“What are you?”
My father’s question prodded my brain as I nervously gathered my books on the first day of high school.
“What are you?”
The question greeted me again as I hastily grabbed my purse and scrambled to meet the sound of my friend’s incessant car horn.
“What are you?”
The words echoed through my ears long after my parents’ car had pulled away from the parking lot of my college dorm.
There had always only been one answer to this question:
“A leader.”
The importance of leadership has been instilled on me since childhood, for every time I left my house or embarked on a new endeavor, my father would ask me that simple question, “What are you?” Growing up, I dismissed this exchange as a mere necessity that often delayed my escape
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At DIS, I will be exposed to a culture that I currently have limited knowledge of. I will have the opportunity to engage with individuals who offer a plethora of unique perspectives and who will allow me to question my values. By forcing me to abandon the comforts of familiarity, DIS will prepare me to be successful in my journey of lifetime leadership, for I will be aware of my own cultural biases and work to overcome them in an international arena. While in Copenhagen, I will inevitably be confronted by challenges that test my adaptability. Whether it be through getting lost on public transportation or being surrounded by individuals’ whose experiences differ vastly from my own, I will learn to nimbly adjust and learn from my surroundings. Lastly, I am certain that my coursework at DIS, focused on European Politics, will enlighten me on the nuances of a number of international challenges. Class discussions and study tours will enable me to confront these issues directly and deepen my understanding of their impact on global society. These important opportunities will motivate me to never stop analyzing complex social and political problems throughout my journey as a global leader. Ultimately, by providing me first-hand experience in navigating an intercultural society and by allowing me to escape the comforts of my own local community, DIS will provide me the foundations on which to build my global leadership