I am Cambodian and was born on the Thai-Cambodian border during the rule of the infamous Khmer Rouge and was raised there in a refugee camp for the first years of my life. The regime had murdered all those they considered to be ‘intellectuals’, this description included all those who wore glasses and indeed anyone who was found to be even basically literate. The fact that my country lost so many of its literate and educated people has set my country back in countless ways, economically, culturally, socially, and politically. This situation has played on my mind since its implications became clear to me as a teenager
I have decided to seek to be part of the solution to my country’s problems and to do so through promoting the best educational techniques and training and in encouraging and enabling those who share my vision. I have searched for the ideal program to enable me to fulfil my aspirations and believe that this program is that ideal means of doing so.
My ultimate ambition is to hold the position of rector of a university in my home country and now seek, through joining the program, to acquire the skills and knowledge to enable me to attain this ambition.
Before making this application, I carefully considered the characteristics, competencies, and background necessary to succeed within the program and in my career beyond. I am confident that I meet the demanding criteria in all these respects as I hope to demonstrate.
At the early age of twenty, I was appointed to a diplomatic post which involved travel and work in several different countries and cities. This experience exposed me to different and contrasting cultures and formed an essential element in my education and the ordering of my priorities in life. It became especially important to me to ‘make a difference’ rather than merely ‘make a living’. Subsequently I took charge of the office of the Representative of the United Nations for Human Rights in Cambodia. This role involved interacting with people of all social backgrounds from VIP’s to working people and in assisting in the solution of, sometimes complex, problems and situations. I have happily worked, studied, and socialized with people of many cultural and social backgrounds.
It is clear, from my observations, when travelling, and from published statistical records, that a nation’s economic success and that of its social and political institutions is intricately linked to the effectiveness and wide accessibility of its education system. The international educational ‘league table’ shows wide differences in the relative success of each country’s educators and I would be extremely interested in pursuing research into the most successful systems to apply the techniques and technology that those successful countries employ to those countries, especially developing nations, which are less successful. It appears to me that the wider application of proven and technologically based teaching methods should, if thoughtfully applied, enable a revolutionary leap in the education of the young in developing countries and so their country’s progress in many ways.
It is deeply saddening that now when medicine has protected so many infants and young children in developing countries from previously common and deadly diseases, that there exist so many illiterate children who possess enormous personal potential but who are condemned to lives of physical labor and desperate financial struggle. I could so easily have been one of those children and ache to help them.
I would be extremely excited to be working in a field in which new techniques and technology are being constantly developed and applied and I look forward to being part of this revolution in teaching and educational monitoring, training, and administration. My direct involvement in education provision is admittedly limited. However, for two years I served as the Assistant to the Director of English as a Second Language at Long Beach City College. I have also volunteered as a Teacher’s Aide in the education of children up to fourth grade to gain an insight into the US educational system and how it works at the most educationally formative years in the lives of children. It became clear to me that the best educators use available technology in a very thoughtful way applying it as part of a carefully constructed ‘mix’ of classroom techniques and that they constantly monitor the relative effectiveness of different programs and teaching aids and adjust as indicated.
The key words in the program’s title are education, technology, and leadership. I believe that I have demonstrated a passionate interest in education and an interest in how technology can be harnessed more effectively to education and educational administration, especially within developing nations. I am aware that the leadership component involves not merely first level leadership but the ‘leading of leaders’ and that this calls for incredibly exceptional skills without which success would be unlikely if not impossible. I have exercised leadership in running my own business and its success is an indicator that I possess an ability to lead. I am extremely interested in the psychology applied by the most effective leaders and the techniques that they use in helping others to succeed. I have always found great satisfaction in mentoring and encouraging subordinates to help them to achieve their full potential and understand the basic importance of this aspect of the posts I hope to hold in my future career.
The posts that I have held and the business that I own have required me to demonstrate exceptional administrative and financial skills. I am a well-organized and methodical person who understands that excellent administration is the basis for all successful projects and undertakings. I have a thorough understanding of statistical techniques and financial reporting. I have initiated, and improved, systems, procedures and information gathering, and recording, techniques. I have also prepared and updated procedure manuals.
I know that the program will attract many professionally qualified applicants, however I am confident that my background and experiences will enable me to ‘add value’ to the program. I look forward to sharing the fruits of my own life to date and to receiving the benefit of those of my fellow students to enable all to reach their goals. I can assure the reader that, if selected, I shall apply myself with great enthusiasm and diligence and will seek to excel rather than merely succeed within it.
Thank you for considering my application.
PHD Education, Leadership, Technology, Cambodian
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