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JD/MA Law and IR Joint Degree, Romanian

At the root of my desire to pursue a career in law are an intense love and sense of connection with people worldwide, especially those in need of essential resources. This sense of connection and destiny poignant for me stems from my multicultural and ethnic background, global volunteering, and working experience. I am a 23-year-old woman from Romania who feels strongly that I have already established an impressive track record that makes me an excellent candidate for this competitive program. Experiencing some of the worst moments of the oppressive communist regime, with little access to the outside world, I learned to be patient, constructive, and creative and to seize the opportunity as it arises. I also knew how to exercise a deep sense of moral obligation to serve and help others by participating in the struggle for freedom and peace with justice, an enormously profound passion was aroused deep within me for seeing and experiencing the world of international affairs and relations.

Longing for contact with the outside world and to expand my educational experience, I left my home and family at 16 years old and flew for the first time to the United States as an exchange student. Embracing this challenging opportunity, I successfully built a new life in Minneapolis, where I earned a B.A. degree from XXXX College in International Relations with a particular focus on International Business. Despite some catching up to do in English, I graduated in only 3 1/2 years with a 3.81 GPA, Magna Cum Laude, which provided me with a solid feeling of empowerment and direction. I have successfully adapted to a melting pot; of cultures and identities which I had never experienced before and profound changes in my perspective on life, and this has helped me to open up my mind and see beyond my own experience, increasing my desire to work in the international legal field.

While in college, seeking to broaden my educational experience and take on new intellectual challenges, I worked at two internships as a paralegal. The versatility and challenge of my work as a more responsible in my decisions and judgments, and this experience has helped me to realize better how much I enjoy learning and challenging myself. I find the work of an attorney to be exquisitely challenging, stimulating, and generally gratifying. Every day, I wanted to research new cases and figure out the pieces of a new puzzle. I see becoming an attorney as an enormous responsibility, which helps keep me focused and committed to what I am doing. During the internships, I drafted wills, prepared papers for the Court, participated in client; interviews and meetings, experienced many cases in court, and even had the privilege of representing the law firm in a Small Court Case once and won. After seeing a lawyer's positive impact on others' lives, my desire to attend law school and pursue a career in law became even more vital.

In a further search for additional opportunities to refine my ability to think from multiple perspectives, I studied abroad in Germany for one semester with the IES European Union Program. As part of the program, I visited France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Latvia. I was able to meet with well-known ambassadors, diplomats, and political figures of these countries. These experiences also strengthened my goal to pursue a career in law by introducing me to different aspects of International and European law.

The University of XXXX  is my first choice for Law School because I want to practice International Law hence, my interest in the joint JD/MA in International Studies. I am also attracted to the department's proactive spirit and proven commitment to community service, as reflected by its multiple Oregon State Bar Pro Bono Challenge awards. University of XXXX's reputation for academic excellence and its resources also plays a significant role in my law school decision. I believe that your school and community will help me get out into the world well prepared/primed and ready to offer my best in the service of others. I see the University of XXXX as the best place to prepare myself to fight competently for the advancement of International Human Rights. Volunteering is not only a passion of mine but also one of my daily vitamins for fulfillment. I have been groomed since infancy for service to others. Ever since I was a small child, I remember spending Christmas day surrounded by orphans. Every year my parents and I would gather hundreds of presents and food supplies for the orphanages in our city. Malnourished and living in abysmal conditions, the gratitude, smiles, and unflinching optimism of these children will remain with me always. While in college, I spent year-and-a-half volunteering with The Campus Kitchen, cooking and serving food to the poorest members of the XXXX community, primarily minorities.

I organized Food and Clothing donations, Drove around our campus, and volunteered for the Feed My Starving Children campaign. Honoring my roots and my people, I also spent 10 hours a week in the summer of 2004 teaching English and U.S. culture to children from Romania. One of my significant goals has been to someday build a nursing home for unprivileged elderly citizens in Romania; this resulted from seeing many mothers and fathers being abused and thrown out of their homes by their children. After graduating from college, I returned to Romania and started a campaign to finance and build a Nursing Home for 250 residents in my hometown. I established a budget and detailed plans and began a campaign for support, collaboration, funding, and a search for land upon which to build. We hope to start construction by January 1st, 2008. By volunteering, I realized how much I mean to my community, how much they need me, and how much I can do for them. These experiences have served to fortify me to fight for the rest of my life against injustice, discrimination, hunger, and poverty. Volunteering confirmed my goal of attending law school. I believe I can make a difference in this world. If I follow my vocation of becoming a lawyer, then I think that I will have the most extensive opportunity possible to become an effective instrument of progressive social change.

Following my college graduation, I came back to Romania. I started working for XXXX Company as a Vice-President of the Human Resources Department, helping them to promote a new company image. As a VP of Human Resources, I implemented a new Employers Compensation Program, which focuses on employers' needs outside of the workplace, primarily food, shelter, family, and education. As a result of this program, several company employers have returned to college to finish their degrees. I also represented the company at international Trade Fairs and Expositions, traveling in this capacity to ln, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan, and participated at some of the biggest trade shows in the Chemistry Industry. While in Japan, in particular, I learned a lot about efficiency, precision, and the importance of passion for one's work, and I have incorporated these insights into my work in Human Resources. And great passion for work can contribute greatly to a developing economy, such as Romania's. After my return from Japan, I implemented a new Human Resources approach based merely on those three factors: efficiency, preciseness and great passion for work.

My long term goal is to some day work as part of a powerful network of attorneys that I help to organize, motivate, and direct; in this way I hope to make as profound a contribution as I possible can to social change. I want to fight the scourge of corruption in public affairs and labor to foster good government and public virtue, enhancing people's access to health care, safety, education, and fair wages. Living under a brutal communist regime in my native Romania helped to lay the foundation for my extremely high level of motivation to help others fight for their freedom and a life with human dignity. By pursuing a career in law, I am following my vocation of making a better tomorrow for people today. I believe that my enthusiasm, passion for justice, and eagerness to share my multicultural experience with others will make a difference in the law school community. You will undoubtedly encounter many applicants bringing prestige to your institution over the years, but if you need a catalyst that will bring diversity, effectiveness and leadership as well. I believe my contribution and commitment will make the difference. I want to thank you for consideration of my application.

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