Program Applied: Globalization and Development

　　Anyone who has ever practiced medium- and long-distance running knows the tediousness, the boredom and the helplessness involving in the process. It is often the case that you will be filled with an overwhelming sense of resignation and despair in the middle of your running, trudging along the endless track as if you will never make it to the finish. There used to be a thin and weak girl who had a deep fear for the physical education during her middle school days, always failing in her medium- and long-distance running events. To change the situation, her father would accompany her in the early morning to practice and to improve. On one of those occasions, when she was apparently losing her confidence and stamina, with her steps slowing down, she heard a voice from the far end of the playground: “You must make it to the finish. You’ve got to do it even if you crawl there on your knees.” With tears in her eyes and sweats on her cheeks, the little girl fought to continue. That year, she passed the tests in those two events. Most importantly, she developed her stamina.

　　Perhaps you have guessed that I am that girl, a girl with a strong willpower who believes in the axiom that “No pains, no gains.”

　　Looking back on my past, I must say that scholastically it has always been a process of plain sailing for me, as my friends would also describe me. After finishing my elementary school, I entered the key middle school in my city as 5th top student. In my middle school, I ranked the 13th among a total of 240 students in my grade and in 1999 I passed the highly competitive national university entrance examination, with distinguished performance, to enter Shandong University, the most prestigious university in Shandong Province, one of the universities in China with the longest history, and one of the key comprehensive universities directly attached to China Education Commission. I chose economic finance as my major.

　　The first year I entered the university, I was attracted by the fascinating diversity of student life on the campus. I joined the university’s Students Union and was appointed leader of its Social Investigation & Research Department. I organized Union members to visit a number of large-scale state-owned enterprises which faced major difficulties in the country’s economic transformation. We carried out sample investigations concerning the economic conditions of those enterprises’ employees and reached important conclusions regarding the impact produced on their conditions of life by the country’s overall economic reshuffling toward a market economy.

　　Unfortunately, my active involvement in extracurricular activities somehow affected my academic performance. In a competitive environment consisting countless elitist students, I found myself only ranking 32nd among a total of 113 students in the final exam of the first year. For the first time in my life, I realized what it really meant to incur defeat and failure. But deep inside me, the spirit of never bowing down to challenges was at work. I made up my mind that I must succeed where I failed. With due efforts, I made remarkable improvement in my coursework and I managed to rank 4th and 8th in those two years. I was awarded second-class and first-class scholarships and honored as the Three-Fold Excellent Student. Also worth mentioning is that I passed the Grade 4 and Grade 6 National English Proficiency Test, the two most difficult English tests for college students of non-English majors. Moreover, I spent my spare time to minor in some law courses because I believe that my knowledge of economics can be strengthened when informed by my knowledge of law.

　　I have also tried to enhance my analytical ability by undertaking some tentative research. I have published several papers in the economics journals of our department and of our university, which include A Study of the Reform in State-Owned Enterprises, Perspectives on the Illegal Practices of Listed Companies, and A Study of E-Commerce in China. Some of those won prizes in our department’s student research contests. By far, my most important research effort is embodied in The Future Development of Chinese Banks written when I was a junior. This paper offers a detailed study concerning the challenges that Chinese banks will face with China’s WTO accession. As China has to open its financial market after its WTO accession, a growing number of foreign banks will open business in China. If Chinese banks fail to perfect their service to meet international standards, foreign enterprises and even domestic enterprises will shift their business to foreign banks, thus posing serious threat to the existence of Chinese banks. One of the professors in my department who specializes in this subject has made positive comments on this paper for some penetrating views that I have raised in it.

　　In retrospect, I am grateful to the unsatisfactory performance in my first-year final exam. It stimulated me to make greater efforts. It changed my bad habit of learning economics by mechanically memorizing individual terms and concepts without really delving into the essence of economic phenomena that were actually happening in the real world. With the improvement in my coursework, I became increasingly interested in economic finance. As far as I am concerned, economics incorporates the strengths of both political science and physical sciences to form a true social science. It examines, with the scientific objectivity, the daily lives of ordinary people and how they transact between one another. On the other hand, it attempts to discover solutions to the fundamental economic challenges that a given society is confronted with. The subject of finance as I studied focuses on the external and internal balance in an open economy from the perspective of monetary banking. Like economics, it is also an applied science aimed at the solution of realistic problems. My study of such important courses as Principles of Economics and Money and Banking broadened my professional horizon and helped to lay a solid theoretical foundation. I also self-studied classic works in economics by Samuelson, 曼昆，and 米什金. By now, I have systematically mastered knowledge in foreign exchange, basic theories of international finance, and financial market. I have also grasped the standard knowledge and practices of management and operation of modern banks including trust and investment, capital circulation, international settlement, financial investment.

　　Although I have made some initial achievements, I realize that complacency would only result in a downturn. My present application for an advanced degree program in Globalization and Development is precisely motivated to scale new heights in my intellectual pursuit. Globalization and Development is a most pressing issue for present-day China and my specialized trainings in this field will make me a professional with talents important to my country, hence there will be a bright future for my career development when I return to China after completing my proposed degree program. My careful observations show me that in its economic construction China generally lacks advanced economic, financial and managerial approaches. In particular, with China’s accession into the WTO, China will call for a large number of financial talents who know well the global economic situations on one hand and domestic economic and financial realities on the other.

　　Britain is a country with long history and London is one of the most celebrated financial centers in the world. Warwick University is one of the British universities with unparalleled academic prestige. I am fascinated by such courses as Globalization, Governance and Development, and International Business under the Globalization and Development Program. I plan to lay a very solid foundation through painstaking studies in the one-year program, further improve my analytical and problem-solving skills. Through diligent coursework and fruitful internships, I will submit a qualified dissertation in which some tentative breakthroughs are expected.

　　A contemporary Chinese writer asserts that “During the long journey of life, only several steps are crucial, especially those during one’s youth.” Undoubtedly, to seek an education in Britain is exactly a crucial step for me in my lifetime. I firmly believe that such an education will effectively broaden my ken of knowledge, exploit my potential to perform serious scholarship and strengthen my capacity to solve economic problems in the real world. It is also beyond doubt that this experience will be my most valuable asset when meeting challenges in my future life.