College Admissions Essay: Berlin Now !

I wish to study abroad as a means of expanding my poetic and academic practice. My writing is an examination of human action and the way an individual’s environment affects their behavior. The opportunity to travel would allow me to expand on this idea, by interacting and observing people who are not only from a different country, but a different continent as well. My poetry is an intersection between the academic and artistic worlds. I learn about history and culture to understand how it affects a character.

When writing, I remove a character from their original setting, typically their childhood home, then write them into a new scenario. The alteration becomes a way of questioning the attitudes, fears, and beliefs which have been developed

immerses students in the cultural environment of Berlin. While on the trip, I will meet influential artists, curators, historians, civic innovators, and writers. Students are allowed access to their studios and behind the scenes of museums, where we can learn the inner workings of their practices and institutions. Upon graduating college, I plan to move to Berlin and work as a museum curator while I continue to write poetry. During the trip, I will be able to obtain a unique experience that will open the doors for professional networking opportunities. This trip gives me the chance to begin forming relationships with cultural institutions, research libraries, local community organizations, and other professionals working in the creative field so that I will already have a foundation in Berlin before I

While away, I wanted to study the history and culture of the city as I engaged with it artistically. Most programs are one or the other. Berlin Now! is a combination of both. The five-week trip gives an extended time frame for a studio residency where we can produce specific research-based artwork and writing projects, pursue our independent projects while on site. We will also have the extra-curricular activity to go to Documenta, an art exhibition in Kassel where we can see what artistic pieces are currently being traded across Europe. The trip gives the opportunity to view Berlin through both an artistic and academic lens. I will be able to study the history of the city while engaging with modern artists. We will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the current cultural scene in Berlin and its relationship to historical events, stylistic precedents, and contemporary political