November 17,2008
Dear Mr. Larsen,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generous contribution towards my education. Over the course of this academic school year, and with your support, I will be enrolled in classes with a stronger focus and determination to acquire the knowledge I can use for my future.
In late July of this year, I arrived home from Bulgaria after volunteering for the US Peace Corps. For two years, I taught English to secondary students in a quiet sleepy town on the Danube. The friendships I established, the young lives I felt I impacted and the progress 1 made in my community helped affirm my belief in the virtues of public service and piqued my interest in international policy. Indeed, my experience there clarified the direction I wanted to take and paved a path towards which my passion could be applied.
From 5,800 miles away and over the telephone, I learned of my acceptance into the Evans School from the receptionist at the school. I was elated to be joining such a prestigious and forward looking program and to be returning to the university where I finished my undergraduate years. A few short weeks later I was informed of the William Shelton Fellowship and was in utter disbelief. The weight on my shoulders from the burden that further debt from education would place on me was of deep concern. With the fellowship, that weight and pressure are substantially less this year and I am able to redirect my energy towards learning.
The first six weeks of school have gone remarkably well as the transition from being a teacher to being a student has been smooth. I am enrolled in my first public management course as well as a budgeting and an economics course. The faculty is exceptional and the classes are providing the tools for productive and thoughtful policy analysis.
I am committed to being a faithful steward of the fellowship. My efforts this year will represent the hard work and ambition I have to acquire the knowledge and skills to be a successful student and apply it in my future profession. Please accept my humble gratitude for your assistance. I hope to meet you soon so I can personally convey my thanks.
Respectfully yours,
Michael Bennion
Tags: Michael Bennion