Ani's Study at UChicago
In the summer of 2019, my friend Alice and I visited Chicago, and I specifically advocated to go to the campus of The University of Chicago (for obvious reasons). While I was walking around the campus and looking at these different people, some of them riding their bikes, some studying in the Main Quadrangles or having picnics, I felt both amazed and intimidated. I was constantly thinking how privileged these people are to be a part of this great institution; a privilege that seemed unreachable to me. I turned to Alice and said: “All these people have a story.” Her response later turned out to be the triggering force that encouraged me. She said: “You, too, have a story.” It was right then that it clicked in me. She was right; I do have a story. “Go over there,” - she said, - “I’m gonna take a picture of you.” This is the story of this very photo.
If you want to achieve a dream or a goal, here is what you need to do.
- Step 1: Get a friend like Alice (but shush, don’t tell her, this is a surprise for her; she doesn’t know I’m including her).
- Step 2: Visualize it, feel it, make it a part of you, wake up and go to bed imagining it, go there, embrace your feelings, and have your friend take a picture of you.
This will lead you to take all the rest of the necessary steps without you realizing them. As a result, you will have a very cool photo to remind you about all this, and a nice story to write in your GoFundMe page for once you’ve reached that dream :)
Hi! I am Ani from Armenia. If you do want to get to know me better and on a deeper level, I look forward to having coffee with you and tell you my story (as well as hear yours). But I am going to keep this short and concise, rather than writing a long passage about my story here.
By reading the title of this fundraiser you probably guessed what this is about. If you've also looked at students pursuing knowledge and experience in top 10 universities like The University of Chicago by admiration, and considered it as a huge accomplishment, then I do not need to describe how big of a dream this was for me.
At a very young age, when I first started studying English with these Verishagina English books with my dearest teacher, Mrs. Shahinyan, we examined texts about the great English universities, and I learned that there was a term called 'OxBridge (graduate)' that describes those students who graduated from both Oxford and Cambridge, and I thought to myself how cool that would be. This seemed like an unapproachable target at the time, and I could only imagine the amount of pride I would feel. Now, I know UChicago is not OxBridge, but this was a little older Ani's choice. The University of Chicago was the only one I applied to (I know quite risky), but I decided to go for what I want without any backups, and I am still doing that now.
Although at times I might have been stressed or exhausted, but I applied to UChicago with great determination, and the fact that I became admitted to the M.Sc. Analytics / Data Science program shows that not only I believed in me (which, I think is the most important), but they did too. It can also tell you a little about my background regarding all the extracurricular and community activities I initiated that made me qualified for this top university. I am forever thankful to all the people, who contributed to this accomplishment; you know who you are, and I appreciate you :)
Now that I am on the crossroad of pursuing my dream, the biggest problem I am facing is the financial one. I have applied for various scholarships and have worked two jobs to save some money. I received $10K scholarship from UChicago, scholarships from AGBU and ARS, and I am still waiting for the results for others. However, I am running out of time, which is why I am turning to you, kind people, for help. Below you can find my financial information, as well as my personal statement to UChicago. Please share, donate, and help me pursue my studies at The University of Chicago, help me pursue my DREAM!
Personal Statement
