Environmental Science Personal Statement

During my first semester at the University of Southern California, I took a Women in International Development class after reading about Wangari Mathai’s life and how science was utilized as a means for empowering the poor and women as a result changing an entire country’s government. With encouragement from my professor and inspiration from Mathai, I decided to further explore an interdisciplinary education, leading me to my chosen field: environmental studies.
Becoming a scientific diver changed my educational direction. The ocean took my breath away with its wide variety of life and showed me the many dimensions of the underwater world which created a special interest in me for the marine and coastal environmental fields. After spending …show more content…
I would like to work as a mediator between scientific researchers and legislators which could potentially have an influence in policy making. For instance, developing citizen sciences programs that could educate the public population, regardless of their social class, about the environmental situation promotes different stakeholders to work towards a common goal. I have taken a wide range and degree of difficult classes in my undergraduate career that I believe shows the strong desire, effort and commitment I have to pursue my future career in academia. I believe that the University of California – Santa Barbara has the perfect, well rounded Master of Environmental Science and Management program which combines policy and science. I am excited and look forward to interacting with Doctors Hunter Lenihan and Ben Halpern, both of whom have research similar to my interests for my own research component of the MS degree. I hope to explore the dynamic and interactions of different populations and communities with the environment by using scientific research to develop tailor management plans and policy for a sustainable development and protection of