GRAD SCHOOL GUIDES:

SAMPLE ADMITTED STUDENTS

ESSAYS
Unlock Your Story & Potential

Find more resources at YouTube.com/LaurenValdez

 Table of
About this Guide
Getting into grad school is not easy. Not only do you need to have relevant experience, but you need to
communicate your drive, abilities, passion, and clarity on your career path. All students have passion and
relevant internships and experience, but how do you communicate in a way that makes you stand out from

Contents
the pack? Writing a grad school essay is a learnable skill. It requires unpacking your story. What makes you
care about what you care about? What lessons have you learned that got you where you are today? How has
your journey led you to being ready for grad school?

In the sample essays, you will see how successful students clearly communicate their skills and motivations
for graduate school. Notice that these essays are not boring. They grab your attention. They make you root
for the person to succeed. Look at these samples and think about how you can apply a similar style to your Page No.
own essays.
PERSONAL STATEMENT –
These are all real essays of admitted students Lauren worked with, who generously gave their permission USC MASTER’S IN ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING (1,182 WORDS) 4
to share these essays.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
UCLA MASTER’S IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (498 WORDS) 6

About Lauren Valdez PERSONAL STATEMENT –

Lauren is a Latinx, first-generation college student and the oldest of
five kids. Her skill for mentoring began by being a big sister helping
her siblings and their friends with their essays. She got to where
she is today because of the mentors and community support that
helped her overcome institutional barriers. Now Lauren has more
than 10-years of experience in reviewing college essays, scholarship
essays, prestigious award essays, and grant applications. Lauren has
been awarded over $4 Million in scholarships and grants, and has
helped hundreds of students be accepted at top universities. Lauren
has also served on a UC Berkeley college admissions committee,
selection committees for prestigious fellowship programs, and
reviewed grant applications as a former program officer. She has a
keen eye for what makes an essay or proposal stand out from the
pack. Currently, Lauren is the Equity Impact Storyteller at the Public
Health Alliance of Southern California and is the founder of Win A
Fulbright and Co-founder of Forte Labs, an online education company.
UCLA MASTER’S IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING (499 WORDS) 7
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
UCLA MASTERS IN EDUCATION, STUDENT AFFAIRS (494 WORDS) 8
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
HARVARD, MASTERS OF EDUCATION, HIGHER EDUCATION
CONCENTRATION (1,490 WORDS) 9
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
UC BERKELEY MASTER’S IN PUBLIC HEALTH (1,242 WORDS) 11
PERSONAL STATEMENT –
UC BERKELEY MASTER’S IN PUBLIC HEALTH /
MASTER’S IN CITY PLANNING (771 WORDS) 12

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
MIT MASTER’S IN CITY PLANNING (1,120 WORDS) 15
A Note About Plagiarism
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE –
You can’t copy and paste these essays and get into the same programs, because these essays are all unique CORNELL MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE (PROFESSIONAL) (985 WORDS) 16
to the individual and their life story, their transcript, their letters of rec, and their unique resume. Like an
artist learning to paint by copying a famous painting, you can model your essay off the structure of these DIVERSITY STATEMENT –
essays. However, you want to make the words you own. Even if a sentence seems generic or applicable to
UCLA MASTER’S IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING (815 WORDS) 17
you, do not copy and paste word for word any sentence or phrase. The academic community takes plagiarism
extremely seriously. These essays have been viewed over 100,000 times and it’s likely that people have
copied verbatim elements of these essays. Many universities upload all essays to Turnitin.com to identify
any plagiarism. Don’t take the chance of plagiarizing.

2 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 3

Personal Statement –
USC Master’s in Astronautical Engineering (1,182 Words)
At the age of 11 my father dropped out of school
to support his family when his dad died. He
worked long hours and eventually saved enough to
immigrate to the United States from Mexico. My
father’s struggle embedded in me an immeasurable
work ethic. Immigrant parents, like mine, dream
of their kids becoming doctors. But I became
obsessed with launch vehicles. After hands-on
research as an undergrad and working at the Space
and Missiles Systems Center, I want to pursue a
masters in Astronautical Engineering at USC to
advance my career and technical knowledge.
My family could not afford to put me through
college but luckily, I inherited their work ethic.
Over the years my classmates started to dwindle.
In my program, only 1 of 3 students who enroll in
aerospace, graduate with an aerospace degree.
My second and third year as the concepts became
more advanced, I was working close to 32 hours
a week. I never thought of quitting, even when I
couldn’t finish an assignment. I loved what I was
learning, pouring myself into school and research.
My sophomore year, I joined a senior project team
researching field emission electric propulsion
(FEEP) systems for CubeSat implementation. A
FEEP is an ion propulsion system which creates
a strong electric field and sprays ions into this
electric field, accelerating them to exceptionally
high speeds. As chief engineer of the heating
system, I decided a nichrome wire heater was the
best option for the limited funds, space, and
4 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
temperature range of the CubeSat. I was tasked
with hitting a range of temperature which would
be hot enough to melt our propellant, Indium,
but ensure it was not hot enough to melt the
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic.
I began by researching heat transfer, as I was only
in my second year and had not yet taken a class
on it. I solved the battery wattage, amperage,
and thickness of the nichrome using a theoretical
conduction model. Then went on to determine
the insulation amount using a theoretical method
which I adjusted based on experimentation. Using
only nichrome wire, copper tubing, melamine
insulation, nonconductive fiberglass tape, a power
source, and stainless steel tubing, I set out to
create the heat source. I spent almost every hour
outside of class in the school’s structures lab. For
five months I iterated: calculating, testing, then
starting over. When I finally succeeded and called
my project lead his only response was disbelief;
we never expected the heat source to be more
than concept in our work. We went on to present
the team’s research at an American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference
at San Jose State University and were published by
AIAA as well. I learned the true meaning of learning
by doing and how to acquire a skillset through time
and diligence. This gave me a desire to continue
with a career in research and publishing.
During my third year, my part time job was taking
its toll. I did not have time to take part in another
research project. Instead, I channeled my energy
into my orbital mechanics class. We had a capstone
group project of designing a mission to divert
an asteroid from hitting earth. Three of my five
team members could not use the program our
calculations would be run on, so another student
and I did all the calculations. We spent hours
discussing the project with Prof. Gregory Lantoine,
a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) orbital mechanics
subject matter expert.
We designed a scout mission to deduce the
properties of the asteroid, designed the kinetic
impactor (the vehicle to divert the asteroid), and its
parking orbit. We simulated the impactor mission
every ten days. Once our solution was chosen, we
propagated the asteroids orbit after impact to
ensure it did not collide with earth in the future. A
panel at JPL graded our project and gave us extra
credit for our thoroughness.
My senior year working only 8 hours a week, I
earned my first college 4.0 and my design team
won an AIAA national masters level competition
for a long-range strategic missile design. USC’s Dr.
Donald Edberg was my professor. I used one of his
methods for two stage to orbit mass optimization
and modified it via a brute force method to
optimize a three stage to orbit design. Dr. Edberg
went on to mention this combination method in the
launch vehicle design book he is currently working
on.
Today, I work as a systems engineer at Los
Angeles Air Force Base Space and Missile Systems
Center (SMC). I work as a technical supervisor
over the research and development of launch
vehicle systems, where we work to create a more
iterative and collaborative environment between
government and industry. I chose to work at SMC
over two other job offers because I wanted to
continue working on launch vehicles and because
the air force will fully fund my master’s degree. A
master’s degree will help me gain more advanced
technical knowledge I can leverage to either stay in
government or transition to industry, before going
on to pursue a Ph.D. The “learn by doing” approach
is embedded in the Astronautical engineering
program at USC. The liquid propulsion lab allows
theoretical and experimental procedures to
succeed, as they’ve become the first student team
to reach space . I admire USC’S focus on industry,
from my conversations at USC’S preview day
with Mike Gruntman. I believe the curriculum in
ASTE 523 Design of Low-Cost Space Missions will
best fit my current career with the government.
I chose USC’s astronautical program because of
the recommendations of my peers along with its
diversity of propulsion, dynamics, and mission
disciplines. Furthermore, the technical classes
including orbital mechanics and space launch
vehicle design will advance my knowledge and
open opportunities to transition to industry. Dr.
Donald Edberg has also been an influential mentor
helping me explore launch vehicle design. Lastly,
to develop my orbital mechanics knowledge, I
would love to take both the required and technical
elective classes offered at USC. The diversity of
students, plethora of resources, and remarkable
faculty at USC will prepare me for a career in the
astronautical engineering industry.
USC is the best place for me to advance my career
plans in launch vehicle research and development,
or, space vehicle orbital mechanics or propulsion.
I am excited throw myself into research, as the
air force funding will allow me to focus on school
without working for the first time in my adult
life. My extensive skillset along with research
experience has served me well in my career thus
far, but in order to move forward in my career, I
need to expand my technical knowledge. I also
plan on earning a doctorate degree because I want
to represent the Latino community, who have a
0.7% PhD rate. For my Doctorate I am particularly
interested in launch vehicle systems or orbital
mechanics. The program at SMC along with a
masters and hopefully a PhD will advance my
career, allow me to be a leader in my community,
and practice my passion for space.
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Statement of
Purpose –
UCLA Master’s in
Environmental Engineering
(498 words)
Right off Montgomery station in San Francisco,
there is a grand staircase leading into the lobby of
the One Post building. Upon entrance, large stone
panels greet passersby at the wall of the lobby.
These pieces of architecture mark one of the most
challenging and fulfilling years of my life. However,
as our world continues to develop, we must be
prepared to address the environmental and social
implications construction will have on our lives.
With a Master’s in Environmental Engineering, I
plan to work adjacent to this industry to seek out
solutions to ensure its impacts are not inherited by
the following generations.
I first developed my excitement for construction at
One Post. Within months, my entire project team
was either fired or quit. In spite of its turbulent
nature, this project presented a significant growth
opportunity. It taught me the rigors of working
in construction and awarded me leadership
opportunities that I sometimes felt unprepared
for. After the departure of my previous team, I
sacrificed weekends and comfort to assume these
roles. Despite being the only woman and among
the youngest, I managed my project’s budget and
led meetings. This experience helped me develop
the perseverance to solve complex problems and
inspired me to tackle larger scale problems in my
industry.
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The construction industry contributes to
nearly 40% of carbon emissions in the U.S. Our
understanding of this industry’s impact has
developed over time. For example, concrete’s
production leaves a detrimental carbon footprint.
Yet, it is one of the most important materials on my
job site. Its strength makes it a valuable structural
element in infrastructure. This contrast poses an
important challenge. I believe in the construction
industry to be more environmentally conscious;
however, changes must be implemented in order
to do so. Obtaining a master’s in environmental
engineering will enhance my abilities to propose
these solutions.
In addition to environmental impacts, construction
can have deleterious effects on surrounding
communities. I worked as a field engineer at the
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a historically low-
income neighborhood. I attended a town hall
meeting during which the community members
discussed the negative impacts construction had on
their businesses, homes and livelihood. Although
noise, traffic, and dust control were my company’s
primary concerns, I witnessed gentrification’s long-
term effects on the community go unaddressed. My
company’s inability to recognize this instilled in me
a desire to study how policy can mandate societal
changes for social good.
UCLA’s program particularly interests me because
of the extensive course offerings. “Reinforced
Concrete Structural Elements” and “Physics of
Environmental Transport” will help me gain an
understanding of problems in construction and
provide me the resources to propose solutions. I
am interested in learning about Professor Sant’s
work on developing sustainable materials for
infrastructure and Professor Mohanty’s research
in sustainable urban development. I am eager to
study alongside the diverse students and faculty
who will prepare me to work towards bridging the
gap between engineering and policy change to
solve the problems inherited by my generation.
Personal Statement –
UCLA Master’s in Environmental
Engineering (499 Words)
In first grade, I was placed into “English Second
Language” classes, because my teachers assumed
English was not my primary language. As a Korean-
American woman growing up in predominantly
white communities, I struggled when I did not
see myself reflected in anyone at my schools. At
a young age, this feeling of “otherness” hindered
my belief in what I could achieve. Instead of being
challenged like the other students, I was placed
in a separate classroom with the computer as my
instructor. The perceptions others held of me
shaped the way I viewed myself. Unfortunately, I’ve
learned that this experience is not unique to me or
other young women and people of color pursuing
STEM fields.
Due to these experiences, I found alternate
avenues to success by working in my community.
As the project manager for Seismic Outreach at
UCLA, I taught civil engineering curricula to middle
school students. During the program, I met Jamal,
a disruptive student. Through our time together,
I learned that his outbursts were rooted in his
frustrations with not understanding math. Jamal
had never heard of an engineer and it became clear
to me that he did not have the resources to be
successful in his math classes. I told Jamal that his
creative mind added value to our classroom, and
observed a tangible change in his confidence level.
At the end of the program he expressed his desire
to be a structural engineer. In all the ways that my
teachers did not believe in me, I converted those
experiences to empower and believe in Jamal.
Education created barriers for students, including
myself, and these difficulties continued to unravel
in my career. Being the only woman on my 50+
person job, I experienced microaggressions
everyday. “Alyson you should smile, a girl shouldn’t
be so serious”. Comments like this confirmed the
expectations others had, which did not include me
being a leader. I had to prove my leadership in my
job by standing firm in my negotiations, arriving
early in the mornings and staying later than my
co-workers, and memorizing the project drawings.
Only then did I gain the respect for my position as a
manager on this project.
While working full-time, I practiced this
commitment to supporting students of color in
STEM fields by volunteering with high school
students in Oakland. As a mentor with ACE
Mentors, I saw how important it was for young
people to engage with professionals in positions
they may have never heard of. Students cannot
be what they cannot see. Students should know
that STEM fields are accessible regardless of
past academic trauma or societal barriers to
education. Therefore, in addition to my goals as
an environmental engineer, I also plan to continue
my work as an educator and mentor. The barriers
I overcame to achieve success in the STEM field
along with my understanding of the structural
barriers for women and people of color, have
prepared me to be successful in the graduate
Environmental Engineering program at UCLA.
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 7
Statement of Purpose –
UCLA Masters in Education, Student Affairs
(494 words)
W
orking as a college adviser solidified
my commitment to the transformative
power of higher education. My first
year serving at Garden Grove High School, I was
the sole college access resource on a campus
of over 2,000 students, at one of the only Title
I schools in the district. The majority of my
students were from low-income and recently
immigrated families. I asked to be placed in the
city I grew up in, as my peers and I did not have
access to a resource like this at our high school.
I managed to actively support more than 90% of
the senior class of 600 students in applying to at
least one college and completing a financial aid
application, the highest percentage for the school
in the last 5 years. This was possible because I
created networks of support for students starting
from their freshman year to change the school’s
culture. While working in collaboration with
school counselors and administrators, I balanced
classroom presentations, one- on-one advising, and
advocated for students to ensure they were given
holistic support in their postsecondary pathways.
In addition, I trained and supervised a small group
of college age mentors from local universities to
help support my work during the busiest times of
college application and financial aid season.
After just four months serving with the College
Advising Corps (CAC), I was selected as the
Research and Evaluation Fellow. I was charged with
bringing the organization’s national research and
data collection practices back to my host corps at
USC where I developed intake and retrospective
surveys for our 39 partner schools. Through this
process I was trained in large scale data evaluation
techniques using statistical analysis and excel pivot
tables. I was selected out of 800 advisers to give
a presentation to share my first-hand experience
serving large student populations at our CAC
National Conference.
8 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
Even with all my work to get students to college,
the idea of sending them off to universities where
they will continue to face the very same barriers
they narrowly overcame in high school, pushes me
to strive for more. After 3 months, I have seen some
of my top students return to attend community
colleges, and although I hope for the opposite, I
expect to see more back home by the end of the
academic year. This is the devastating reality that
has led me to focus on retention and persistence
of students from historically disadvantaged
communities as my source of motivation for
pursuing a Master’s Degree in Student Affairs at
UCLA.
I want my education to be centered in praxis,
while maintaining a foundation in research
and innovation in the field. The UCLA Master’s
in Student Affairs program with it’s focus on
developing scholar practitioners is the perfect
environment for me to do this. After developing
my skills further in the MSA program, I hope to
work in a University-run retention program for
underrepresented students, and eventually pursue
an Education based Doctorate.
Statement of Purpose –
Harvard Master’s of Education, Higher Education
Concentration (1,490 words)
I am a proud Latina: a product of a low-income, single parent household, and a graduate from UCLA.
I say each identifier with intention as there was a period of time when I did not feel it was possible to
be all of these at once. My earliest memories are being pulled out of bed by my mom in the middle of
the night, so we could escape to a family member’s house before my dad, a belligerent alcoholic, came
home. It took years for my parents to divorce, as my mother was a stay at home mom without a formal
education after high school, and my dad was the provider of the household. When my four siblings,
mom and I moved into a two bedroom apartment, our means of survival included child support and
my mom’s work as a caregiver. As my older siblings aged out of child support, it became less viable to
afford our basic necessities.
Although it may sound bleak, this is not the way I Through all the adversity we faced, three of us
see my childhood. At the center of every challenge have obtained a Bachelor’s degree or more and two
was love and support across my extended family. are in college; breaking the cycle of poverty in our
We never had to worry about having food on family. I am well aware that we are the exception
the table or potential eviction because we came to the norm. Being an exception and overcoming
together to support each other. Family is a barriers is not good enough for me. Removing
strongly held value across Latinx cultures. This was barriers altogether, by having a career focused on
proven to me, when I began to work at the UCLA college student retention, is the way I am going to
Downtown Labor Center (DLC). At the DLC, I push forward my pursuit of educational equity. A
connected with families, namely single mothers and Master’s Degree in Higher Education will allow me
their children on a popular education program for to continue to use my own experiences to support
day laborers. I was able to see myself, my siblings, the success of communities in which disadvantages
and my mother in the work I was doing. This are the focus, and strengths are overlooked. A
was when it clicked that my identities, that I had commitment to increasing diversity is not just a
considered vulnerable, are an asset that allows me catchy slogan or set of statistics for me, it is who
to connect with and inspire students and families I am.
from diverse backgrounds. Rather than seeing what
the families were lacking, due to various systemic The summer before graduating, I worked as a
injustices, like precarious immigration statuses New Student Adviser through the New Student
and grueling work conditions, I could directly and Transitions Program at UCLA. Right away, I
relate to the ways they were resource rich with was overwhelmingly disheartened by the severe
family support. The Parent Worker Project was a difference in academic preparedness between
weekly commitment where I mentored students, students from low-income, resource lacking
and simultaneously educated their parents on communities, and those from the opposite.
self-advocacy, navigation of the K-12 system, and Students from the surrounding areas such as South
higher education. I saw how supportive, single Central, Lynwood, and Compton were often coming
mothers, despite having little knowledge of the in with drastically different access to opportunities
school system as recent immigrants, did everything like Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment
they could to invest in their children’s education. course work. Many of them had dreams of
Parents rarely missed a session. I reflected on what becoming doctors, but never had access to a single
a program like this might have done for my mother advanced math or science course. I would return to
and us children. my dorm room and cry, knowing that the
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 9
introductory classes in Calculus and Organic
Chemistry were “weeder” classes, meant to filter
out students who were not academically prepared.
These students were set up to fail, or learn that
their career path was not one they had prepared
for in high school in comparison to their peers. It
physically pained me to know that my students,
would likely become demoralized, pushed out of
their desired career fields, and maybe even drop
out. I knew this was likely to happen, as it was my
own experience.
Through my Education classes I was aware of the
staggering difference in persistence rates between
Students of Color and their White counterparts. As
a result, I advised every student about the specific
student groups and resources for finding support,
something I was not educated about my freshman
year. My advising sessions not only addressed
their educational goals, but their deeply held
fears and concerns in attending college. In almost
every scenario, this led to sharing my own story
of almost dropping out due to feeling inferior, and
explaining the steps I took in order to overcome
this challenge. One of the most difficult parts for
me as an incoming student was thinking I was alone
in my feelings of inadequacy. When I shared these
challenges with the first year students I often heard
a sigh of relief, and even an exchange of tears.
While working as a College Adviser at Garden
Grove High School, I kept the lessons from
my UCLA advising experience in mind while I
counseled students on potential majors and
career paths. After only three months on the job,
I found myself burning out from the inequalities I
was seeing. I was the sole college access resource
on a campus of over 2,000 students, at one of
the only Title I schools in the district, where the
majority of students were from low-income and
recently immigrated families. The college eligible
rate for the male Students of Color on campus
was significantly lower than any other group.
Motivating them to continue through higher
education often felt impossible. After repeatedly
being told “No, thank you” by these students,
I brought the resources that they had shyly
expressed interest in to our school. I contacted a
professor from a local community college to teach
a “Music Production” class during lunch.
10 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
Twenty originally disinterested male students
showed up and submitted applications to the
college the very next day. My students were
able to see that their interests could be pursued,
nurtured, and valued in a school setting. Despite
the challenges, I managed to actively support more
than 90% of the senior class of 600 students in
applying to at least one college and completing a
financial aid application, the highest percentage for
the school in the last 5 years.
Even with all my work to get students to college,
the idea of sending them off to universities where
they will continue to face the same barriers they
narrowly overcame in high school, pushes me
to strive for more. I have seen some of my most
driven students disenroll from their colleges
and universities after only one semester. This is
the devastating reality that has led me to focus
on retention and persistence of students from
historically disadvantaged communities as my
motivation to pursue a Master’s Degree in Higher
Education at Harvard. It is absolutely necessary
that I be a part of the solution to this nationwide
issue. Not just for myself, but for my past, present,
and future students.
While taking education classes as an
undergraduate, I was able to directly apply what
I was learning in the classroom to my work in
labor organizing and facilitating youth workshops.
However, since working full time, I have felt an
overwhelming urge to continue my educational
practice and expand my research skills and
exposure to innovative methods. This is why I
need to pursue the Masters of Education in Higher
Education at Harvard. Most of the program faculty
are scholar practitioners, a goal I have begun to
work toward. In particular, I am excited for the
chance to work directly with Assistant Professor
Dr. Anthony A. Jack, who I had the distinct pleasure
of hearing from as a keynote speaking at our
National College Advising Corps Conference this
past December. Dr. Jack’s work, specifically around
students who are “Doubly Disadvantaged” not
only speaks to my own experience of being a low-
income student of color at an elite institution, but
to those of the many students I have worked with in
my professional experiences as well.
I want my education to be centered in praxis,
while maintaining a foundation in research and
innovation in the field. The Harvard Graduate
School of Education with its focus on developing
scholar practitioners is where I can truly see myself
ascend to this goal. After expanding both my
research and practice based skills further in
the Higher Education program, I hope to work
in a University-run retention program for
underrepresented students, and eventually pursue
an Education based Doctorate.
Statement of
Purpose –
UC Berkeley Master’s in Public
Health (1,242 words)
Just off the 405 freeway, south of Los Angeles, a
smoky skyline of oil refineries extends for miles
along the coast. This industrial zone is home to
the city of Wilmington, as well as to the Port
of Los Angeles, two rail yards, and the highest
concentration of refineries anywhere in the state.
For three generations my family – just one family
in a vibrant Latino community of 60,000 people
– has called Wilmington home. Both as a resident
and as an activist in the local environmental justice
movement, I have been repeatedly shocked and
dismayed by the incredible power these toxic
industries wield, and frustrated by the disjointed
approach to improving health equity for the people
most affected. It is impossible for me to ignore the
deep structural inequities that keep the people of
Wilmington living in a hazardous environment with
little access to quality healthcare, which is why I am
determined to pursue a career in city planning and
public health.
Access to information was always spotty growing
up in Wilmington. You would hear about someone
getting shot nearby. Maybe you would catch
the person’s name, maybe not. You would hear
about an explosion at the refinery, wondering
whether the fallout was settling silently on your
neighborhood. But you never heard the positive
news: the cultural events, the small victories, the
strong community bonds. After graduating from
college with a degree in architecture and moving
back home, I committed to the struggles of a city
that I saw with new eyes. I started working on a
blog with my good friend Kat – The Wilmington
Wire – with the humble goal of sharing information
that accurately represented events and issues in
the community.
We started by reporting on local events. Later,
as our confidence and audience grew, we began
to delve into complex social issues affecting
communities of color. I explored the region’s
extremely high incidence of asthma, and its
relationship to the nearby refineries and port. I
attended neighborhood and city council meetings,
summarized important discussions among
local leaders, and highlighted the troublesome
consequences of new projects, telling those
that would be affected how to make their voices
heard. Within a few months, we became the go-to
contact for anyone who wanted to make an impact
on Wilmington, fielding calls from nonprofits,
researchers, radio shows, and newspapers. KQED,
the Bay Area public radio affiliate, made me their
Wilmington community heath correspondent,
helping me reach a larger audience and engage
in a broader dialogue about health equity in
communities of color.
When we started, all we wanted to do was inform
people. As it turned out, and against all odds,
this simple role quickly led to direct activism.
We organized workshops for Womyn’s Month,
discussing taboo topics like sexual health while
taking into account the unique needs of women
of color. The Greenlining Institute, a multi-ethnic
public policy research and advocacy institute,
asked us to organize a demonstration against two
refineries in our area that had strongly backed
2010’s Proposition 23, an anti-environmental
measure. Because of our dedication to the
Wilmington community and our clear sense of
purpose, we were able to bring groups to the
table that didn’t normally work together. The
things we were able to accomplish together
served as a powerful lesson in the importance of
collaboratively overcoming community silos.
The following year I began research on a
Fulbright fellowship in Brazil studying community
participatory methods for evaluating the effects
of the built environment on public health in the
favelas of Rio de Janeiro. I worked closely with the
Center for Health Promotion (CEDAPS), a Brazilian
public health nonprofit, on developing the pilot
YouthBuild program in Brazil. We taught basic
reading, writing, and math skills to 30 youth using
the construction of a real community asset as a
medium. I led the group in conducting evaluations
of their built environment and its effect on their
health. Through these evaluations, we mapped
zones based on safety, access to healthy foods, and
transportation, among others, and developed 5, 10
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 11
and 20- year maps as future visions of their
community. In the execution phase of this plan,
the students built handicap access for two houses
whose residents could not leave due to their
disabilities. The students also retrofitted hazardous
homes, and began a campaign to lobby the city
to install closed sewage lines in their community.
Seeing the incredible obstacles these community
leaders overcame despite minimal resources
further inspired me to be a leader in my own
community.
Living and working in Rio confirmed my decision to
pursue a career in public health and city planning
to fulfill my commitment to Wilmington. In order
to continue making positive change at home, I
need to build my professional skills to match my
passion. There is still such a long way to go to have
a tangible impact on the health and quality of life
of residents of my community. The problems we
face are too complex for simple solutions. We can’t
address environmental degradation or create
healthy communities without addressing issues of
race, class, poverty, violence, and immigrant rights.
Neither community members nor institutions
are ready to address these issues on their own;
it is going to take a cooperative approach, with
institutions validating community wisdom. I see the
Health and Social Behavior (HSB) concentration
as an ideal training ground for developing an
interdisciplinary approach to understanding
and addressing the social, cultural, political and
economic structures underlying health disparities.
This interdisciplinary approach is embedded in the
public health program at UC Berkeley. I admire
HSB’s focus on addressing the social determinants
of health, while issues of race, socioeconomic
status, and gender are at the forefront of the
conversation. I believe that the curriculum will best
prepare me for my future work at the intersection
of public health and city planning. I chose
Berkeley’s MCP program partly because of the
opportunity to apply to the MPH program, where
a cohort of MCP/MPH students is leading the way
in merging these fields. I met Prof. Jason Corburn
during my time in Brazil, when he was developing
a research proposal with the organization I was
working for. I am currently taking his Healthy
Cities class and have begun working with him on
the Healthy Richmond initiative. He has been an
influential mentor in helping me explore the fields
of public health and city planning. I am excited to be
taking a course on Community-Based Participatory
Research with Prof. Meredith Minkler in the
12 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
upcoming Spring semester, and I look forward to
engaging with Prof. Rachel Morello and learning
more about her environmental justice work. Lastly,
I would love to work with Prof. Lori Dorfman to
further develop my skills in producing multimedia
content. The diversity of students, wealth of
resources, and remarkable faculty at Berkeley
will prepare me for working at the intersection of
planning, public health, and policy.
As our world continues to rapidly urbanize, we
need to be prepared to address the environmental
health hazards imposed on disenfranchised
communities locally and globally. There has never
been a more critical time for planners, public health
experts, and community members to be speaking
the same language. The dual Master’s Degree in
City and Regional Planning and Public Health at
UC Berkeley will give me the skills I need to bridge
the gap between design, health, and activism,
and incorporate this interdisciplinary approach
directly into my future efforts to make Wilmington,
and cities like it, more sustainable, healthy, and
equitable.
Personal
Statement –
UC Berkeley Master’s in
Public Health / Master’s in
City Planning (771 words)
In 2010 I visited a friend’s class at the University of Miami, where a Haitian student was giving a
presentation on his experience studying in the U.S. He told us, “In your country, you go off to college,
and leave your community behind. In my country, I am the one who has had the privilege to go off and
be educated, and everyone expects me to come back and be a leader in my community.” His words
have stuck with me ever since then.
Coming from a low-income community of color
with parents who never finished college, being
accepted to UC Berkeley was a major event. For
my family and I, college represented a way to
leave behind the struggles we grew up with; to
have experiences they always dreamed for me. I
worked hard and made personal sacrifices for this
achievement, but I attribute my success and my
ability to overcome barriers to the community of
people who have supported me throughout my
life. I have been privileged to receive a world-class
education and fellowships to work and travel
around the world, but I have a responsibility to
return to my community and give back.
In contrast to the individualistic ideals highly
valued in American society, Latino culture is
strongly communal. When family friends were
struggling, we took them and their five children
into our home for a year, no questions asked. When
my family had major financial problems, there was
never any question of having a place to stay and
food to eat, because we could always count on
the support of extended family. When my family
couldn’t afford my dance classes, my dance studio
covered my competition fees in exchange for me
teaching a few hours of class per week.
Two weeks before the start of my senior year
of high school, I was in a near-fatal car accident.
I spent two months hospitalized and a full year
recovering. It was a physical and emotional
struggle to return to school and finish with my
graduating class. I have never forgotten how
our entire community came together to help my
family. People I had never met came to visit me in
the hospital and show their support. My friends
would come over to “babysit,” helping me into the
bathroom and around the house, just to give my
mom a break. Neighbors and friends would help
take my siblings to school and dance, because my
mom still had four other children to care for. All
these moments have shaped my dedication to
giving back to my community, to try to repay just a
tiny fraction of what they have given me.
While studying architecture in college, I focused
on working with disadvantaged communities in
Latin America. Through these transformative
experiences, I realized that where I needed to be
and where I could make the biggest impact was
in my own disadvantaged community, where I
fully understood the context of local problems.
While the American Dream teaches us that all you
have to do to be successful is work hard, it isn’t as
simple for many people of color. There are so many
structural barriers that make it difficult to access
higher education, keep us living in hazardous
environments, and fuel discrimination against
us. It isn’t enough for me as an individual to have
overcome these barriers. I have to return to my
roots to put the skills I have gained into practice,
to make my community a more equitable place, a
place where many others will have access to the
opportunities that I have had.
I have chosen to pursue a career in city planning
and public health to address not just the
environmental health hazards that threaten
the health and safety of my community, but also
broader issues of community development:
access to education, immigrant rights, violence,
and poverty. I have begun this work as an
environmental justice activist at the grassroots
level, but it is now time for me to tackle these
issues as a highly skilled professional. Working
as an activist in my own community, I have been
frustrated by the work of academics and nonprofits
who look at the wrong problems because they do
not incorporate real community participation. At
the same time, I see the limitations of activism that
doesn’t mobilize institutional support to influence
long-term change. The UC Berkeley dual Master’s
in City and Regional Planning and Public Health
program is perfectly positioned to give me the skills
I need to be a leader in my community, and bridge
the gap between activism and professionalism to
help transform my community and cities like it.
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 13
 Statement When we started, all we wanted to do was inform
people. As it turned out, and against all odds, this
information led to action. The Greenlining Institute,

of Purpose – a multi-ethnic public policy research and advocacy

institute, asked us to organize a demonstration
against two refineries in our area that had strongly
backed California’s Proposition 23, an anti-
MIT Master’s in City Planning environmental measure. Because of our dedication
(1,120 words) to the Wilmington community and our clear
sense of purpose, we were able to overcome silos,
bringing groups to the table that didn’t normally
work together to collaboratively accomplish our
Off the 405 freeway, just south of Los Angeles,
goal of defeating Prop 23.
there is a smoky skyline of oil refineries that
extends for miles along the coast. This is the city of
The following year I began research on a
Wilmington, CA. This industrial zone is home to the
Fulbright fellowship in Brazil studying community
Port of Los Angeles, two rail yards, and the highest
participatory methods for evaluating the effects
concentration of refineries anywhere in the state.
of the built environment on public health in the
For three generations my family – just one family
favelas of Rio de Janeiro. I worked closely with
among a vibrant Latino community of 60,000
the Center for Health Promotion (CEDAPS), a
people – has called Wilmington our home. While I
Brazilian public health nonprofit, on developing
love my city, I am overwhelmed by the unyielding
the pilot YouthBuild program in Brazil. We worked
power these toxic industries possess, and
with 30 youth, using construction to teach basic
frustrated by the disjointed approach to improving
reading, writing, and math skills, culminating in
health equity in Wilmington. It is impossible for
a final project to build a community asset. I led
me to ignore the deep structural inequities that
the group in conducting evaluations of their built
keep Wilmington residents living in a hazardous
environment and its effect on their health. Through
environment with little access to quality healthcare
these evaluations, we mapped zones based on
and for this reason, I am determined to pursue a
safety, access to healthy foods, areas of activity,
city planning career with a focus on public health.
and transportation, among others, and developed
5, 10, and 20-year maps as future visions of their
After graduating from college with a degree
community. In the first phase of this plan, the
in architecture focusing on international
students built handicap access for two houses
development, I returned to Wilmington and quickly
whose residents could not leave due to their
became engaged in the struggles of a city that
disabilities. The students also retrofitted hazardous
I saw with new eyes. My good friend Kat and I
homes, and began a campaign to get the city to
started a blog called The Wilmington Wire with the
install closed sewage lines in their community.
humble goal of sharing information that accurately
represented events and issues in the community.
Living and working in Rio finalized my decision
to go into the fields of public health and urban
We started by reporting local events. Later, as
planning to fulfill my commitment to Wilmington.
our confidence and audience grew, we began
While the American Dream teaches us that all you
to delve into complex social issues affecting
have to do to be successful is work hard, it isn’t as
communities of color. I explored the region’s
simple for many people of color. There are so many
extremely high incidence of asthma, and its
structural barriers that make it difficult to access
relationship to the nearby refineries and port. I
higher education, keep us living in hazardous
attended neighborhood and city council meetings,
environments, and fuel discrimination against
summarized important discussions from these
us. It isn’t enough for me as an individual to have
meetings, and highlighted the troublesome
overcome these barriers. I have to return to my
consequences of new projects, like a proposed
roots to apply the privileges I have had to make my
new rail yard. Within a few months, we became
hometown a more equitable place, a place where
the go-to contact for any group that wanted
many others will have access to the opportunities
to make an impact in Wilmington, fielding calls
that I have had.
from nonprofits, researchers, radio shows, and
newspapers.

14 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 15
In order to continue making positive change at
home, I need to build my professional skills in this
field to match my passion. There is still such a
long way to go to have a real impact on the health
and quality of life of residents in my hometown.
The problems we face are too complex for simple
solutions. We can’t address environmental
degradation or create healthy communities
without addressing issues of race, class, poverty,
violence, and immigrant rights. Neither community
members nor institutions are ready to address
these issues on their own. It is going to take a
cooperative approach, with institutions validating
community wisdom. I see city planning as an
interdisciplinary field and political process that cuts
across these diverse fields, where social, political
and economic structures are analyzed to develop
spatial solutions to creating healthier communities.
This interdisciplinary approach is embedded in
the city-planning program at MIT. I admire MIT’s
focus on the social implications of planning as a
practice and believe that the hands-on, problem-
solving program will best prepare me for my
future work merging the fields of public health
and urban planning. I plan to cross-register
courses at the Harvard School of Public Health
and enrolling in many Practicums to further my
interdisciplinary study. CoLab is a perfect fit for
my work in Wilmington, as I have experience
sharing community-based knowledge, which I am
ready to integrate with professional and academic
resources. I met Professors Xavier Briggs and
Phillip Clay at the Open House, and they have been
particularly influential in my desire to study in the
Housing, Community, and Economic Development
program group. The diversity of students, wealth
of resources, and remarkable faculty at MIT will
prepare me for working at the intersection of
planning, public health, and policy.
As our world continues to rapidly urbanize, we
need to be prepared to address the environmental
health hazards imposed on disenfranchised
communities locally and globally. There has never
been a more critical time for planners, public
health experts, and community members to be
speaking the same language. As someone who has
experience moving between the sectors of design,
health, and activism, I am dedicated to helping
bridge the gap between these three disciplines.
The Master’s Degree in City Planning at MIT will
give me the skills I need to become fluent in that
language and incorporate it directly into my future
16 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
efforts to make Wilmington, and cities like it, more
sustainable, healthy, and equitable.
Statement
of Purpose –
Cornell Master of Architecture
(Professional) (985 words)
In the summer of 2009, I traveled to Cambodia on
a building restoration project with the Institute
of International Education to help small villages
build homes and churches in areas still affected
by the Khmer Rouge genocide. The Khmer Rouge,
a radical communist government, took nearly 2
million lives by the late 1970s and lingered till the
1990s. As a young adolescent, I wanted to “make
an impact” with the idealism of building equitable
societies for countries less fortunate than mine.
My time there was spent doing hard labor such
as mixing cement and laying the foundation. I
didn’t know which was worse: wheelbarrowing
large boulders through muddy paths in a tropical
climate, or the meager portions of seemingly
unappetizing foreign cuisine that followed. Some
days, I wondered if the task was worth it. Even
though I was not cognizant of it, then, I am grateful
for the opportunity to have served. It turned out to
be a seminal experience of how a direct impact was
made through architecture.
The following year, one of my professors in a 2D
design course asked me to consider applying to Art
Center College of Design. I was used to drawing
nude models and perspectives, but the concept
of design was foreign. Graphic design was fun,
exciting, and engaging, but—suffice to say—I was
a poor student. It wasn’t long until I dropped out
of college and enlisted in the Marine Corps. The
time throughout my enlistment had absolutely
nothing to do with design or creativity. Instead, I
had spent my time waking up early, making my bed,
and hiking long distances. As it turned out, these
were remarkably valuable lessons in leadership,
character, and perspective. It was mixing cement
and laying foundation for the journey to come.
What had felt like a hiatus from school was an
education in growing up.
After my four years of service, I reoriented my
focus back on studying design at the Minneapolis
College of Art and Design. My work progressed
quickly and opened opportunities to work at
the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) and the Walker
Art Center (WAC). When I first stepped into the
AAM, I was confounded by the transparency of
the building. You could see the museum’s internal
structure from the outside, as well as the views of
Aspen’s mountainscape from within. Shigeru Ban’s
vision for the AAM was to unify the building and
its surroundings. Compare this with Herzog & de
Meuron’s expansion of the WAC, an aluminum-
meshed cube nearly devoid of windows—Frank
Ghery meets brutalism. These structures—the
aggregate of materials of an entity and its
relationships to us and its place—was similar to
how my graphic design work has always been most
interesting when exploring visual form through
material, texture, and (typographic) structure.
Studying graphic design has taught me to feel the
visual weight in relation to its physical. Good design
requires an understanding of how it translates
across multiple mediums. Meaning, materials
matter just as much as aesthetics do, thus the
ability to think with your hands is a necessary skill
of a designer. I am most excited when investigating
and experimenting with materials. How does cold
metal bend? What are the advantages of wood,
and what are its limits? What are the limits of 3D
printing? These questions often lead me to more
meaningful discourse regarding the boundary
between pragmatism and idealism.
Beginning to understand the shared lexicon
between graphic design and architecture confirmed
my decision to pursue a career in architecture and
to continually explore the dichotomy of design—of
form and function. Architecture does not end with
the design of a building but rather begins with it. In
other words, I believe that it’s not the what that’s
so important, but the how—how can a building
improve a community? Especially the ones that
have been devastated by natural disasters and
race politics. Climate change and gentrification
are more urgent than ever and have now become
a part of the structure’s equation. Moreover, as
new technologies are fundamentally changing the
urban landscape, constructing buildings raises a
set of environmental, political, and spatial issues
that will decisively affect how we inhabit the
future. I believe this poses as many opportunities as
challenges for what architecture could look like for
future generations. Through Cornell’s education,
I hope to further extend my critical thinking in
design processes and design systems to create
palpable relationships between culture and
environment.
Not only is Cornell AAP known for its forward-
thinking in technology and innovation, but
also its integration of sustainable practice and
methodology. What I admire the most about the
M.Arch program at AAP is that they consider the
broader conversation of politics and education
in architecture. I most look forward to engaging
with Prof. Jason Long and Prof. Joan Ockman,
because through them, I know that I will have a
strong foundation of architectural history, theory,
and practice. Furthermore, I am eager to learn
from Prof. Benjamin Markham how acoustics
can transform the spaces we inhabit. I see myself
being successful at Cornell AAP’s open studio
environment, where I’m surrounded by a cohort
of students who are encouraged to strive to
democratize spaces that face socio-economic
challenges.
It doesn’t take genocide to understand that
there are communities that need healing. Our
future buildings must contribute to solving for
disasters, poverty, and equality that is already
present throughout our cities. Architecture must
transcend the aesthetic of a building as a reflection
of society and the impact it creates in its immediate
surroundings. Making an impact, therefore, begins
in small and little unsexy ways: in the struggle
between the architect and his/her practice; in
mixing cement and laying the foundation. If my
journey with architecture could begin with this
school, I am confident that Cornell could shape me
as an architect who contributes to democratizing
our cultural landscape as well as finding solutions
for our built environment.
Diversity
Statement –
UCLA Master’s in Urban and
Regional Planning (815 words)
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 17
My background and skills give me the potential
to make a substantial contribution to the
diversity mission of UCLA. My direct experience
confronting the challenges of disadvantaged
groups and research interests in health inequities
give me a well-rounded perspective on the crucial
importance of diversity.
My experience of adversity started when I was very
young. As the oldest of five children in my family,
I always had to test the waters first. I was the one
who had to figure things out on my own. My friends
always had parents who could help them with
homework, but my parents couldn’t help me after
elementary school. My peers had parents who
helped them with FAFSA and college applications,
while I had to figure it out for myself. We didn’t
have a functioning computer in my house during my
school years, and I got my first laptop only several
months into my freshman year of college. Seeing
the financial troubles that my parents faced drove
me to want to succeed despite the barriers to
higher education I encountered as a Latina woman
from a low-income family.
Later, there were other challenges that shaped
my path toward planning with a social purpose.
At the age of 16, two weeks before the start of
my senior year of high school, I was in a near-fatal
car accident. The doctors told me I would be in a
wheelchair for six months, out of school for a year,
and that I wouldn’t graduate with my class. During
physical therapy I tripled my exercise routines,
amazing my doctors with my determination. I
couldn’t get tutors in the hospital because of my
advanced classes, so I fought to get back to school,
returning to my classes within three months. The
entire school year, I never attended a full week of
classes, due to the constant doctors’ appointments,
physical therapy, and periodic surgeries. Despite
this, I graduated near the top of my class and
attended UC Berkeley. I had to deal with the veil
of invisibility and the social exclusion that go hand
in hand with disabilities in our society. After years
of living with the consequences of this injury, I can
truly empathize with people with disabilities.
My personal experience with a physical impairment
inspired me to apply the design principles I was
learning to communities that sorely needed them.
In the fall of 2008, I led a team of architecture
students to Bolivia, where we designed and built
handicap accessibility for an orphanage for children
with disabilities. In Bolivia, having a disability is
very often associated with homelessness,
18 Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources
joblessness, and destitution. It is a recipe for near precursor to effective change in the field of urban
total social exclusion. My senior thesis involved planning.
extensive research into design principles for
handicapped access. This research gave me a
deep awareness of the many obstacles to full
participation in society that people with disabilities
face.
After graduating college and returning to my
hometown of Wilmington, CA, I became actively
engaged in the fight for environmental justice.
The rate of childhood asthma there is double the
national average, and rates of obesity and cancer
are much higher than surrounding communities.
I reported on the links between these problems
and deep health-related inequities, such as the
high concentration of toxic industries, as the
Wilmington health correspondent for KQED.
Founding the community blog the Wilmington
Wire and using it as a platform for political activism
gave me an appreciation for the importance of
political engagement for everyone.
I continued my research into participatory
development during my Fulbright research in Rio
de Janeiro. I worked with and studied CEDAPS,
a public health nonprofit that coordinates
hundreds of community leaders from the region’s
favelas. I gained valuable insights into community
participatory development, and how inclusion of
a diverse cross-section of leaders and activists
gave the organization its power. It was perceived
as a fair representative of many groups’ interests,
and successfully lobbied municipal and state
governments. This work furthered my interest in
research topics around disadvantaged groups and
their access to resources.
My background encapsulates an extremely diverse
background, both in terms of the communities
I have been a part of, and the subjects I have
studied and worked on. Throughout all of these
experiences, a common theme has been my
ability to bridge divides between people. This is
not a simple task. It involves developing empathy
between cultures with very different values. It has
required me to learn languages both literally and
figuratively. And most of all, it has been driven by
my deep belief that it is only through collaborative
approaches among diverse individuals that we
will be able to tackle the problems presented by
a rapidly urbanizing world. My work at UCLA will
strengthen diversity and equal opportunity not
because I see these things as ends in themselves,
but because I believe they are a necessary
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources 19
Check out youtube.com/laurenvaldez for more resources