In 2001, I began an internship with Bread for the World, a nonprofit organization ”that seeks justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying decision makers in the United States”. Working for Bread for the World was a pivotal experience for me. It showed me the importance of policy making in our country and how it relates to the development of poor countries. During my internship I assisted in lobbying congressmen to vote for bills that would help developing countries achieve economic sufficiency. Moreover, I had the unique opportunity to attend “The Partnership to Cut Hunger in Africa Final Conference” in Washington, DC. Among the Co-Chairs of this conference were President Peter McPherson and his Excellency Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of the Republic of Mali. The Conference’s purpose was to formulate a strategy that would help attract more public and private investment in Africa as well as increase the efficiency of the United State’s foreign aid towards stimulating African rural and agricultural development. Overall, my internship with Bread for the World permitted me to immerse myself in the world of international development and instilled in me a renewed eagerness to enter it once again but next time as a professional. I wish to be part of the workforce that thrives to put an end to absolute poverty by 2025, because by poverty I think we mean essentially the inability to provide food for one’s self; I believe that agricultural economists are giants in this effort.

In 2004 I graduated from Michigan State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Economics and Policy. Initially, I had planned on first joining the Peace Corps and then going to graduate school once my assignment was over. But then I learned of the Masters International program which combines the theoretical knowledge gained from graduate school with the practical experience of the Peace Corps’ overseas assignments. I realized that following this particular path would not only give me the opportunity to use the theories and technical applications of agricultural economics but would also allow me to immerse myself in an environment that will help me nurture these skills.

Meanwhile, I am working in a temporary position at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. I am reviewing my macro- and microeconomics by the use of a comprehensive economics textbook by John B. Taylor. I’m also trying to stay up to date with issues concerning the developing world through reading books (such as “the End of Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs) and following issues of international economies in the news. In my opinion a career is not merely a means for me to satisfy my financial needs, it is something that I want to be part of my life. So I strive to ground myself in my field of study before I am officially working in it. I’m hoping that through your agricultural economics program I will gain knowledge in the subjects I cannot learn on my own such as: the rules of trade as it relates to agricultural goods, the influence of politics on agricultural production, the logistics involved in agriculture, the financing and management of agricultural firms, the study of cultures and behavior prevalent in rural areas, the study of the role of agriculture in economic development, the proper planning of a sustainable economic development, etc. I would also have the opportunity to participate in research that relates to food security.

In the future I plan to earn a Doctorate in Agricultural Economics and then work for an organization dedicated to the reduction global poverty and the improvement of living standards in the world, such as the World Bank, USAID, United Nations, Chemonics. Later on in my life my goal is to return to West Africa and open a consulting agency that designs, evaluates and implements small to large projects in the agriculture business, or to become a professor at some university (possibly Michigan State). It really all depends on the type of experience I would have acquired at that point. I hope that this statement of purpose evinces my ability, my genuine determination and my eagerness to learn the skills that will permit me to accomplish these stated goals.