Statement of Purpose
This was the statement of purpose I wrote to Boston University’s Metropolitan College when I applied for admission to their Master of Arts in Gastronomy program. I am including it because they did accept me, so it is a successful piece of correspondence.
The Master of Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University will be the next step for me in achieving a lifelong dream-that towards a terminal degree. I intend to study how food history, food culture, and food writing all intersect with literature.
The Gastronomy Master of Arts online program interests me greatly. I feel it will give a stronger foundation with the English M.A. that I am currently completing, as I intend to pursue a terminal degree in cultural diplomacy with a focus on culinary diplomacy. While I realize that my age (I turned 60 last December) may hold me back in terms of my long-desired career, teaching at the university level, I refuse to let that stop me and will find a way to teach about food and literature no matter what obstacles I encounter.
My undergraduate degree is from Northeastern University College of Professional Studies. It took six years of working on classwork after work and on weekends to graduate but I achieved that degree two weeks before my sixtieth birthday. My Bachelor of Science degree is in English with a double minor: Creative Writing and History. I graduated magna cum laude. I am positive that my demonstrated dedication, determination, and focus will assist me in a second graduate studies program. I know that I will work hard to achieve my goal and that I can do it despite whatever challenges lie ahead.
My lifelong love of literature in all its forms has flourished in my current Master of Arts program at ASU, where I am close to achieving the Master of Arts in English – Literature track. At Northeastern, I became fascinated with how food writing exists in most stories. Authors seem to love talking about food. From Cervantes to Dickens to Nora Ephron, food writing makes their writing more poignant, and it connects with readers in a visceral way. Authors often discuss food history and social justice in their novels. For my Northeastern capstone (attached to the supplemental documents section), I wrote about food writing in literature. I would like to delve into that subject more and feel that Boston University’s Gastronomy Master of Arts is a way to incorporate food policy, history and food writing into my existing studies.
My plans are to attain a Ph.D. in Cultural Diplomacy with a focus on culinary diplomacy and write about how food, food policy, food history, food writing, and literature all intersect in culture and how food can be used to both uplift and oppress. I have an interest in the societal impact of food justice, as well as food deserts and food gentrification. I have no doubt that I can achieve these goals as I have the focus, dedication, and desire to do so. Moreover, my achievements thus far prove to me that I can and will achieve my goals. I hope with all my heart that the next step on my path to achieving these goals will be in the Gastronomy program at Boston University.
Thank you for your consideration.