Today, I received my acceptance to the ME3 Masters Program. This is a European Joint Masters in Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy. Quite a mouthful, I know.
While I was excited about the news, I am still struggling to find decent funding for my program – I was not awarded a full scholarship: bummer! Regardless, I believe that this is an achievement in itself and it should be acknowledged as such.
That’s the reason why I am sharing with you all the motivation statement that got me closer to the acceptance of my application.
To whom it may concern:
I will not base this letter entirely on my accomplishments or my “fit to the program”. I will instead, tell you a story about my inspiration and dream that us, as a global society, learn to overcome the energy challenges of the century. This has been an aspiration of mine to understand not only science but how it is fundamental to overcome the economic disparity between countries. I believe that in science we have found unity as a global society several times in the past; we united when electricity was discovered, we united when satellites brought us immediate information globally; we united when we sent out the Voyager I across the galaxy with the “Sounds of Earth” playing, in a dream-like hope of finding life. I am certain that we will find a global union again by resolving energy crises throughout the globe with sustainability principles. I want to be part of this particular global union.
During college, I spent five years learning the ins and outs of Chemical Engineering; discovering the wonders of math as a language, physics, and chemistry as a means to unfold nature. After graduation, I have spent more than two years as a Management Consultant solving problems for businesses, where I keep learning the language of money, business politics, and economic complexity. I enjoy my line of business because I believe that what I do helps people. However, oftentimes I find myself nowhere near my aspirations of making this global union dream come true. I have been concerned as a consultant and engineer, but more importantly, as a global citizen. Mainly, three things keep my eyes and ears open. First is the lack of conscience in energy transformation and its use; secondly, inconsistent efficiencies (academic, political, social and industrial) across countries of the world; and last, the communication strategies required in a global environment to push forward science in politics and society.
In Mexico, we faced turmoil during the 2013 Energy reform enforced by the recently elected president. There was uncertainty as the private sector was welcome with open doors from the government to enter the country’s most valuable industry, introducing a new way for Mexicans to free ourselves from a seventy-plus-year-old monopoly. Then, a year after, the Oil and Gas industry created havoc worldwide. During this time, I lived in the centre point of its US industry: Houston. Not only did I hear about the crash in the news, but I saw the whole system falling, piece by piece: from rumours, to actual friends losing their careers without previous notice. I rode with Uber drivers that were fired from their jobs; Chemical Engineers, Financial Advisors, and Platform Engineers through Texas were suddenly trying to pay their mortgages and expenses through driving an Uber car, jumping to real estate and networking like their life depended on it. I remember receiving business cards and sudden requests from my acquaintances and even strangers to recommend them into the consulting world. Honestly, seeing how the global economics of energy affected so many people at once, sickened me. I saw a reflection of myself in my peers, but there was a glimpse of something deeper, of an entire system that enjoyed a famous and elite status, because people could get themselves into it and be set for life, where money was just not a problem at all because there was plenty of it. And nonetheless, the system broke down.
As a Chemical Engineer, I spent many hours studying theoretical concepts and application of science into the manufacturing world. I also learned the implications of being an engineer toward the environment and society through my ecoefficiency classes and environmental engineering minor. I then had the fortune of becoming a management consultant upon graduation, where I learned the real drivers of the industry. I saw how monumental, multi-million dollars decisions were made mostly based on analysis, but sometimes based on hunches and the opinion of a select group of people. This is not what I hoped for.
While I have looked at diverse graduate programmes, I find in this programme a well-rounded design that fits my life-long goals. Friends and mentors have asked me why am I not applying to an MBA since it would be a logical next step in my career? Why not Economics? Why do you want to keep digging into “engineering stuff”? For me, effective management of energy in a global setting will be a milestone to our entire human race to start thinking as a whole unity, and as I have seen in the business and government world, understanding science behind decisions is what drives real measurable progress. During college, I took a look into the components of the universe. We cracked open the day-to-day products of the world and analysed their chemical components, the different ways to create them and their impact on the environment, company’s financial bottom-lines and its direct society. We solved engineering problems by segmenting and breaking them down into pieces until we found the solution. We observed and discussed how certain countries like Norway and Sweden are already consolidated in terms of sustainability through their effective energy infrastructure and the consistent use of Socio-Eco-efficiency index, created by BASF, as an adequate indicator of how a process or technology ranks against others across the three pillars of society, energy, and environment. I remember feeling angst by looking around my own country and finding carelessness. I want to be the link between science, society and the businesses to push toward global wellbeing.
I am certain that this program will be my own personal milestone to continue this pursuit. While I had considered Option 2 of the program as my first choice because of its Chemical Engineering focus that reminded me of my undergraduate studies, I selected Option 1 as my first choice for the program because I am certain it will be more beneficial for my longer-term purposes; specifically, the Environment Class will guide my thoughts and skills to meet my career goals. French is another underlying reason for my selection of Option 1. During High School, I spent three years learning the French language, customs, and history. I believe that spending one year in France will be a great fit between my yearnings to continue this knowledge and how my own cultural background can provide valuable perspectives to the French community.
Perhaps this sounds like an unreasonable dream, but I am hopeful, driven and focused. For me, there is no time to waste and I wish to spend my time nurturing this ambitious thought and getting people to come together through knowledge as a guiding light.
I look forward to hearing from you and would enjoy having a conversation about these, or any other topic related to this statement.
Kind regards,
Gerardo Alonso
Everything written here is a personal reflection and is by no means educational, financial or professional advice in any way.
Please feel free to cite and refer reliable sources in the comment section down below.