Personal Statement

The following is the result of a deep instronspection, and analisys of my self... I hope you enjoy it as much i did (was hard job). Sarita thanks a lot for your help, i will be always grateful to you.

Personal Statement

My life is full of moments and experiences that have guided me in my decision to pursue a doctorate in economics. Through this statement, I wish to share five of the most important and influential upon this goal.

The first, and perhaps the most important, of these is one that inherently characterizes my personality. Even from my first memory, I recall myself as a curious child who was consistently and genuinely concerned with the eradication of poverty, inequality and any other kind of social injustice I encountered. To this day, those deep feelings of compassion and desires for reform remain inside. In fact, it is for this reason that I began my study of economics. It is a social science that seeks a solution to these problems via the use of mathematics as an analytical tool, giving to it the rigorous treatment that I had been looking for. If I am accepted into graduate school, my quest for the knowledge and skills to serve society in the way I see fit will successfully culminate. I will then be fully able to devote myself to finding the solution to as many of these problems as I possibly can.

The second experience so influential to my doctoral pursuit occurred while I was working in public service at my home university. In that instance, I had the opportunity to work with people of different majors and interests. It is here that I realized just how broad the scope of economics is; it reaches several different areas of our society; education, law, and the handle of natural resources, amongst others. It is this extensive application of economics that instills in me such a great thirst for knowledge, in addition to providing me with the motivation to constantly push myself one step further.

The third experience, and the one I am most grateful for, was that of writing my first paper. January of 2005, I, along with two friends, decided to start working on an idea that the three of us individually developed. We believed that the Chilean university selection system could be improved upon using the exact same tool that the system uses today. After one year of hard work and research, we finished the paper and, following several presentations of its content, the Chilean educational ministry decided to hear what we had to say. Today the public policy of the Chilean government leans toward the implementations we suggested in our paper. In hindsight, I now realize that if I could initiate a change of this magnitude as a masters student, the kind of changes I can perpetuate after acquiring far better tools and knowledge are essentially limitless.

The fourth influential experience is academic in nature, occurring via my opportunity to work as a teacher assistant. Never had I imagined that I would find this passion in my life; that is, the passion of teaching. As a teacher assistant I came to realize that not only do I have the ability of acquiring both a quick and thorough understanding of economic theory, but also I have the ability to communicate this understanding quite easily. I believe that to transmit knowledge in an effective and appropriate way is one of the most useful tools that a member of society could have in order to accomplish that community’s goal of self-development.

The exchange program that I completed in the U.S., during the first semester of 2006, provided me with the final experience I will be sharing. In this exchange, I was able to take graduate classes and, through said opportunity, I became conscious of the degree of comfort I felt with the material and the motivation I experienced from the level of the class, as well as the goals and approach of the program, which coincidentally satisfy the expectations that I maintain for my future existence.

In conclusion, I would like to say that my experiences in the last three years as a student, teacher assistant, and researcher, as well as my work in the public service sector, have convinced me of my competency in this area. I have great confidence in my motivation and ability to successfully involve myself in a competitive graduate program in the United States, which will simultaneously allow me to accomplish my goal of full contribution to a better society.