My names are Paul Cigarruista, I am a student of Oregon State University (OSU).
I was born and raised in Panama City, until at the age 6 I moved to the United States where I currently reside in Tacoma; Washington. As a minority I have experienced considerable amount of racism growing up which affected both my family and I. With this I grew up dreaming of discovering the reason behind this occurrences in our society and what I could do to make world a better place.It will be a great honor and pleasure if you will give me the chance to achieve my dreams through your University. An undying dream, that will surely ignite my fiery passion through the University of Washington, an instrument that can offer and serve aiming and determined students like me who wants to make a big difference in the world. With politics broadly believed to be at a point of ‘ideological exhaustion’ and uniformity and apathy being deplored, my desire to study politics further is unrelenting.
The perceived lack of ideological alternatives in modern society fascinates me; I am convinced that, over time, political progression has been driven by society, and thus it is a desire of mine to look closely at society and establish why these political developments have ceased or whether they simply lie dormant. This is just one of the reasons that I feel Political Science would be an excellent combination to study as, amongst many other things it would allow me the opportunity to combine Ethnic Studies; a subject I have passionately studied at Oregon State University.As an enthusiastic and rigorously motivated student I feel I would relish the challenges such a course would offer. My studies in American Ethnic Studies have further reinforced my passion for politics, especially through the focused concentration of Politics and Values at the University of Washington; Tacoma. In my studies I have found particular interest in the various ideologies, their core theories and the capacity for ‘taking the world by storm’ , attracting members of society regardless of gender, class or religion.What I wish to continue to study, is not just how the ideas are formed, the morals and the principles behind them, but why they are so successful (or not) in society.
My current research has been fascinating and exposing; a better understanding of the heterogeneous communities in the United States. Ethnic Studies has helped me think critically not only about race and ethnicity but also their interaction with other socio-political factors such as gender, sexuality, class, and national identity.A more detailed study into this topic will allow me to gain further insight into the issues that help us understand not only the cultural but also the political forces that have shaped my own identity and the identities of those around me. I have always been actively involved in my school community, participating in school organizations such as Association of Latin American Students (ALAS), Ethnic Studies Student Association (ESSA), College Democrats, Student's Taking Action Now for Darfur, Sudan (STAND) and contributing to the school radio station KBVR.Ultimately, I am proud of my ability to balance both study and a school life successfully.
I have also worked as a liaison between the governor’s office and the Hispanic community. I have found these involvements to be of incredible valuable, teaching me the importance of commitment, perseverance and need for rationality even when under pressure. I intend to major in Political Science due to the fact that I want to contribute to a society that really needs some help in order to strengthen the social justice in our community.The course that I intend to study comes from my passion to help those in the community who have suffered the consequences of ignorance. It is an act of service that, I believe, will be of aid to the pathetic situation of our society due to many causes like racial discrimination and social injustices, among others.
I plan to take what I have learned at OSU and incorporate this knowledge with the education I received at the University of Washington.The various classes I have taken at OSU includes; Sociology, Political Science, History, Ethnic and Gender Studies. This will give me an overview of the big situation that we are facing in reality right now. The knowledge that I have through study and experience has greatly influenced my personality and in a way encouraged me to pursue this for hope and determination to affect not just my economy but the world at large.
I’m planning to work either for an agency or a non-profit organization as an activist or join the government work that will allow me to fight against gender, racial and social discrimination in every way possible. I firmly believe I can cross boundaries and make a difference in the field that I know needs immediate attention due to the increasing problems that society is facing. Above all, I will do my very best to be at my best as I have always been to achieve this feet through hard work discipline and determination.
