Someone
had told me that the predominantly Turkish sections of Berlin were dangerous,
that these were places where I, a twenty-year-old American from the Midwest,
wouldn’t want to go alone. Yet I’ve never been one to heed these kinds of
warnings, and it was with a combination of anticipation, nervous excitement,
and determination that I entered the Neukölln section of Berlin, on my way to
help in tutoring children of Turkish immigrants. As the afternoon progressed
and I toured Neukölln with two students and their tutor, I found myself
searching for ways to prolong my time there. Maybe it was something in the
energy of the place, in the collision of gentrification and immigrant-run shops
and ornate 19th century buildings. Maybe it was the enthusiasm of
the tutor with whom I worked and his drive to help his students enjoy learning.
Maybe it was the stories of the immigrant children and their experience of
growing up between two cultures. In all likelihood it was a combination of
these factors that led me to realize that someday, somehow, I would like to
work in this environment. From that point on it was a matter of figuring out
how this could be accomplished.
What I learned
is that, even when you don’t approach life with a clearly defined goal, when
you follow your intuition it seems that you are bound to discover your passion.
In many ways, this process of following my instincts has characterized my
undergraduate education. I began studying German not because I intended it to
be my major, but because I wanted to learn a new language, a language that my
ancestors had spoken, a language bound together with a tumultuous history, but
also a language of many of the world’s great philosophers, scientists, and
artists. Above all, I wanted to learn something that was completely new to me.
Throughout my
undergraduate education, there was never a shortage of new things to learn, and
when I look back on my course of studies, I find that the topics of my chosen
classes have many commonalities. I have focused largely on the experiences of
disadvantaged groups throughout history and the dynamics of social change by
enrolling in a course that investigated the experience of migrants to Germany
through the lens of theater, one that explored the role of language in
determining a person’s social status, and one that investigates the feasibility
of health care reform in the United States, among many others.
In pursuing a
Master’s in European Studies, I hope to further explore the origins and
outcomes of tension and conflict between social groups. I am particularly
interested in the experiences of migrant populations and look forward to an
opportunity to investigate their reasons for migration, as well as the
struggles and victories associated with establishing themselves in a new home
country. Additionally, I am excited to study regional variations within the
European Union and the effects of these variations on disadvantaged
populations.
The primary
appeal of the European Studies program at University College London is its
interdisciplinary approach to understanding European identity, with an emphasis
on the arts as a means of analyzing European integration and society. My
previous coursework in creative writing, literature, and art history has sparked
an interest in the arts as a means of addressing social issues, and I look
forward to a chance to further explore this interest while focusing on modern
Europe.
I
bring to this program not only an educational background in European culture
and politics, but also knowledge of research methods in the social sciences.
For the past year and a half, I have been employed with a study that
investigates scientific literacy among Americans aged 35-40. This work has
allowed me to develop a thorough understanding of the methods of survey
research, as well as the effects of academic study on public policy. I hope to
ultimately work in a field in which I can also work to bridge the gap between
academics and policy, and I believe this program will bring me closer to
achieving this goal.
