Note:
The first sample is my Personal Statement from my Fulbright application to Switzerland in 2016/2017 (I was a semi-finalist). Since then, I have grown as a writer and even earned a M.S. in science journalism/science writing. However, this remains one of the pieces I am most proud of due to the effort involved in the application as a whole. My desire to work for the UN has shifted to a desire to work in AI and to do impactful, positive work there.
The second sample (PDF) is my capstone project from my M.S. degree.
Personal Statement
Raleigh Anne Butler, United States, Linguistics
Inter-Linguistic Phonosemantics
I heard the words flow around me and, like the magic of their universe itself, I found the sounds comprising them to be curiously imbued with meaning. Not only was the content of Harry Potter incredibly well-crafted, but the words themselves were beautiful. The name “Salazar Slytherin” hissed in my mind, and I understood it to be evil; “Fawkes” echoed through, and I heard the sounds of nobility. From a young age, the enchanting qualities of these words instilled me with awe and curiosity. I heard the hiss of the basilisk and the sharp caw in Ravenclaw and fell in love with the magic of language.
Serendipitously for my ever-increasing linguistic interests previously amateur observations began to transform into an active linguistic pursuit. I stumbled across the opportunity to learn French at the age of thirteen, wherein the French Conversation Table strengthened and cemented my calling in language. Knowing no French whatsoever when I first began attending, I remember clearly my determination to grasp even a word amongst the paragraphs drifting resolutely past my understanding. Despite my initial confusion, the French table was always the highlight of my week; there, I found people as curious as myself. Through idle chat, as we compared dialects, idiomatic expressions, and culture, the experience transformed towards the curiously educational. As my skill level increased, I discovered the ability to open doors I never before knew existed. This unassuming conversation table influenced me more deeply than I ever could have predicted. Forever fascinated by the experience, I have continued the activity at university, even acting as table leader when I had the opportunity; at that point in time especially, I couldn’t help but remark on my linguistic growth. From someone who had started this very activity as a complete beginner, I was now capable of leading the same activity on my own in the target language, and that was fantastically encouraging.
Since then, I’ve become enamored with all languages and cultures, studying as many as time will allow. I’ve taken crash courses in Spanish, Arabic, and Tamil and have taken official university courses in German and Italian. Studying such a wide variety of language is an experience for which I shall forever be grateful, as it has exposed me to many types of languages and cultural concepts.
I was able to apply my love and skill in language during my study abroad experiences in England and in France (a semester each). In France, I was able to take classes (taught in French) with native students, and formed friendships with students in my classes. Facing such linguistic challenges on a constant basis made me truly realize that in our world, communication is a survival skill. In order to understand the course material, to make friends, to flourish in the local community, I became even more determined to improve my French and successfully engage. The experience brought me not only the French I was hoping for, but friendships that still remain strong and an increased level of personal tenacity. Having French as a common language was simultaneously incredibly bizarre and incredibly special; My experiences abroad were, therefore, much less like “studying abroad” and much more a journey of discovering homes.
In the distant future, I hope to work at the United Nations or other Inter-Governmental Organization. My presence in France during the Paris attacks of 2015 instilled in me a love for international affairs, as I learned to recognize its importance. That event, though shocking to say the least, helped me to fully realize that while nations and cultures are important to understand, the relations between them are arguably even more so. As humans, we fear the unfamiliar, be it unfamiliar religions or unfamiliar phonemes. To alleviate fear and mistrust, one must begin by eradicating linguistic roots. By applying my skills in languages and linguistics, I hope to contribute to ameliorating these relations. If phonosemantics and sound perceptions is proven to exist, it could change the way negotiations and other persuasive interactions are crafted.
SentiMentality 