Global Scholars Application Essay

Coming from a well off socioeconomic background, I have had the privilege to travel around the world and glimpse into a multitude of cultures and traditions as well as the challenges different cultures face. By personally witnessing and hearing the stories of hardship created by a social and economic divide I have discovered that there are many ways to help. My volunteer work with Healing Hearts Across Borders has awakened my interest in the Global Initiatives Program as I am able to meet and learn about the struggles of residents of underprivileged areas in Tijuana. Additionally, the GIP trip to Beijing allowed me to see the effects of the work we put on the lives of others. By being apart of the Global Scholars Program I would like to spread the knowledge that I have gained through my travels and gain insight into other cultures and the difficulties they face.

Healing Hearts Across Borders is a volunteer organization that provides medical care and basic necessities like food and clothing to impoverished communities in Tijuana. Through this organization, I was able to see first hand how basic essentials are unavailable to huge communities. Traveling past the border has spurred my interest in learning about more ways to help impoverished communities. By listening to the stories of these residents I am inspired to discover the challenges of other communities and explore more ways I can utilize the privilege I have to help. I find it striking to hear how through different perspectives the same problem can be shifted, dramatized, or even discredited, while at the same time the issue may not be fully understood because the most important perspective, the people facing the issue, is not heard. Being a part of the process to help lessen the burden on underprivileged communities permits me to hear the correct perspective and attempt to make the appropriate change.

Seeing the effects that the work we have done is just as inspiring as learning and being apart of the process of helping. For the GIP trip to Beijing, we raised money in order to help fund cochlear implants for families that could not afford them to allow their children a chance at going to a normal school and not be treated as other or different. Visiting the cochlear implant schools and seeing the impact that we made on the lives of the children was especially heartwarming and inspiring. Beyond the work that we did with the cochlear implant schools, it was an amazing experience to be able to enter the lives of the students of PS 161 and experience the culture and hospitality they provided. Having the ability to be apart of the culture of different people is one of the most profound experiences I have had and is one that impels me to deepen my understanding of cultures and their hardships around the world.

Through the Global Initiative Program, I would like to learn more about the inspiring work that global activists accomplish, educate others on the troubles that torment communities, and discover different approaches to assist. I believe that as students with the privilege and the ability to help make changes we should find ways that we can, but to do so students need to understand the problems that people around the world are facing. I hope that through the Global Initiative Program I am able to expand both my and my peers' knowledge about global issues.