Political Science transfer student with 85 credits by the beginning of semester. Have all the UCB Tap courses completed.
Currently attend Irvine Valley College
GPA: 3.8-3.9
Major GPA: 4
Bilingual, 1st Generation American, Son of Widow, Veteran, lowest income bracket.
No exam scores because I received my GED at the age of 16 and went straight to Oklahoma State University, and joined the Army at 17.
Volunteer with 4 organizations over 4 years, with 800+ hours.
Have attended an international school, in Iran, and have won an award for best essay and for organizing a successful chess club.
Deans Honor roll from OSU at the age of 16.
Officer in very active film club, LGBT+ club, women’s organization, and French Club.
Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university.
My grandmother was a literature professor in the University of Tehran. She was also an active member of the People’s Fadaian, a Marxist political party. She was a part of a decades-long struggle to overthrow the monarch in what climaxed to be the Revolution of 1979. As I was growing up, she would reveal to me occasional fragments of the emotions that the revolution aroused in her. As a young, feminist, secularist, she was hopeful the new democratic regime installed by the monumental popular movement would reserve her a role in the construction of a new country in which she could be proud of. She also revealed to me how that hope was slowly robbed from her. the same people who poured into the streets to take control of their country sat idly by as the government encroached on all the best values of humanity, of all the values that my grandmother fought so vehemently to uphold.
When I reached the age to grasp the intensity of her story, I fathomed just how fragile good governance is, I realized what a privilege it truly is. This realization is what instilled my initial interest in political science; a deep, unshakeable sense of obligation, which eventually grew into love and fascination. A duty forged from understanding just what a privilege it is to live in a free country, something my grandmother fought for her entire life. I recognize that now I must fight to protect the thing I love so much, or it will be stolen away by expedient bullies with a knack for giving speeches.
Democracy is only as valuable as the people who benefit from it. It is only useful with an actively engaged and informed populace. So I will continue to act like a gadfly in my community because anything else will forfeit liberty to lethargy and corruption. That is what has put me on the path of politics. I have organized conferences, forums, and protests to ensure that dialogue never ends so that people do not forget what a struggle democracy truly is.