PLEASE REVIEW MY SOP, any constructive feedback/suggestions in grammar, content, structure are welcome. Thank you very much in advance.

AlpheccaStarsThat would focus on more personal aspects. Why don't you try?

Hi AlpheccaStars, thank you for your feedback. As you suggested, I am posting my Diversity Statement below. It is a bit lengthy as I had a lot of experiences for the past 6 years and wanted to share as much as I can.

I am hoping to receive some support and feedback on where I could consolidate and perhaps shorten while preserving the essence. Thank you so much for any help or feedback in advance.

I am determined to be the first Uzbek, female Dr. XXXX in a lineage of Uzbek carpenters and teachers. I always knew that was my goal, but the road to Dr. XXXX was not the clear path I had imagined it to be. Living abroad was one of the few challenging parts of my life, dealing with financial issues throughout my undergraduate years that pushed to find new ways of funding my education abroad. I always knew academics was the one thing I wanted to put my whole heart into and focus on for the rest of my life.

As a child I have grew up in historian’s family where they would host a lot of guest from abroad, my dad and mom were not diplomats, they were simple scientists and teacher who valued international friendships, and hosting friends. This was such a unique experience for me as a child, because I have shared meals and conversations with archeologists from Colorado, medical students from Sweden, Politicians from Israel, anthropologists from Washington University, Social Scientists from Japan and so many others. I remember trying to speak in my broken English and ask questions related to their culture, that really pushed me to learn English, my third language. Now I look back, and I understand these experiences and the environment my parents have created for me was preparing me for great beginnings in my career and education.

I have a big family of 6 and being the eldest in my family always pushed me to be responsible and hard working. Even though my parents were educated and well-respected people in my community, they didn’t have the means to fund my education. As I have maintained excellent academic performance in secondary education I was able to land a full scholarship opportunity in an undergraduate program taught in English in Japan.

When I started my undergraduate career in Japan, I have faced with challenges that every international student face: being homesick, living independently in a new country, new language. However, I understood that experiencing all these were normal as my other classmates were going through the same process. So, I became resilient and started looking for new opportunities and experiences to adapt to my new home and immerse myself in a new society and culture.

As I was one of the few people who was awarded with scholarship, I was firm that I would like to give back and provide value and contribute to diversity on and off campus. I have participated and acted as Cultural Ambassador by giving presentation about my country, taught Uzbek language, performed Uzbek dance that allowed me to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion. This experiences truly fulfilled me and pushed me to go outside of campus by participating in volunteer work through giving presentations and mentoring middle and high school students in Tsukuba. This really fulfilled me as an individual, because I was honored to be envoy for my country and also raise awareness about diversity and inclusion. I motivated those students by giving presentations in English and underlining the fact that it was not my native language and as the matter of fact the 3^rdlanguage as these students were trying to improve their English. I would always end my presentations by saying there are no boundaries to learn new language, visit a new country, or any other new experiences.

Being awarded with full scholarship was rewarding, simultaneously I wanted to explore Japan and travel more. As an enthusiast, but a poor student I didn't have the means to fund my hobbies so I decided to work as part-time English teacher after my classes. Hence, during summer holidays I have visited Philippines, Turkey, Georgia, Greece and other countries. Combining my academic career and part-time job was not easy, and I had to learn to manage my time well, and work harder. This experienced allowed me to understand that if I wanted something I can always accomplish it by working hard.

My hard work in academics and also passion for volunteer work was noticed by my professors, and I was awarded with one of the best scholarships on the campus; Toyota Tsucho Scholarship. This opportunity also led me to additional volunteer works, such as cleaning up the man-made Odaiba beach, planting trees in Chiba, and supporting elderly farmers in cleaning the weed in the farms. Volunteering for me is truly a way to say thank you for all the great opportunities in my life but also contributing to the society on my own way.

Another interesting experiences when I was invited for Cool Japan TV show that was broadcasted on NHK channel. I went on a trip to a small rural island off the coast of central Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, informally known as "Cat Island”. The island has 150 cats while the population number stood in 74 in 2016. Initially, island has attracted a lot of tourists due to the high number of cats. However, the cultural aspect of TV show was great, but I couldn’t disregard the fact that the Island was struck by the Great East Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011 which had significantly affected peoples’ livelihoods by destroying the harbor and the oyster farms, the main industry of the farm. I have interviewed local people about the post disaster adaptation initiatives, and how they are building back their communities by co-existing large number of cats. The community’s strength was in their common goal that is to re-build the society and enhance the livelihoods. This experience has truly inspired me and sparked my interest in resilience building in community level.

Also, my academic interest in international development and sustainability issues lead me to join Model United Nations club on campus. During that time, I have represented my University at Model United Nations Conferences held in D.C., USA for the 2 consecutive years by representing UNICEF and UNDP. This experiences really enriched my interests in sustainable development goals and prepared me for me next career.

These all experiences led me to pursue master’s degree at University of Tokyo, one of the highly ranked institutions, 1^stin Asia and 20^thin the world. The interdisciplinary master’s program allowed me to focus solely on my studies, and I was awarded with full fellowship from the University. This opportunity forced me to go beyond my comfort zones, and fully immerse myself in research and encounter other sustainability views and research methodologies.The interaction with my colleagues who were working on various sustainability issues such as from disaster risk management, education for sustainable development, sustainable consumption, climate change, sustainable urban design and etc. While collaborating on course projects, I have developed a multidisciplinary thinking and holistic approach in my cognitive abilities and realised I don’t fit in specific traditional disciplinary studies.The program that fits me academically is where I am immersed in multidisciplinary environment, with courses, colleagues as well as my individual multidisciplinary research on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction will truly fulfil me.

My experiences in the past have made me stronger, resilient and adaptable to new environments while persevering and going out of my comfort zone, however, more than anything, they helped me uncover the traits I already had within myself. I have learned that life cannot come to a stop simply because of sexism or pain and that when presented with opportunities that scare me, I should take them on. Diversity and inclusion were a very important part of my life since growing up.I am hoping to contribute through my education and career to motivate and inspire my 3 younger sisters as well as Uzbek female community to pursue careers despite the boundaries of financial hardships, language, country. I have been setting myself up for success during my entire undergraduate and graduate careers, and I am more than ready to take the next step in obtaining a graduate degree to pursue my dream career.