Personal Statement
Applied Program: Public Administration

I have always maintained the belief that everyone has to undertake some kind of meaningful pursuit in his or her life; otherwise life would be dull and trivial. Therefore, I admire those people who pursue worthy causes, who pursue the realization of the value of their lives by undergoing ordeals on one hand and making contributions on the other. There are many people around me who indulge in their comfortable life and cannot understand why I always refuse to accept the status quo. But I continue to maintain my unswerving belief because I am convinced that many people in this world sorely need help. This society requires each of its members to make endeavors for its benign development. As far as I myself am concerned, I will make painstaking efforts to contribute, to maximize the value of my life to the society, and ultimately to fulfill my social obligation.

My first pursuit was to devote myself to the cause of public health under the belief of making important contributions to improving the health level of the society as a whole. In 1992, I succeeded in entering Shanghai Medical University (one of the most prestigious medical universities in China and now renamed the Medical College of Fudan University) with remarkable performance as top 10% student in Shanghai during the fiercely competitive National University Entrance Examinations. I chose to specialize in preventive medicine at the School of Public Health, a subject that I was highly interested in. During my 5-year undergraduate studies, I spent most of my time in the library and in the all-night classrooms. I was deeply involved in the study of every course related to my specialty, soliciting useful advices from my teachers, discussing problems with my classmates, and checking technical literature for definitive answers. At the same time, I took every opportunity to attend lectures and to participate in academic activities in order to broaden my horizon of knowledge and to deepen my understanding of the courses being taught. Another thing I endeavored to do was to bring all the knowledge I acquired into an integral whole so as to discover the universal principles underlying apparently diverse phenomenon.

Apart from my relatively strong capability for conducting self-education, I paid special attention to improving my hands-on abilities. From the outset, I involved myself in internships in the laboratories of various subjects, including physiology, biochemistry, toxicology, environmental hygiene, etc. With sustained efforts in this regard, I distinguished myself in all experimental coursework, ranking first among all the students in my class. For this reason, I won high appreciation from Prof. Su, who recruited me into his toxicological research and experiment team during my fourth-year study. I felt very proud of myself because I was the only undergraduate in the research team. Although the subject of preventive medicine was a highly challenging one, requiring knowledge and expertise in a diversity of fields and posing high-level criteria on one‘s mental power and on one‘s problem-solving faculty, I loved this profession precisely for the challenges it posed. Once again, I felt proud of myself for having chosen this subject which gave me a chance to serve the society at large. A professional in the field of preventive medicine takes as his responsibility the study of the interactive relationship between man and the environment. By effective public administration and hygienic measures, this professional works to enhance the disease-preventing capabilities of the general public and plays a positive role in mediating the triangular relationship between man and environment and the disease, thereby making indirect contributions to economic and social progress.

My second pursuit occurred after my graduation from university. I found employment with the Disease-Control Center of PuDong New District of Shanghai and it has been four years since I have been working there. During this period, I established the archives for 3000 enterprises and brought them into computer-aided administration. The archives I created set up a standard within the Shanghai Municipal Disease-Control Center. I carried out atmospheric monitoring and supervised the law enforcement over the enterprises that produced toxic and harmful wastes. I was responsible for directing on-the-spot rescues of acute chemical poisoning and dealing with the aftermaths of those events. Later, as an emerging official, I worked as Director Assistant of the Center, in charge of coordination and organization within the Center. In 2000, I worked temporarily at PuDong New District Government and undertook a project called The Present Hygienic Conditions of PuDong New District and Its Five-Year Plan. In this project, I played a leading role.

In carrying out my responsibilities as a public health official, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of law in policy-making, enforcement, and supervision. At the same time, I realized my limitations in legal knowledge. In order to play a more important role in my profession, I have embarked on a Master‘s Program in Jurisprudence. Heavy workload plus coursework often force me to study until midnight. Nevertheless, I am still full of ardor, optimism, and perseverance, dedicated to my career.

My heretofore working experience has made me acutely aware of the significance of "management science" to an individual‘s career and to social development. With the progress of the age, our understanding of disease no longer rests on the level of disease treatment. The interaction between man and the environment, as well as the scientific organization and management of public places, plays an increasingly important part in human health. Based on this consideration, I studied many options courses and relevant theories in this field. My participation in all the career activities since my university graduation has enabled me to be well-trained in terms of my ability for independent analysis and problem-solving, for effective interpersonal communications, and for leadership and organization. Meanwhile, my interest and understanding of public administration have been deepened. In addition, my studies in jurisprudence over the past two years and a half have helped me establish a solid groundwork for carrying out administrative supervision.

Nevertheless, I believe that my existing knowledge is far from sufficient to cope with the rapidly changing situation, whether I will be involved in the executive government work or in the industrial sector. Therefore, I have decided to relinquish my present comfortable life, together with my generous salaries and other perquisites, in order to launch my third major pursuit, to seek advanced studies in the United States. My target university is The University of Southern California.

The University of Southern California is reputed for its time-honored educational history, its strong faculty and superior educational quality. It takes global exchanges and cooperation as its obligation, accepting a larger number of international students, and establishing academic systems with extensions in many countries in the world. I wish to apply for a Ph.D. Program in the field of Public Management and Organization under Public Administration. I believe that my studies in this field will provide constructive guidance to such urgent issues as "how to transform the government‘s executive planning concerning public administration into genuine and spontaneous social needs" and "how to establish administrative models under the specific social systems of developing countries that are up to the advanced international standard". Personally, I have great admiration for Prof. Terry Cooper who has produced in-depth studies concerning China, Taiwan and other Asian countries and regions. For quite a few years, I have been following Prof. Cooper‘s researching closely, reading the books he has been publishing. I have made detailed investigation of the curricula offer by your esteemed university. I am convinced that if I could come under his guidance, I am bound to score remarkable achievement in my future academic endeavors.

When I look ahead into the future, I can envision that, upon completing my Ph.D. Program and the accumulation of all the necessary advanced theories and expertise, I will devote myself to yet another pursuit. With increasing academic sophistication, I will endeavor to promote the international exchanges, particularly those between China and the United States, in the field of Public Administration.