Graduate School Statement of Purpose
By: Christopher Carl Wilkins
Tags: Lbj, Graduate School, Ut Austin, Academia, Public Policy

Front Entrance of LBJ Public Policy School at the University of Texas at Austin

I am attempting to go back to school at 36 years old *cue: eeks emoji* and I am a bit apprehensive about my statement of purpose. My dream school, really only school, that I want to attend is the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School for Public Policy and Global Studies. I am putting this statement on here in hopes I can get some feedback. It was damn difficult to get it down to 2 pages so hopefully, I was able to distill it and have it make sense at the same time. So, anyway, enjoy!

Statement of Purpose

A desire to solve the myriad of problems facing my country at this particular moment has motivated me to pursue a Masters in Global Policy Studies. I believe that not only my educational background but my direct lived experience have instilled in me the qualities required to meet the rigor of this program. I will bring with me a strong grasp of organizing political and policy campaigns, volunteer and nonprofit management, and teaching that has given me a very concrete pedagogical philosophy. All these will guide me in this program towards appropriate paths I could take that would make sense for my career goals.

During my undergraduate career I was influenced by the UNT Philosophy and Media Arts Departments; the friendships and professional contacts I made there have still been paying off years down the road. While in the Media Arts Dept. I worked with the Sociology Department to create a 22 minute documentary on the status of refugees in the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area. This documentary was under the dual supervision of Dr. Jaqueline Vickery and Dr. Hadidja Nyiransekuye. I was also given time to work on my Philosophy thesis, titled Practicing Resurrection: Awakening the Spirit of Democracy in a New Age of Fascism under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Thompson; also writing an essay which I helped turn into a short 15-minute documentary titled, Biophilia: Reviving the Idea of the Commons in urban landscapes. Lastly, I worked with Dr. Carla Carter-Bishop on an augmented reality documentary project detailing the lost history of a black town in Denton, TX that was destroyed 125 years prior titled, Freedmen Town 2.0.

Through these dual programs, it became clear what I wanted to pursue; but graduating in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis I struggled to find steady employment for years. During my twenties, I was either underemployed or unemployed, going through at least four career changes before finally becoming a teacher. During this time, I was not being able to lay down established roots, forge serious relationships, nor have the health insurance needed to really manage an undiagnosed mental health issue. This time gave me a clear vision and a moral north star; because this world I was accustomed to was not the one I was promised as a child. Since 2001, my generation has faced crisis after crisis — being conditioned to fear anything and everything about the world-at-large. From the September 11th attacks and the two subsequent failed wars, the 2008 financial crisis, the ever-looming threat of global warming, the resurgence of fascism, and now a once-in-a-century pandemic have all cast a depressing shadow over my generations’ chances; and while this might resign some towards an ambivalent numbness at the thought of the future, what I have been seeing in my own networks is the opposite reaction. It is instead a revival of activism. It is a collective choice I feel like our generation has made to finally say that it is our world and we demand to have our voice heard; and so, from this, I came to an understanding that I wanted to be a part of this collective effort; because the mythologies of Americana we created over the years have disappeared and to paraphrase St. Paul, “Then we saw things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but now we see everything with perfect clarity.” In other words, the veil has been lifted and we finally have to own up to our problems.

That is why I am applying to the UT LBJ School. I believe this school has the resources, location, and philosophy of service that will help me finally reach these desired goals. While living in Austin I walked the LBJ building, spoke with academic advisors, and attended lectures. I toured the LBJ Presidential Library. It’s here where I learned about his teaching experience with poor Tejano children. It became the first time I even thought about pursuing a career in education myself. The academic Dr. Rajeev Patel whose research and writings helped me focus and build my policy research on how to build better democratic institutions is someone I desire to work alongside. His book, The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy was a text I quoted from quite a bit in my undergraduate career;. Also, Dr. Peniel Joseph’s book, The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. is basically required introductory reading at my school for beginning teachers. This book helped me, more than anything else understand and empathize with a culture I thought I knew but was only a stranger. I would love to work in the CSRD to again study and understand how to build better long-lasting democratic institutions. Other research centers of interest are the Center for Health and Social Policy and the LBJ Urban Lab.

While attending, I also want to pursue a dual degree alongside the Journalism department; because I believe their program will also help accentuate and make my research more human and readable. Using these skills to not only write books, but develop messaging for political and policy campaigns and to eventually start a media company; but overall, I know my research will be aimed at the revitalization and pursuit of the American experiment — a truly democratic, multicultural community steeped in educational equity, environmental and racial justice, and broad economic equality. I want to take this education and make a career as a researcher, writer, and organizer that are aligned to these goals; because I know that this would be a World that I would be proud to leave my children. I want to end with a quote from the endlessly quotable and inexhaustible Plato,

“No man should bring children into the world who are unwilling to persevere to the end in their nature and education.”

Hopefully, I am up to the challenge.

I want to say a thank you to the admission committee for your time reading this. I know you all have a difficult decision. Whatever decision you make regarding my candidacy I truly appreciate the work all of you do.