My Personal Statement

While I believe that certain things about life can be taught, others can only be acquired through personal experiences.  Born as a lower middle-class minority in the racially turbulent American South, I have witnessed the long-term psychological damage that poverty inflicts on those in its path.  Conversely, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy both a quality education and professional opportunities that were not available to those in similar circumstances.  For this reason, as well as many others, my unique perspective may add something of value to the social psychological and social political zeitgeist, or popular spectrum of ideas.

 By supplying the necessary tools needed to enhance my understanding of organizational behavior, I believe the study of Organizational and Social Psychology will provide the preparation required to lead and consult organizations.  More precisely, I am interested in studying how cultural differences in organizational structures and operations affect efficiency and productivity in traditional systems.  Furthermore, I would like to analyze how the role of minorities (class, race, and gender) in leadership affects the behavior of large organizations.  Simultaneously, a degree in Social Policy and Planning, will aide my ultimate quest for finding policy answers to critical human rights concerns as well as social inequality within American law.

Graduating with high honors and two undergraduate degrees at Howard University, a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, provides evidence that the intellectual dialogue regarding psychology and public policy has remained at the core of my academic career.  My concentration in social psychology has allowed me to take courses such as Research Methods and Statistics I & II, Experimental Psychology, as well as Brain and Behavior, which has instilled in me an appreciation and understanding for cerebral processes and statistical analyses.  Additional courses in General Social Psychology, Race/Racism, Family Psychology, Media Psychology, and Perception have further provided for a more liberal understanding of human behavior.

With regard to my degree in Political Science, I was privileged with the opportunity to study in the department founded and chaired by Nobel Peace Prize recipient and LSE alumnus, Dr. Ralph Bunch. My passion for theory, as well as history’s contribution to the discipline, has been fostered in courses such as the Science of Public Policy, American Political Thought, and Introduction to Political Theory – which was instructed by London School of Economics Government Department PhD recipient Stephan K. Baskerville.  In addition, studying in the United States Capital in Washington, DC has offered not only academic insight into political theory, but also provided insight into the political reality that thousands in the U.S. Capital, and billions around the globe are suffering as a direct result of certain inadequate social policies.  Consequentially, the examination of theories in political science and the observation of human activities in psychology have provide a unique blend of skills, in which I have been able to harvest in all endeavors of life.

As an addendum to the scholarship provided by my undergraduate coursework, I actively engaged in campus politics while studying for my undergraduate degrees.  For instance, in my first year at Howard I became the first freshman in the history of Howard University to win the election for Executive President of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council.  In doing so, I became Chief Executive for the student council of the largest college at Howard as well as the director of student policy, programming, and numerous internal divisions of the council.  In all, operating a six-figure budget, part-time paid cabinet officials, and a student government operation consisting of over one hundred students provided vital experience in leading an organization.  This experience has had a vast impact on my desire to study and ultimately create theories in organizational and social psychology, as well as better methods for implementation of social policy.   Furthermore, various internships, in conjunction with psychology research assistantships, have helped solidify my grasp of concepts in these research areas.

 My professional career demonstrates a strong basis for my candidacy to the programs offered by the LSE.  Within the last five years I have been working in the vanguard of U.S. electoral, policy, and legislative politics.  In conjunction with organizing numerous municipal elections, I had the opportunity in 2004 to work as a National Student Field Organizer for the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry. Following, I worked in the public policy department as a summer associate at United Way of America, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the U.S., where I did research and lobbied for social policy issues facing local communities.  Similarly, I aided educational policy as political consultant for the Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators, whose sole purpose is to ensure that “at-risk” children are taught by qualified teachers.  Finally, I have worked in a number of capacities for the current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada who, along with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is currently the highest-ranking and most influential Democrat in United States government.

Moreover, I currently have the distinct honor of being the first African-American to assist the Majority Leader of the United States Senate in what is considered to be the Democratic control center for policy.  Named the “Cloakroom” for its early roots in storing the cloaks of Senators who traveled long distances to the Capitol, both the Democratic and Republican Cloakrooms now act as private rooms on the U.S. Senate floor and serve as the nucleus for planning and executing party policy.  I work with a team of three others to help manage Senate floor activity and debate by communicating the floor strategy of the Majority Leader with Senators and staff.  In addition, I staff private Caucus meetings and assist in the clearing of all legislation and votes.  Because I advise all 51 Democratic Senators, which include notable senators such as Ted Kennedy (brother of the late United States President John F. Kennedy and former LSE attendee) as well as United States presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I not only have played a role in many of the important political debates in the 21^st century, but also have personal relationships with many of the decision makers in the nation.  Also, this past August I completed a certificate in Congressional Legislative Procedure from the Congressional Research Service Graduate Institute, which endowed me an extensive framework for understanding policy formulation and the legislative processes.  Given this exposure to various levels of policy making, I consider my professional experience as one of the greatest attributes I can contribute to the seminars at the LSE.

Finally, a year in England is of vital importance to me because it will provide me with the opportunity to view America from afar while observing, analyzing, and debating her policies and culture through a global lens.  The London School of Economics and Political Science provides an excellent opportunity to study at one of the world’s most elite institutions, with an exceptional reputation in Social Policy and Social Psychology, combined with renowned academics and lecturers.  Additionally, its diverse international population and location in the British Capital offers a range of different perspectives to challenge my theories, assumptions, and thoughts while simultaneously catalyzing intellectual growth.  Thus, LSE is a prime choice for my continuing academic study.