Civic Leadership Personal Statement

I grew up in Evanston, Illinois where there are opportunities for every type of child. My parents put me through various sports teams, and by the time I was in high school I had developed a sense of what it takes for a team to be one successful unit. I had the pleasure of being a captain for my football team, wrestling team, and lacrosse team, but I was not the most talented out of all my teammates. I explored different interest through my education and extracurricular activities. I found myself volunteering for the theater construction crew and eventually head of set design for a YMCA sponsored play. With the help of the college and career center I was allowed on a field trip to the Evanston Civic Center. I thought it was really interesting to see all of the different types of employees of the city, but I initially did not see any relation to my future life. Afterwards, I was recommended to take a class that taught both Fire Science Technology and Law Enforcement. This class took me two several sites including the Evanston

fire department headquarters and the Evanston Police Headquarters. The teachers were one Evanston Narcotics Detective and one Evanston Paramedic-Fire Fighter, and this was an incredible opportunity to learn from actual civil servants. Their lessons felt sincere to me and it led me to have a great respect for everyone who partakes in civil service. I still did not know what I wanted to do with my future life, though. It was not until a close friend of mine and I started having weekly discussions about different areas of politics. This ranged from political parties to policies and even to state’s rights. I enjoyed these talks with such sincerity that I knew that this was what I could do. I finally knew what I wanted to pursue and that was political science. I knew that I wanted to serve the people as a leader in their government.
My college career has consisted of mainly political science courses and as many law courses that I could register for.

My advisor to this day cannot convince me there are any better classes because with each political science course I have taken, there has been a feeling of accomplishment and progression. Each course strengthens my interest in the field. It was not until my junior year that I discovered the Civic Leadership Program, and this is when I truly knew I had made the right choice. My first CLP course was with Representative Tim Johnson, and he introduced our class to intelligent, motivated, thoughtful, and interesting people involved in different political fields. The opportunity to meet and network with these people has changed my life, and has led me to believe this is a program that deserves my utmost respect. I believe that graduating with this concentration will forever remind me why I want to dedicate myself to civil

service.