In your admissions application you described one or more areas of study that you are interested in maybe its

s community, or planning, or food systems or any number of other things. Briefly describe one of these interests and then answer the following: Part A: What does it mean to be educated in your selected area? What must an educated person know or be able to do? What qualities, skills, or ways of thinking distinguish a person educated in this area from one who is not? Part B: How do you compare now to this idealized educated person? What do you have now, and what must you develop?

I feel my interests in my selected area are derived from a combination of sheer curiosity and a sense of real necessity. In my opinion, all education must be catered towards a certain purpose. Normally, individuals carve their education by their interests. Like others in CEP, I feel my area of study and the way I relate to it, is so complicated that no traditional subject can envelop its complexities. The two phrases I use most commonly to describe my pursuits are Sustainable Development and Cross Culture Communication. For me, it is impossible to be educated; one can only be better prepared. This is because in life, learning never stops. At the moment, my attention is particularly invested in becoming more dynamic, reactive, adaptive and most importantly being able to make more intelligent decisions. The last is important because in consideration of the endless library of knowledge that is available to us in todays world, being able to sieve through the information is very important. Applying this knowledge well is also extremely important in order to make correct decisions. For example, when deciding between investing in different types of energy, or on deciding diplomatic solutions for problems between culture groups, the wrong decision could create ripples which one day become tsunamis. In essence, I feel it is necessary to work towards becoming a leader. One who is analytic and empathic. A person who is both knowledgeable, and who can always set aside his pride to recognise value and initiative in others. To work with others to enable communities to help each other. I know my answer lacks technical and academic substance, it goes without saying that I feel it is vital to study a variety of different disciplines. One must better understand different cultures; study the foundations of economics; and most importantly understand new technologies and how to bring them to the people. Being more knowledgeable in these three sectors would definitely make me better prepared, and will also aid in understanding the way resources should be allocated. I recognize that I am very far from my ideal educated person. Though, I might possess some of the above qualities in very small dosages, I have a lot of work to do. I feel it is vital for me to follow a greater pursuit in the social sciences. I also feel I must gain experience, both in the public and private sector, to better understand the difficulties and responsibilities that come with resource management. Finally, I recognise I must dramatically improve in both my analytical skills and empathic ability so as make better decisions and better understand different cultures and perspectives.