Mon Personal Statment (PS)
Je m’étais promis de publier mon PS pour en garder une trace et, c’est ce que je fais aujourd’hui !
Trois mois de travail sur une lettre pas plus longue qu’une page word… j’en ai souvent eu marre. Ce que je retiens de cette expérience, c’est que le travail compte ! Ma persévérance m’a permis d’être acceptée à Warwick et de passer des entretiens à Cambridge (les résultats tombent dans trois semaines… !) !
Granddaughter of a Vietnamese boat people, I seek to reconnect with this part of my family since my heritage is free of any Vietnamese culture or history. While I was studying Cu Chi tunnels, symbols of the Viet Minh and Viet Cong’s guerrillas, for the interdisciplinary project to validate my 10th grade, I realized how tangible the consequences of history can be, casting a long shadow over millions of families families throughout the globe and throughout generations. I am one of them: my own history is part of History.
This is what sparked my interest in politics. I first wanted to explore how my country works at a local level in order to build up my understanding of democratic life. On my own, I managed to contact the head of the Culture Department of the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis (2 million inhabitants) and convince him to onboard me for an internship. I discovered how decisions are made, how public funds are allocated and protected. It was a striking experience to discover how the egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution still inspire many cultural policies such as the Culture Pass -300 euros to spend on cultural products or services given to every French citizen on their 18th birthday.
In high school, I opted for geopolitics, political science, and philosophy as main classes, plus an additional history one taught in English. With history and politics being two of my favourite subjects, I particularly enjoy writing about them. For instance, my two essays on the evolution of ideology in Turkey since the fall of Ottoman Empire and on the existence of a powerful Hindu nationalism in India got me the highest possible marks. I also attended a preparatory class for “Sciences Po” during the summer in order to deepen my understanding of these topics. Beyond grades, I found that it is sharing and discussing my work that provides me the most satisfaction. When I succeed in captivating attention, raising interest and stoking debate, I feel joyful. Without sharing, they are just thoughts for myself. Without action, it is nothing more than a message or an intention.
Beyond ideas and theories, I want to engage myself and contribute to the causes that are dear to me. :
As a human being, I find it hard to accept the lack of assistance to the migrants sailing on the Mediterranean Sea to flee from the horrors of Libya. I am an activist for “SOS Méditerranée” whose mission is to bring castaways back to the mainland regardless of the political issues. Indeed, these migrants are in a complex legal situation. This NGO embodies the “right to have rights” as expressed by Hannah Arendt. By assisting people in danger, it gives priority to the right to live, to their humanity. For Bertrand Badie, a renowned French IR scholar and one of the most prominent thinkers of ‘transnationalism’, there are no longer 193 actors on the international scene but 7 billion potential participants. As one of them, I take part in conferences and organize awareness-raising events in schools.
As a high schooler, I want to support others to develop their potential whatever their cultural or familial context is. I give tutoring class to kids in elementary school and lead an initiative within the high school that offers students opportunities to help people in need, such as getting in touch with isolated seniors during the confinements. In my spare time I practice classic dance and swimming, which push me to work on my strength, discipline, and boost my confidence. I read newspapers and lots of books to feed my curiosity and motivation. I keep track of my thoughts, for others as for myself, by regularly posting articles on Medium.
As a future student, I want a top-class education that would help me evolve my conviction is that to evolve in a world getting more and more uncertain and complex. Indeed,, I need to explore politics within and between countries, studying social and cultural diversity and understanding how social life is shaped in our modern societies will be a great step towards achieving my objectives.
