Moving from Indonesia to the United States was harder than it seemed. What I assumed would be a smooth transition turned out to involve a considerable amount of culture shock, even though I enrolled at UCSC, a multicultural campus with an Indonesian social club. I left Indonesia after the rioting and political turmoil there in 2000 when the Asian economic crisis was taking its toll on my life and the lives of all my friends and family members. Shifting colleges and moving to a new location seemed a good way to gain a greater perspective on the world as well as on my own life. With ambitions to become a personal or corporate financial analyst, I also knew that the United States university system would offer me far more flexibility and options. My grades do not reflect my abilities in my chosen field because of the difficulties I have had adapting to a new culture but the road has become smoother and I find little holding me back from excelling in graduate school. In graduate school, I will have the opportunities to develop core strengths in financial analysis, meet new people and mentors, and expand my social network with the ultimate goal of becoming a self-employed or enterprise-level financial analyst.
             Governmental and corporate finance prove interesting to me and I feel I can contribute to clients of both types. In fact, I have recently entertained the idea of helping small businesses grow. Small businesses have always been the heart of America. Being in America has opened my eyes to how many large corporations started off as small ventures. With the expertise of financial analysis, many businesses could prosper even sooner than they would otherwise or reach higher levels of market penetration than they might have without the foresight a good financial analyst can provide. If my mentors in the Master's program feel I am well-suited for a career helping small businesses thrive, then I believe I will attempt to focus on that as an ...