Academic and professional work experience goal statement

ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL GOAL STATEMENT

Valuable work experience has helped me to develop strong qualitative architectural expertise along with good leadership and communication skills. This has helped me to tackle complex issues in my field of work and gives me the confidence to pursue post graduate studies. I am Sruthi Maria George, currently working in an architectural consultants firm as a Junior Architect.

With a strong desire to create artistic, creative and imaginative building structures, I chose Bachelor of Architecture for my under graduate studies. After completing my bachelors, my next step was to get a job in a challenging and dynamic environment and so I did find one as soon as I returned to my parents residing in United Arab Emirates. Throughout my work tenure so far, I have been working on challenging design projects which emphasized on creating healthy and eco-friendly buildings and environment. One of the major requirements to be fulfilled while planning and designing of the projects was the attainment of a ‘PEARL 2′ rating, a class of sustainable approach known as ‘ESTIDAMA’ which consists of sustainable planning strategies. This field influenced me to know more about the environmental aspects in order to widen my knowledge and career skills.

With the rise of disasters occurring around the world, we as humans need to be aware of the factors that lead to these natural calamities. A few environmental issues identified would be as follows:

1. Global warming – Climate change being recently observed is the main result of this global warming. The ozone layer of the earth being depleted with the increased use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigerants, propellants and solvents, emission of carbon dioxide from burning of fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, kerosene) and other greenhouse gases. This degradation of the ozone layer affects the ultraviolet filtration of the sun’s radiation, causing the earth’s temperature to rise and having negative impacts on the living beings on earth.
2. Energy exhaustion – Tremendous use of non renewable sources such as fossil fuels, natural gas and coals over the years are being depleting and adverse effects on air quality causing human and environmental problems. These needs to be replaced with renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass energies etc.
3. Landfill waste – With the increase in population and their activities, waste disposal is taking place on a higher rate. The adverse effects of this landfill wastes are pollution of the environment, emission of methane gases which is a greenhouse gas leading to the depletion of the ozone layer and other hazardous impact on the livings things and  the environment. This needs to be reduced by incorporating waste reduction and recycling strategies.
4. Threat to ecosystems and endangered species – Biodiversity enhances the productivity of the ecosystems. Threat to biodiversity leads to the destruction of the ecosystem, thus affecting the ecological pyramid and the food web. A recent article which caught my eyes, a killing game of dolphins and whales which takes place in Denmark by the local teens to show that they adults. These creatures have become near to extinction due to this.
5. Deforestation – Due to the increase in human population and their activities, conversion of forests to non- forest areas for development purpose is on a rise. This contributes to the increase of carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, loss of biodiversity and soil erosion leading to natural calamities.
6. Pollution – Air pollution resulting from the burning of fossil fuels from vehicles and industries, hence affecting the environment and the health of humans. Contaminating water bodies by disposal of wastes leads to degradation of the ecosystem and human health issues.

A master’s degree in environmental studies would help me to become personally aware of the existing and future environmental issues arising in today’s world. It would help me to understand the issues on a broader aspect of view and to resolve them by creating environmental friendly designs contributing to the wellness of the social economy and for the beneficial use of the future generations. The main environmental specialization that I would like to do is the studies on sustainable development as this combines the social, economic and environmental aspects. As this field, is going global and is one of the major considerations in today’s world, specializing in this field would be of international standards and quality.

University of Illinois is one of the few and reputable institutions in the world to offer an innovative course which combines environmental studies and sustainable development as a joint online program without having me to compromise on my current working status. Hence I sought to pursue my higher education here.

If given a chance to pursue my post graduate studies in University of Illinois for Masters of Environmental studies specializing in sustainable development and policy, I would prove myself to be an asset by my hard work and dedication to the department and the university.

Thanking you.

Sincerely,

Sruthi Maria George