My Story
Hi,
My name is Lily Sommer. Thank you for taking the time to
read my campaign.
I recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a
First Class undergraduate degree in Economics and received a Rosemary Edwards
Scholarship for my efforts.
I have been made an unconditional offer of admission to the
MSc in Economics at the LSE for the 2012/13 session as a full-time student. I
have been awarded £10,000 from the LSE Graduate Support Scheme to contribute
towards my tuition fees. Studying for an
MSc in economics at the LSE would be the perfect addition to my journey as an
economist.
I am very happy about the award as I never dreamt I would
receive any funding. However the total tuition fees for the programme are
£21,312 and I will also need to fund my basic living costs in London.
Here is a little background about how I got to where I am
today:
I attended a poor performing inner-city state school up
until the age of 18. I always excelled in my studies and was eager to learn
more. I had a particular passion for economics. My dream was to study for my
undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Cambridge. When I said
this to people, it was never really taken seriously, as nobody from my school
had ever attended an Oxbridge institution. Yet I was determined that it was
what I wanted. I arranged to take a Further Mathematics A level (important for
the economics undergraduate admission process) independent of my school as they
didn’t offer it and invested all my time and efforts into achieving the grades
required. All my hard work paid off and I received an offer to study economics
at the University of Cambridge.
At first I was worried that I may not fit into Cambridge,
having come from a very different socio-economic background to most other
students. However this was not the case. I made some amazing friends and
settled into both academic and social life very quickly. Studying at both a poor
performing inner-city state school and one of the top institutions in the world
has made me both more socially aware and rounded as a person.
Whilst studying at the University of Cambridge, I developed
a great passion for development economics. There is no great panacea to solving
the problem of poverty and its attendant ills. Yet piecemeal interventions can
have a sizeable effect on the lives of some of the most vulnerable populations
in the world, as highlighted by Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank and India’s
free-school-lunch program. I decided that this is what I wanted to do, I wanted
to help alleviate poverty and hunger in any little way that I could. This was
in stark contrast to most of my peers studying economics, who planned to go
straight into the city and start earning big money, but I didn’t care, I wanted
to make a change to the lives of those who really needed my help!
During my undergraduate studies and since my graduation I
have participated in numerous projects and research roles to get experience in
the field of development economics. I helped set-up a school in desert
Rajasthan, volunteered with Oxfam, interned with the Earth Institute at
Columbia University researching the health systems in the Millennium
Development Villages in sub-Saharan Africa, and interned with an education
organisation in Mumbai which aims to improve the learning lives of the poor
children of India. All these roles were unpaid (or provided a stipend to cover
travel and lunch). It is a sad story that our society awards corruption and
greedy self-interested behaviours, yet fails to reward those who are
undertaking altruistic activities associated with a wider social benefit.
Hopefully this will change one day.
I’m currently interning with an amazing education
organisation in Mumbai, India. It is a small start-up dedicated to raising the
standards of education in India through the review, evaluation and modelling of
best regional, national and international practice. It has been great to see
and be part of the major impact our services have had on poor children in
Mumbai. Never have I been to a country or state with higher inequality than I
have seen in Mumbai; real estate is costlier than London yet it is home to the
second largest slum in the world. Clearly this is not right and witnessing such
disparity has made me even more devoted to working in the field of development
and helping alleviate such deprivation.
It was a month ago that I received my offer to study for an
MSc in Economics at the LSE. I was over the moon and couldn’t quite believe I
had been offered a place to study at arguably the best institution in the world
to study post-graduate economics. Despite this, I knew that I may not be able
to take up this great opportunity. Up until this point, I hadn’t experienced
how ones socio-economic background can impact on their economic opportunities
and ability to pursue their dreams – I was able to take out a full student loan
to fund my undergraduate studies. Yet on graduating great inequalities in
opportunity have been highlighted – interest free student loans are no longer
available for those who cannot afford to cover the education costs whilst those
with wealthy families encounter no financial obstacles in pursuing their
studies.
I have been applying for scholarships to fund the remaining
£11,312 of the tuition fees and cover my living expenses, but am finding that
available funds are very scarce for this level of study – scholarships tend to
focus on PHD level study. Professional and Career Development Loans are
available from some UK banks - you make an agreement with a participating bank
to borrow an amount between £300 and £10,000, then once you’ve stopped studying
you pay it back (with interest) in the normal way. I have accepted that I will
have to take out a Professional and Career Development Loan. However I would
like to take out as small a loan as possible to limit the size of the loan and
interest payments I have to pay back.
The Impact
Here is a brief summary of why I want to study the MSc in
Economics at the LSE and how it will benefit myself and others in the
long-term:
Studying for an MSc in economics at the LSE would be the
perfect addition to my journey as an economist. Not only would it allow me to
further my learning of the core elements of economic theory and econometrics –
it would also provide me with the opportunity to engage with a diverse set of students
and academics and learn about their wide-ranging experiences with economic
frameworks, government bodies and institutions – and take me one step closer to
achieving my career goal of becoming a professional development economist and
helping improve the lives of the poor.
My career goal is to carryout research on a framework that
allows me to think about how keys issues concerning public policy in the
developing world can be tackled. Undertaking an Economics MSc at the LSE would
provide me with rigorous training in the core areas of economics and the
optional ‘Development and Growth’ course would allow me to specialise in
theories needed for my future area of work. After completion I would like to
continue onto the PHD course to specialise further in the field of development;
LSE’s advanced research facilities and academic expertise would help to equip
me with the research tools of a professional development economist.
What I need and what
you get
I am very happy about being offered a place at the LSE,
arguably the best institution in the world to study post-graduate economics. I
would very deeply grateful if you could contribute anything at all to making
this happen. Along the way I will update you on all developments in my progress
of raising the required funds and any scholarships I receive towards this, and
provide you with feedback on my studies at the LSE. Completing my masters at
the LSE will prepare me for the most competitive economics PHD programmes and
ensure I have the academic credentials to receive funding for my chosen
programme.
I would like to ask you all if you could make any
contribution at all to the remaining £11,312 of my tuition fees and my expected
living costs. I will be living at home to save on accommodation and food
expenses but will still have to pay for travel and resources required for my
course – so I will need to raise at least £15,000. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t
having real difficulties finding funding elsewhere and even if I applied for
the maximum Professional and Career Development loan of £10,000 this wouldn’t
fully cover the remainder or my fees and I will also need funds to cover books,
travel and stationary costs. A contribution of any size would be welcome, as
every little helps :)
Other ways you can
help
I completely understand that many of you will not have any
funds to contribute, especially given the current state of the world economy!!! However you can also help me by sharing the campaign with friends,
families and colleagues by spreading the word through Facebook, other social
media channels, and local media contacts. This
will help to build interest in the campaign – this is important since Campaigns
get featured on IndieGoGo based on their GoGoFactor. The more activity my
campaign has - via updates, sharing, and contributor activity - the more likely
I’ll end up on the IndieGoGo homepage, in their social media outreach, or
featured in the press; and the more likely I’ll reach my fundraising goal :)
Thank you,
Lily
