I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of XXXX in 2006. I was on the Dean’s or President’s List yearly and a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Golden Key Honor Societies. My experience has been so positive at UXX that I would love to continue to study here toward a graduate degree in Anthropology. Currently, I am taking graduate anthropology courses at UXX as a non-degree-seeking student to establish my capacity to perform at a graduate level in this field.
I am a serious and dedicated person for my age, in part because I grew up with a mentally handicapped sister and a physically handicapped brother, helping me to become strong and responsible while still young. The daily challenges that my family has had to face have assured me that anything can be overcome through hard work and determination. I have sought social confirmation and solidarity through volunteer participation in the Charity Gala for XXXX County Children & Community Health Clinic. I am also a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas, serving as a ¨big.¨ A smile on my little brother´s face makes my day. It is an honor to be his mentor. After losing my second grandfather to cancer in January 2009, I also became a volunteer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where I raised $1,500 for cancer research. This was an immensely proud moment for my family and me.
My love for the Spanish language and culture led me to pursue a B.A. in Spanish. My greatest passion is traveling, and I have a particular affinity for Latin America. Most particularly, I adore the intersection of Indigenous culture and environmental issues. It was love at first sight when I found myself in my first Anthropology class, and the romance continued through several other elective classes in Anthropology as an undergraduate. This is why I have my heart set on attending graduate school in this area. I have always been intrigued by cultures, languages, and especially religion. The importance of preserving the cultures of Indigenous peoples and maintaining the natural diversity of our world can hardly be underestimated.
With each passing day, I become more ecologically and socially conscious. I have always cared about the environment, but I became incredibly enlightened about the dire situation of our planet through my environmental anthropology class with Professor XXXX. Dr. XXXX’s passion for the environment inspired me. Dr. XXXX from XXXX University has been instrumental in inspiring me to be more active in doing my part to save our planet. My dedication to our environment, along with my passion for travel and cultural studies, has naturally led me to get involved with ecotourism. I intend to continue to study its pros and cons and its impact on local communities. The best way to educate people about the environment is by allowing them to experience its wonders for themselves. Personally, connecting to the land, I believe, helps to instill the importance of conservation. I hope to become part of a team that takes ecotourism to new moral levels of grassroots collaboration between communities so that the local populations benefit from the experience of tourism. Studying environmental anthropology will increase my sensitivity to the complex issues that result from competition between cultural and economic visions, interests, and ideologies.
By studying in your program, I will come to a much better understanding of our symbiotic relationship with our environment. I keenly look forward to studying the broad gambit of theoretical frameworks that help us to understand our chances for salvation and redemption for our bleeding planet, finding solutions that benefit everyone involved while protecting Indigenous people. My hunger for knowledge increases yearly, and I am eager to attain this new level of full-time graduate study. I will devote everything towards excellence in my studies, spurred on by the hope of being able to make this world a little better by improving the lives of others through a career in socially conscious ecotourism.
Anthropology Personal Purpose, MA Environmental Example, Ecotourism Master's