Calavera
New member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2015
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- French
- Home Country
- Morocco
- Current Location
- Morocco
Good evening!
It is my first post but I gotta say that this forum helped me more than once. I usually find that the answer I was looking for was already given in a thread.
This time, I need a native speaker to take a look at my cover letter, and specify if there are any mistakes. I am applying for a MA in Popular Culture. Remarks and advice are very welcome. Thank you in advance!
____________
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my interest in applying for the MA in Popular Culture at the University of xxxxx.
I believe my educational background and work experience, combined with topics, discussions and skills that this program provides, will surely give me a special insight into popular culture.
I currently hold a four-year Media & Communication degree from xxxxx. There, I developed vital journalism skills enabling me to think critically, gather and evaluate information, as well as present it in a concise and appealing way.
During my third year at xxxx, I had the chance to really put these skills into practice, as an invaluable opportunity to work at xxx Radio Station arose. XXX is an international radio station based in xxxx, that broadcasts to listening audiences throughout my region. It is also the most listened to private radio station in xxxx and has a very selective recruiting system, which made the offer impossible to turn down. Accepting the job meant putting my studies on hold, which is a choice I’m glad I made, as I gained an enormous amount from my time there; I ended my three-year adventure in order to, once again, return to the school benches and complete my degree.
During my time at xxxx (2011-2014), I was a sports and cultural journalist. I learned to work with detailed information effectively, search for necessary facts precisely, manage my time efficiently and communicate clearly as I had to deal with the stress of speaking live on air.
Being the youngest journalist in one of the most important radio stations of my region was a challenging and character-forming experience. I had the opportunity to work with a diverse range of journalists, from European (French, English, German…) Moroccan, North African and Middle Eastern backgrounds. As well as improving my teamwork skills, the job also gave me an insight into other cultures, allowing me to gain a new perspective of the world. I quickly had to learn to adapt myself to these differing cultures and their work styles in my role, which has made me a fast learner as well as a flexible and resilient person.
Besides the purely informative part of my job (presenting the sport news, doing interviews and coverage of sports events and hosting a weekly sports show), I had a weekly musical segment in the station’s cultural show. Being an amateur musician and a keen music lover, this was a dream come true for me. The show’s presenter gave me carte blanche to present every week an atypical musician or album and to discuss on air his/its qualities and what makes him/it so special and unique.
I discovered a new facet of journalism and I must say that it was the most gratifying to me. I was able to bring my own contribution to the table, my personal added value beyond the mere factual journalism work. I realized that what I liked the most was not being totally immersed in a subject (media or music), it was rather being slightly detached from it and at the same time gravitating around it.
Therefore, I believe that the MA in Popular Culture (Media Studies major) will be the natural step further in my career. I have no doubt it will help me build on the analytical and critical skills I gained with my academic background and work experience. I am also looking forward to gain the needed knowledge of the theories employed to step back from popular culture and to explain it.
I was also particularly attracted by the fact that I can take optional Musicology courses as a Media Studies major. It is the perfect way for me to reconcile my two passions, media and music. It also gives me a premise on the direction that I will give to my thesis where I would like to incorporate notions from both Media Studies and Musicology.
On a personal note, as a Moroccan, I have always been immersed in both the Arab and European culture, as Morocco is a cultural hub that manages to combine and balance tradition, modernity and Western values. My academic education was also entirely taught in French within an educational system heavily influenced by the French one. I am confident that living in Finland is ideal for me to further build on and develop this cultural diversity, especially in a country for which I had a special interest since high school when I was a huge fan of Finnish Rock bands.
On completion of the MA in Popular Culture, my objective is to pursue postgraduate studies in order to make a contribution in the field of research but also keep in touch with journalism in order to pick up where I left off, bolstered by new skills and knowledge.
I have absolute confidence that my acceptance into your program will be a great opportunity for me to pursue a career in this direction. Thank you very much for taking my application into consideration. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
It is my first post but I gotta say that this forum helped me more than once. I usually find that the answer I was looking for was already given in a thread.
This time, I need a native speaker to take a look at my cover letter, and specify if there are any mistakes. I am applying for a MA in Popular Culture. Remarks and advice are very welcome. Thank you in advance!
____________
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my interest in applying for the MA in Popular Culture at the University of xxxxx.
I believe my educational background and work experience, combined with topics, discussions and skills that this program provides, will surely give me a special insight into popular culture.
I currently hold a four-year Media & Communication degree from xxxxx. There, I developed vital journalism skills enabling me to think critically, gather and evaluate information, as well as present it in a concise and appealing way.
During my third year at xxxx, I had the chance to really put these skills into practice, as an invaluable opportunity to work at xxx Radio Station arose. XXX is an international radio station based in xxxx, that broadcasts to listening audiences throughout my region. It is also the most listened to private radio station in xxxx and has a very selective recruiting system, which made the offer impossible to turn down. Accepting the job meant putting my studies on hold, which is a choice I’m glad I made, as I gained an enormous amount from my time there; I ended my three-year adventure in order to, once again, return to the school benches and complete my degree.
During my time at xxxx (2011-2014), I was a sports and cultural journalist. I learned to work with detailed information effectively, search for necessary facts precisely, manage my time efficiently and communicate clearly as I had to deal with the stress of speaking live on air.
Being the youngest journalist in one of the most important radio stations of my region was a challenging and character-forming experience. I had the opportunity to work with a diverse range of journalists, from European (French, English, German…) Moroccan, North African and Middle Eastern backgrounds. As well as improving my teamwork skills, the job also gave me an insight into other cultures, allowing me to gain a new perspective of the world. I quickly had to learn to adapt myself to these differing cultures and their work styles in my role, which has made me a fast learner as well as a flexible and resilient person.
Besides the purely informative part of my job (presenting the sport news, doing interviews and coverage of sports events and hosting a weekly sports show), I had a weekly musical segment in the station’s cultural show. Being an amateur musician and a keen music lover, this was a dream come true for me. The show’s presenter gave me carte blanche to present every week an atypical musician or album and to discuss on air his/its qualities and what makes him/it so special and unique.
I discovered a new facet of journalism and I must say that it was the most gratifying to me. I was able to bring my own contribution to the table, my personal added value beyond the mere factual journalism work. I realized that what I liked the most was not being totally immersed in a subject (media or music), it was rather being slightly detached from it and at the same time gravitating around it.
Therefore, I believe that the MA in Popular Culture (Media Studies major) will be the natural step further in my career. I have no doubt it will help me build on the analytical and critical skills I gained with my academic background and work experience. I am also looking forward to gain the needed knowledge of the theories employed to step back from popular culture and to explain it.
I was also particularly attracted by the fact that I can take optional Musicology courses as a Media Studies major. It is the perfect way for me to reconcile my two passions, media and music. It also gives me a premise on the direction that I will give to my thesis where I would like to incorporate notions from both Media Studies and Musicology.
On a personal note, as a Moroccan, I have always been immersed in both the Arab and European culture, as Morocco is a cultural hub that manages to combine and balance tradition, modernity and Western values. My academic education was also entirely taught in French within an educational system heavily influenced by the French one. I am confident that living in Finland is ideal for me to further build on and develop this cultural diversity, especially in a country for which I had a special interest since high school when I was a huge fan of Finnish Rock bands.
On completion of the MA in Popular Culture, my objective is to pursue postgraduate studies in order to make a contribution in the field of research but also keep in touch with journalism in order to pick up where I left off, bolstered by new skills and knowledge.
I have absolute confidence that my acceptance into your program will be a great opportunity for me to pursue a career in this direction. Thank you very much for taking my application into consideration. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
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