My academic path has been far from straight and narrow. In fact, it has been rough and rocky and downright perilous at times. But it has brought me to the brink of a wonderful opportunity with Columbia's General Studies program, and I am eager to discover what awaits me around the next bend.
The first steps along this academic path, when I was in high school, are sometimes painful for me to recall. I hadn't thought that entering a new school would be so socially difficult, but in 10th grade, just before midterms, I found my world crumbling. For reasons that remain unclear, my three close friends and I were suddenly unwelcome in the social circles of our class. Perhaps our less affluent neighborhood was the source of this disdain, but it was clear that we were outsiders among our peers. Soon, those three friends, in a desperate need to fit in, further ostracized me, leaving me alone among my class of 90 students. As foolish 15-year-olds often do, I turned to pot in an effort to ease my loneliness. It soon escalated from experimentation to a habit to outright addiction. The drug gave me a false sense of well-being while it destroyed the rest of the world around me, specifically my family life. My isolation only worsened as my family stopped speaking to me; I ended up wandering homeless from one borrowed bed to another for most of my senior year, because of my parents' perfectly reasonable fear of having a drug addict living under their roof. Having no friends is terrible; having your family not want you was like dying, but worse. After suffering day by day until my graduation, I decided I couldn't live this life anymore; something had to change.
I didn't go directly to college, but took a year off to get clean and put my head back on straight. I spent that year in Israel, studying Advanced Talmudic Law and culture-a subject I truly enjoyed-and volunteering at an orphanage with emotionally and physically abused children. Academically, I was taking intellectually stimulating courses with the most accomplished professors in their respective fields and reigniting my passion for learning. Socially and emotionally, my growth was immeasurable. Being a mentor for those kids changed me in an unimaginable way. I found that helping others was the best way to help myself. I probably couldn't count the number of times I cried listening to the stories of these children coming from abusive homes. Yet they began to rely on me, and I knew I had to be there for them, which made me happier than I could ever remember being. I came to the inevitable realization that my passion was really for helping others, and over the years since, that passion has only grown.
After my amazing year abroad, I returned back to attend my freshman year at Yeshiva University, although my academic path and goals were still unclear to me. In high school, my main interests were degenerative biology, Talmud and philosophy, and I planned to pursue biology and philosophy when I entered college. Of course, all of that changed when I got to Israel, began volunteering and discovered completely new academic interests. I held on to my interest in Talmud by studying Advanced Talmudic Law while taking courses on Palestinian history and culture. Wanting to combine these culture studies with my developing passion for volunteering, I began college confident in my desire to help people but unsure of the best way to go about that; I considered medicine, business and law. While not knowing my exact plan of academic study, I embarked in the honors business track.
Right away, I knew something was missing. I was ecstatic to be home and reconnecting with my family, clean and attending a great university on an academic scholarship, yet something was "off". I realized it was my lack of volunteering, so that is when I decided to open a non-profit-both to fulfill my own need as well as to share with others the very personal benefits of volunteering that I had discovered in my previous year in Israel. In October of 2010, I founded Unified Hand, a non-profit that recruits volunteers for programs all across the world, with a focus on developing countries. Opening this non-profit has given me one of the greatest pleasures I've ever had. I am able to help people on a daily basis and offer people who have never really been exposed to volunteering the chance to experience a new world of amazing opportunities. These volunteers were able to discover the enormous joy of giving without receiving.
With the success of Unified Hand, my main focus had shifted away from hard business, so I thought about transferring schools. I wanted a strong liberal arts program where I could first focus on different cultures and societies and how they play a bigger role in today's context. This would complement my global initiative with Unified Hand. During the transfer process, I stopped for a moment to listen to my heart and made a final decision to focus on my non-profit, the one activity that I truly loved doing day in and out. So I withdrew all my transfer applications and decided to leave the full-time program at Yeshiva University.
Over the past year I spent a lot of time thinking about my academic path and how it can coordinate with my current interests and passions. I fell in love with the idea of entrepreneurship. Some people contend that it's not a profession, and they are right; I think of it as a way life. The thought of running my own business one day gives me this feeling like I'm on cloud nine. The harmonious convergence of running my own company with my passion for volunteering brings me to my immediate and long-term academic goal: social entrepreneurship.
Back on a defined academic path, I began researching programs that might fit this vision of my future. It wasn't until after the fall deadline that my academic advisor at Yeshiva told me about Columbia and the General Studies program. After looking into the program, I saw it was a perfect fit. Being able to take classes part time and run my non-profit as well is something I have essentially been looking for since the day I completed my year in Israel. GS provides just that opportunity-to study at a world-renowned university while also pursuing my work and regular duties outside the classroom. In addition, Columbia's wide array of concentrations was something unique to Columbia. After finding the sociocultural concentration in the anthropology major, I knew I had found the perfect spot for me.
Specifically, my academic goal is to earn a B.A. in sociocultural anthropology. I want to study the history of different cultures and ethnicities and how they interact. This is something I deal with on a daily basis, matching people with different non-profits. It requires knowledge of what each culture and demography represents and familiarity with the regions where you're going to be volunteering. I want to focus on liberal arts during my undergraduate career and use that as solid foundation for an eventual MBA in social entrepreneurship.
In particular, I would love the chance to study under Professor Severin Fowles and Professor Jennifer Lena. Professor Fowles's research in northern Mexico on the social transformations in village communities is an integral part of identifying community and the changes that categorize their state. Professor Lena's research focuses on the economic and racial conditions for category emergence, a field of study that concentrates on why and how these communities form.
In addition to my intended major, the core curriculum at Columbia was something that realty attracted me. I understand the importance of the educational base that this core provides, in all areas from music to history. Furthermore, each student gets the chance to learn about new areas and perhaps reveal an academic interest that may not have been otherwise uncovered. I love how Columbia recommends that anthropology students study abroad and experience new culture. It is not simply about studying, but about living and applying those studies to the real world.
I was also impressed and excited by the activities available to Columbia students. Speaking to students on a recent visit, I found they all shared a remarkable passion and confidence. For example, I would love to get involved with something like Operation Smile, a non-profit that performs medical missions for kids in Africa. One woman I spoke to was just back from researching reusable energy sources in India. In addition, I would look forward to spending time at the intercultural resource center on campus. The study of cultures and their connections in society affect us on a day-to-day basis and would be an amazing complement to my current studies and endeavors.
So my path has been uneven at times, but I recognize that the journey is essential to who I have become and where I intend to go. By working with a variety of people, I have learned to recognize my own strengths and weaknesses. I know that I cannot program advanced Java script nor excel in an advanced astrophysics class; however, I know that I can handle the workload of Columbia's rigorous program with undoubtedly hard work, and I would truly love to contribute to the GS program with my passion for anthropology, my life experience and my desire to learn from the entire Columbia community.
I don't describe my past misfortune in search of pity, but to acknowledge that every aspect and experience of my life is part of what I do inside and outside the classroom. My experiences have made me stronger, and I am grateful to have gained the ability to view the world from many people's perspectives. My "dark time" was in truth a blessing in disguise. It gave me the opportunity to see a whole new way of life and discover what I want to do with the rest of the time I have left. I have come to realize that if I don't love what I do every day, then there is no point in doing it.
gstransfer
Abe,
The essay is a little lengthy. I know G.S. wants an essay in the 1500 - 2000 word range; in this case, less is more. (I considered applying to the the program, but decided that taking the SAT's was too much of a hassle, but I digress). Your writing is extremely powerful, however it tends to wander and as such the impact of how volunteering and how it influenced the formation of your non-profit gets lots in all the unimportant details.
Here are some of my suggestion:
My academic path has been far from straight and narrow. In fact, it has been rough, rocky, and downright perilous at times. However, it has brought me to the brink of a wonderful opportunity with Columbia's General Studies program, and I am eager to discover what awaits me.
The first steps along my path are sometimes painful for me to recall. I didn't think entering a new school would be difficult... (I recommend that you tighten up this paragraph, perhaps by showing how your decision to use drugs affected your family life),
I didn't go directly to college, but took a year off to get clean and putset my head back on straight. I spent that year in Israel, studying Advanced Talmudic Law and culture-a subject I truly enjoyed-and volunteering at an orphanage withfor emotionally and physically abused children. Academically, I was taking intellectually stimulating courses with the most accomplished professors in their respective fields and reigniting my passion for learning. Socially and emotionally, my growth was immeasurable. Being as a mentor for those kids changed me in an unimaginable way. I found that helping others was the best way to help myself. I probably couldn't count the number of times I cried listening to the stories of these children coming from abusive homes. Yet they began to rely on me, and I knew I had to be there for them, which made me happier than I could ever remember being. I came to the inevitable realization that my passion was really for helpingis others, and over the years since, that passion has only grown .
You have a great story. It just gets lost in all the extraneous details.
Best of Luck!
John
