My Personal Statement

Well, here it is... The just under 600 word masterpiece that I have been laboring over for the past two weeks is as near to completion as it may ever get. How anyone can expect me to sum up my personality, research interests, and passion for conservation in 600 words is a mystery to me. Feedback is appreciated as I will be submitting in just a few short days. Eep!

I am an ideal candidate for acceptance into the Yale school of Forestry and Environmental Studies masters program because of my diverse interests and experiences in the field of environmental science. I am passionate about the need to further understand and protect the environment. The health of the environment is to me an issue of social justice since it is directly tied to the quality of life for all people.

When I was in grade school, I can remember getting the distinct impression that everything in the world had already been discovered. Being a scientist at heart, I was distraught at the idea that there might be no more questions to ask. I have since learned that there is of course more unknown in the world than we can ever hope to learn. This was never more obvious to me than this past summer when I joined a volunteer trip to a reserve in the cloud forests of Ecuador. In a short two weeks I saw more plant and animal species than I could ever hope to name, watched intriguing behavior, and even witnessed the discovery of two (as yet unconfirmed but suspected) new species of frogs. There is still so much to learn about the world in which we live and I am excited to be a part of the field that may do so.

I would like to participate in research that will assist decision making involved with species and habitat preservation. Through my undergraduate coursework and associations with scientists at the Smithsonian I have become quite intrigued with amphibians. They have impressed upon me the utility of studying frogs and salamanders not only as a unique and complex class of animals but also as a means of better understanding their contextual environment. Being such a sensitive bioindicator, I feel that the study and protection of amphibians is important to the wellbeing of our planet. Another issue that interests me is the evolutionary roots of behaviors as trying to understand species’ ethology without considering historical pressures is like trying to understand a culture without studying their past. I am also intrigued by the idea of trying to monitor and regulate species that cover large territories and may cross jurisdictional boundaries such as migratory birds, marine mammals and fish. As such, I hope that studying at Yale will allow me to strengthen my foundation in theory, scientific methodology and research procedures, as well as analytical and technical skills to allow me to later pursue these areas of interest as a career.

The sometimes wandering path that has brought me to this point in my life has allowed me to become a very well rounded individual. This seems to me to be a crucial quality in this field as, like in evolution, adaptability is often the key to success. While I hope to form the core of my career around science and research, I will also strive to be knowledgeable about policy and active in education in order to make the largest beneficial impact possible. I plan on pursuing my doctorate upon completion of my masters degree. I hope that Yale F&ES will offer me a competitive and stimulating intellectual environment. I expect that such a world class school will offer me the opportunity to work with exceptional faculty and scientists as well as open doors to resources that will further my research and my career. I would be proud to continue my academic career at Yale and feel that I would make an excellent addition to the school’s highly regarded field of environmental sciences.