Undergraduate / University of Texas Transfer Essay A ("cultural understanding") [6]

Essay Prompt: Statement of Purpose

Essay:
I have seen first hand the power of cultural understanding. Working as an intelligence analyst in the most diverse province of Iraq I was almost forced to. If you don't know the people, their customs and beliefs you can not truly understand their issues and conflicts. This simple lesson had a great impact on me personally and professionally. Upon returning from Iraq I had made the decision to leave the military and to study foreign policy and foreign cultures with the goal of using these studies to help our government better understand and relate to other countries.

While serving in the United States Army I was stationed in Germany. There I had my first great opportunity to experience new cultures. I spent much of my time exploring. I shopped at the local market, traveled with German friends, cheered on the American (and some times German) world cup team, and even followed the race as Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor. I knew that it was a rare opportunity to really live in a different country and I took advantage of it. I spent weekends traveling as far as a plane, a train or a days drive could get me. These experiences were invaluable. They have greatly improved my empathy and interest for different cultures.

As important as my years in Germany are to me, it wasn't until I was deployed to Iraq that a clear career path began to take shape. I worked in the Diyala Province, a province that extends north east of Baghdad to the Iranian border. Diyala is a unique area of Iraq. It is a fault line between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish cultures. Like most of Iraq the majority of the population in the province is Shia and generally influenced by neighboring Iran. However there is a strong Sunni heritage in several of the key cities and Kurdish families own major oil regions and transportation routes.

I quickly learned that these secular generalizations could not fully explain the true local issues. Day to day conflict inside the region could not be lumped into broader religious disagreements. I lived and worked with several Iraqi police and army members of varying age and rank. Most were Shia, however some were Sunni and Kurdish. Members of the different sects were absolutely tolerant of each other. Many friendships crossed religious boarders. It was clear from my discussions with them that local politics, competition between families, and a general desire for someone to assert power and provide safety were all causes of violence. Religious fervor rarely was.

This stark difference between the perceived motivation for violence and the actual causes was both startling and interesting. It meant the problem was much more complicated then some wanted to believe but also that there was hope to improve the situation. The problem was not some vague unaddressable religious doctrine. It was something that local US commanders could get involved with and improve. My work for the remainder of the deployment focused on breaking down the common generalizations about religious violence and increasing our commanders' understanding of local issues.

During that deployment I realized I was doing what I loved. Working to solve conflict through greater personal understanding of local issues was incredibly rewarding. I decided, however, that I needed to pause my career and focus on education. By attending a University full time I could get the well rounded and developed education I needed. With that education I hope to better help our country interact with an increasingly globalized world.

Any tips on grammar or style are appreciated.

Undergraduate / Immigration reform in the United States during the economic crysis period. Issue of Importance essay [16]

This is a UT Austin transfer essay.

Prompt: Personal Essay

Choose an issue of importance to you - the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

Essay:

The economic crisis has captured the attention of Washington and the American public but immigration reform should not be forgotten. The legislation effort of 2007 failed but we should not let it fade from the public eye. It is difficult to warm American workers to loosened legalization processes and larger guest worker programs, and infinitely more so in the current economic climate. However, we should not let political difficulty derail necessary changes.

As unemployment rises so does the political power of domestic labor. During economic downturns people want their government to support local markets by restricting imports. This is as true for labor as it is for goods and services. As American industries call for increased tariffs, American labor interests will fight immigration reform. American workers will fear foreign competition and politicians will shy from compromise.

With the failure of the 2007 bill Americans effectively turned away. Republican and Democratic legislators shot down compromises and instead chose not to act at all. And so we are to forget the 38 million immigrants who still live and work in our country as less than citizens.

As our government withholds citizenship from them it also pays more than it receives. The Center For Immigration Studies found that the net deficit of illegal immigrants using more in services then paying in taxes totaled $10 billion at the federal level in 2002. It's clear now that the federal government can not bock at $10 billion.

This hypocrisy hits local governments even harder. School districts, hospitals, cities, counties and state governments themselves are feeling the sharp pain of falling property values. At the same time they provide many services to illegal immigrants who do not have the right to return the favor by paying taxes. Will we allow schools to close while preventing immigrant parents from helping to fund them?

Immigration is a significant aspect of our economy. We should not ignore it, or forget attempts to reform. To do nothing is unacceptable.