Simarpreet Bhangu - Essay Example

Simarpreet Bhangu Dear Professor Romaniuk: I am interested in applying to the Graduate Assistantship in Homeland Security at the Office of Graduate Studies and the Center on Terrorism at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY as a Graduate Assistant. Congratulations on receiving your grant from the Department of Homeland Security and its inauguration. I am currently a Master of Public Administration student at John Jay College. I obtained a Bachelor Degree in Behavioral Science majoring in Criminal and Psychology at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York. I also obtained an Associate Degree in Behavioral Science majoring in Criminal Justice. I have taken courses that are pertinent to the area that will give in theory what I will put into practice upon graduation. These course matters have dealt with criminal procedures, punishment, world view values, research methods, psychology, world religions, cross cultural, statistics, and research design methods. These courses have given me theory that I will be able to use in my field to start a professional life along with my current class workload. I have had experiences working as an Intern at several institutions. I worked as an Intern with the Department of Homeland Security in New York. I assisted with squads within the field office. Some of my tasks were working with database. I learned how to classify: computer generated counterfeit currency; bank fraud; counterfeit checks; credit card fraud, and identify theft. I assisted agents in preparing and presenting criminal cases to the United States Attorney´s office: documenting evidence; exposed to the general aspects of the agency’s protective mission; and I observed firearms procedures. This means that I learned all aspects of what the Secret Service does as an agency. I was able to see first hand and become part the idiosyncrasies of their respective missions and assignments. I was also an Intern with the New York Police Department in Queens, New York. I assisted in the Complaint Room by helping them in accidents and working in the complaint indexes. I worked with the Domestic Violence Officers in filing incident reports. I attended meetings with the Community Affairs Officers and I performed a ride-along on patrol. This gave me a sense of how busy and the hectic schedule the Police Officers have on a daily basis at the Police Station. I also worked as an Intern at the Village of Fishkill Police Department in Fishkill, New York. I also assisted the officers by helping them in accidents and complaint indexes. I performed a ride-along on patrol and became involved in evaluations. I have had other experiences in different areas. I worked with NXP in Hopewell Junction, New York as an operator. With the Special Enforcement Bureau of New York I worked as a Security Office. At Manpower at IBM Inc. in Hopewell Junction, New York I also worked as an operator in inspections and manufacturing. I assisted customers, increased sales, and I had cashier responsibilities at Citgo Mart Inc. I have been involved as a volunteer with the Mid-Hudson Sikh Cultural Society. I am in-charge of the Scholarship Committee. I have good communications skills. I have computer skills: Internet, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Spread Sheets. I have typing skills: 40 words per minute. I speak three languages: English, Punjabi, and Hindi. I am an analytical person. I am an organized and a detailed person. I work independently and as a team member. I start and finish projects before their due dates. I am a detailed oriented person. I am an achiever and I seek the same from others and I believe it is important to maintain high quality standards and abide by them. I am able to maintain vigilance for the company I work for, I am prompt for unexpected situations, I am ready for emergencies, and I and careful in taking care of people and their needs. I have supervision and evaluation skills as to make sure that the processes are kept and that the quality is maintained as expected. I keep quality control in my venues and I keep customers satisfied when dealing with the clients. As you will have noticed I have been involved in academia and I have also taken the initiative to work in others areas of interest. All of these areas have helped me to become the person I am now. Becoming a Graduate Assistant in the Graduate Assistantship in Homeland Security will help me advance in my career objectives. I am highly interested in your research Projects: “The Fundamentalist Mindset: On Religion and Violence” with Professor Strozier, Director of the Center on Terrorism; “History Will Judge: An Examination of Torture through the Ages” with Professor Sneh from the History Department; and, “Prisoner Radicalization” with Professors Strozier and with you from the Government Department. I am well suited to become a Graduate Assistant for the Graduate Assistantship in Homeland Security. As I have stated previously I have good communication skills, I am diligent, I have research qualities, I am knowledgeable in research methods, I am well versed in statistics, I am computer literate, and I speak other languages. These are skills that work well in an academic environment working with fellow students, professors, researchers, editors, and authors. By being able to speak other languages will give me the opportunity of doing research from primary sources in those languages. I will not only be able to translate information into the English language, but I will also be familiar with the customs, culture, history, traditions, and idiomatic terms. Translating documents from other languages does not only entail the grammar components but it also needs to take into account the elements mentioned above. It is very important to have these elements in mind while doing research. We do not want to repeat history as in the following cases: Nestle Milk Powder; NOVA; and, Coca-Cola. These are international companies that did not do their research. Nestle Milk Powder took their milk powder to Africa and gave instructions that the milk powder was to be mixed with water. Easy instructions it seemed to be. As a result thousands of infants died. Why? During their research process they neglected to tell the user that you first had to boil the water. The water that was being used was from a river where they washed their clothes, performed their human needs, and washed themselves. The water was contaminated. This was a good court case and the bottom line was in their finances. This business transaction failed and there were deaths as a consequence of negligent research. As a result when you purchase Nestle Milk Powder, in their preparation for instructions they state that you need to boil the water first. NOVA wanted to do a business transaction in Venezuela. They also failed to do their research. NOVA in Italian may mean “new” but in Spanish it means “it does not go”. Sales which was the objective of the company also failed. No one wanted to buy a car that does not run. Coca-Cola wanted to do business in Thailand. They also made the same mistake. They had a slogan that they thought would trigger the market. Not doing their research resulted in a translation that meant, “Your ancestors will return from the dead”. That business transaction failed because the Asians are very respectful of the elderly and once they pass they are still honored. They did not want their ancestors to return. That slogan was an insult to them. As a Graduate Assistant I would be most cautious to take these elements into consideration, while partaking in national and international research. There are similarities and there are differences and these have to be evaluated taking the countries´ particular intricacies into consideration. As an example, another case is the countries where Spanish is spoken. Traveling from one country to another, if you are not aware of their customs, traditions, history, culture, idiomatic terms, and non-verbal communication, you may be offending the natives of those countries you are visiting. The Hispanic countries cannot be placed all in the same jar since even the Spanish language varies from country to country. I would be honored in becoming part of the Graduate Assistantship in Homeland Security. The Research Projects are interesting for world consumption and it would be a contribution to religion, terrorism, torture, and prison. I will learn in the process and I will be able to share my views through personal knowledge and through research. I have a desire to be part of this milieu. Having research skills will broaden my horizons in my professional life. I will also be in a position to make contributions in the business world, in the security of the United States of America, and care for the safety of people around the world. I hope that the Office of Graduate Studies and the Center on Terrorism at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at CUNY gives me the opportunity to become part of your institution as a Graduate Assistant in your Graduate Assistantship in Homeland Security, so that I may achieve my goals and objectives as a professional later in life. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. I hope to hear from you soon. Have a good day. Sincerely, Simapreet Bhangu Read More