Take a moment and imagine: Thirty African boys and girls walk barefoot to school, which is held in a small shack with two desks and a chalkboard. They must share one tattered textbook and pass three pencils across the room. Many days, the weather and other obstacles prohibit the children from making the five-mile walk alone to school. When the kids do arrive at school, their teacher is not always in attendance; he does not delight in his job, and his passions lie elsewhere. By the time these kids reach secondary school, most of them will have dropped out: some will have to work to support their families, and sadly, some will have died unexpectedly because they succumbed to negative influences. The boys and girls will become illiterate men and women; they will not be able to find higher paying jobs. They will remain in poverty and the cycle will continue with their own children.
We must make a change.
Change must be made if we want children in third world countries to be able to increase their standard of living.[1]
We must redefine the education system in these areas. We must revolutionize the general’s public’s attitude. We MUST transform unfortunate children’s lives. In order to do these things, I propose the world becomes a “we.” Humans need to understand how every living being affects another, and they must put others before themselves. We should collaborate to form a powerful, influential organization that will bring education to children no matter what their background is.
The idea of “we” is what will bring about change and success rather than “I”. [2]
An education can make or break these children’s lives; this is why it is so important for us to expand education all over the world. First, if we introduce these kids to education at an early age, they can be inspired to work hard and improve their own lives in the future. If these kids are inspired, it will keep them out of trouble and help them to stay on the right track. In addition, education can help these children go to college, and going to college will lead them out of poverty by helping them to get jobs.
Graduating can lead to many possibilities, including getting a high-paying job. [3]
For my leadership vision, I will expand on the Peace Corps’ mission and ideas (see video below). The Peace Corps is successful, but there are definitely ways in which their activities can be expanded. Currently, 9,095 people make up the Peace Corps’ volunteers and trainees.[4] However, only 40% of these volunteers work in education.[5] Considering that there are 121 million children out of education, we need more volunteers.[6] In addition, the Peace Corps’ fiscal year 2011 budget is $374.25 million.[7] I know this seems like a lot of money, but it is not enough. This budget includes all of the Peace Corps’ programs, including education, health, business development, youth development, and agriculture. According to Jonathan Hardcastle of Ezine Articles, “The problem is that a good education comes with a price and it is often a price that many people in Third World countries are not able to pay. So, although quality education is available, it is still unreachable for a large segment of a developing country's population.”[8] In only the area of education, we must finance the buildings where school will be held, school materials (books, pencils, paper, blackboards, chalk, etc.), teacher’s salaries, and so much more.
Children should not be at an advantage because of where they live or how much money they have. Idealistically, my main stretch goal is to have at least 25% of all college graduates dedicate one to three years to go abroad and teach in a less fortunate area. On average, 1.75 million students graduate per year, so twenty-five percent of college graduates is 437,500 potential teachers. [10] Also, I hope to raise money to fund state-of-the-art buildings, cutting-edge technology, sophisticated teachers, and more. Both of these goals are obviously long term; it will most likely take at least ten years to start accomplishing them. However, some manageable and short-term goals can get me headed towards these stretch goals. My manageable goals mainly include recruiting teachers (recent college graduates) and enlisting donations from successful businessmen and women and organizations.
First, I have decided that in order to fulfill my leadership vision, I must stay in college. I need to be educated in order to teach others. However, college will also give me many resources. I can build strong relationships with my peers, and they can join me in my initiative. I will never be successful unless I have a team that supports me and helps me. The University of Texas is “has the distinction of being the No. 1 Peace Corps volunteer-producing university in the Southwest.”[11] This year, I plan to connect (through UT’s International office) with the students that are intending on joining the Peace Corps. In addition, my professors could be great resources: they can encourage their students to participate in my program. Also, alumni of The University of Texas could be great benefactors for my cause. So, in the next four years, I am going to focus on forming strong relationships with my peers, professors, and alumni that I have the chance to meet.
Moreover, I am a Business major, and I will need the skills that I will learn in my core classes in order to fulfill my vision. First, the business school emphasizes leadership in order to get a good job, so they will teach me tangible leadership skills. Next, many of the required courses I will take involve working in teams, including BA 324H and MIS 301H, which I am taking next semester. In both, I will have a team project due each week, which will require me to meet and work with my team effectively. In order to be successful with my expansion of education into third-world countries, I will need to work with a team so that we can be successful as a group, not individually. Therefore, I must stay in college and learn these special traits through my major.
The UGS 302 class that I am in now relates in multiple ways toward achieving my leadership goal. First, we focus on details like grammar, which will help me when I am writing letters to potential donors and potential recruits. Most importantly, we heave learned to be tolerant and to care for animals through service and sympathetic imagination. Therefore, we have also learned to be tolerant of humans from all walks of life. All people (whether fortunate or unfortunate) deserve an equal chance to receive a strong foundation in their education. Nothing in their social class or background says that children from third world countries are not smart and do not have the ability to grow up to be successful. All they need is a little bit of direction.
After college, I will need to begin gathering volunteers. I need to advertise my program and the deficit of education in third-world countries. My main selling point to recruit college graduates will be how it can benefit the teachers by giving them a new perspective on the world and an advantage when searching for a job later. In order to do this, I would need to use the writing and reading skills that I will have acquired at college in courses like my UGS class. Vivid and compelling advertisements (like the one below) will get students to join my expansion of the Peace Corps. From writing ads, distributing flyers, and tabling booths at campuses across the country, my team and I could enlighten students about the possibility of teaching abroad by showing them how poor the education system in third world countries is. I could begin doing this as soon as I graduate from college. If I can get just five volunteers from every college in the United States, it will slowly start to add up, and the cause and program will start to expand.
A thought-provoking advertisement will gain momentum for my program.[12]
Furthermore, I will need to find donors and benefactors that can help to fund my initiative. Advertisements will help me to raise money. However, I think that face-to-face meetings will be more successful. One of my core classes here at The University of Texas is speech. In this class, I will learn to speak persuasively and concisely in order to convince influential donors to sponsor my vision. Also, in order to find financial supporters, I could write persuasive letters to them and include compelling images like the ones below. These vivid images depict the truth about how third-world education is so far behind America’s education system. The letters must also stand out with no errors and convincing writing, which I will learn to do throughout my college career. In addition, I will write to companies to get them on board with my program. If companies support it, graduates will be more willing to join before entering the work force in America. I know that many students will be worried about finding a job when they get back; however, if they know that companies have jobs waiting for them when they return, graduates will be more likely to pursue this initiative. With donations, I will have to start slowly right out of college; however, once big companies start donating, hopefully others will follow suit. I plan to start writing letters and visiting potential benefactors in order to start raising funds at the end of my senior year and after I graduate.
An Afghan girl, after finally being allowed to attend school writes on an old chalkboard in a run-down school building.[14]
Many Indian children crowd into a schoolroom since there is nowhere else that will hold them. [15]
Education is a stepping-stone to a better future, and too many children are currently not attending productive schools. I feel that since I was so blessed to have had an amazing education, I must play a role in changing this tragic reality. I am energized and motivated to touch the lives of children less fortunate than I, starting in college and expanding it after I graduate.
Word Count without Quotes: 1530
Word Count with Quotes: 1605
[1] Career Hub. “The Never-Ending Cycle of CHANGE.” http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2011/06/the-never-ending-cycle-of-c-h-a-n-g-e.html
[6] Global Issues, "Poverty Facts and Stats." http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
[8] Hardcastle, Jonathon. Ezinearticles.com, "Education in Third World." http://ezinearticles.com/?Education-in-Third-World&id=347995
[10] Ritter, Patrick. DegreeCentral.com, "42 Fun and Interesting Statistics for College Students." http://degreecentral.com/42-fun-and-interesting-statistics-for-college-students/
[11] The University of Texas at Auston, International Office. http://world.utexas.edu/peacecorps/facts
[12] Wang, Annie. World Press: Global Prosperity, "The 60s called. They want the Peace Corps Back." http://globalprosperity.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-60s-called-they-want-the-peace-corps-back/
