A young Indian man was sent to boarding school separated from his family at the age of 15 to the United States of America. It was a rite of passage in my culture to further my education in a different country. Due to this, I was nervous and scared as ever. “Everyone has to do this”, they said, “. . . you have to learn to be on our own now.” Despite this constant pressure alongside learning how to adapt in a new environment with little English proficiency, the immediate drive to success and prove everyone (and my internal doubts) wrong developed throughout my teens. Now, I am proud to be a fellow University of Central Florida Knight with a college degree.
Due to the upbringing where there was no family bond and a lack of good communication, I developed interests in links of how humans communicate and interact with one another. Since my family is conventional, communication was not our strong point. During my undergraduate career, I learned that approval is out of reach in my hometown of Saudi Arabia. Due to the lack of knowledge of intimate relationships throughout my lifespan, I developed interests in the meaning of Interpersonal communication. Because of this, interdisciplinary studies is such a critical major to pursue because of the flexibility to focus on the courses that relate to my goals and career path in life. While working on my Bachelors in Communications at UCF, I was granted the opportunity to meet with Bill and Melinda Gates. They were visiting campus hoping to collaborate with our direct connect program. Due to this opportunity, I was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Now, I am working my way to an internship with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and have started a close relationship with the woman I consider my mentor, the Director, Suzanne Walsh.
With the foundation supporting my career goals, I have decided to pursue a concentration in corporate communications and globalization. Corporate communication is critical for attaining my goals it is a key aspect of how corporate companies communicate both internally and externally. This includes media relations, crisis management, relationship with government officials, and other public affairs. I hope to use these skills to convey the foundations primary objective with the use of my prior knowledge of media relations, journalism, and outreach communication. I believe that a good corporate communications team provides the chance to shape a company’s image and sustain a long-term reputation that can genuinely help millions of people around the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is well known for these standards. While my main goal after working for the foundation is to work for the United Nations, I hope to use this as a ladder to gain knowledge and experience. In addition, maintaining my concentration on globalization.
Through globalization, I will attain the skills necessary to improve my career path of working for the U.N. The focus on a process of interaction that is associated with social and cultural aspects of the world reiterates my I focus on modern globalization. Especially considering, the current worldwide food shortage. I am sure my focus will contribute to my end goal of working in a research department as a social affairs officer.
I believe that this combination will not only help me further my goals and career, but will help society. Through my knowledge attain from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations I will be able to help the world current social media drive state to adapt and find effective ways to convey their message.
