I Will be an Agent for Social Change

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I Will be an Agent for Social Change

I arrived at Harvard eager for the world of experiences ahead. Yet as an Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corp (ROTC) student, much of my academic world had been set up over the summer. My roommates poured over course guides, but my schedule was already laid out before me: math, economics, chemistry, Spanish and ROTC. My first college dilemma wasn't to find the right professor or class size, but to put together my uniform correctly. This being the case, I have had less time to stumble, but more time to focus on my other life choices.

Despite working on a thesis, taking social studies tutorials, attending four-hour long weekly drill practices, doing Physical Training at dawn, and holding leadership positions within the Air Force, my calling has been community service. Through Education 4 Action (E4A), a social justice organization, I have facilitated discussions on race relations, led rallies to bring union picked grapes to campus, and engaged speakers to discuss gender issues. Also, through the First-Year Urban Program, I led incoming first-years and introduced them to public service in Boston. I derived great satisfaction from these projects and realized I wanted to do more. Community service has become my passion and is an activity I want to pursue further.

So far, my journey has been twofold in nature: as an agent for social change through various nonprofits, and as an agent for my country's needs through Air Force ROTC. Today I face a choice. I must decide whether my upcoming Air Force commitment should be geared towards a lifetime career, or should be a stepping stone to the world of nonprofits. I believe the Michael C. Rockefeller Fellowship would provide the perfect oppor...

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...tion of domestic abuse, and create an educational program we will implement in the community. I would also like to create an educational booklet on organizing with members of the ELC. I will use it to introduce similar youth based education programs in the other halfway houses across Trinidad and Tobago.

I am committed to making this project work. With my practical background in social action and community education, I am excited for the chance to further grow, mature, and change. I want to become a public servant, but that will only be possible after I resolve my own uncertainties about my career decisions and cultural heritage. Because of the circumstances in my life, because of my experiences in college, and because of my desire to serve, I am certain that working in Trinidad under the Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship would help illuminate my future endeavors.

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