Dear Sir or Madam, In this autumn after I finished my studies, while I was looking for a job one of my friends

asked me if I want to help an center for kids with neuromotor disabilities. I never thought that this experience could be life changing for me or for anybody else for that matter. I was looking at this kids that do not have a thing, for them is a big success if after a lot of years of exercise and therapy are able to feed themselves. This experience made me see that life is more than just success and money, it is about having the courage to make a difference, to trust yourself and the others. During the last four years I have been studying for a major in Electronics and Telecommunications at the Politehnica University in Bucharest. My decision to study this field came after finishing a mathematics-informatics specialization in high-school and feeling that this would be a natural continuation. Soon after starting the university I started reading more on psychology and I realized I have a strong passion for this area and that maybe I hurried when I chose my graduate program. I tried very hard for years to loose this feeling, I followed the international courses from the Cisco Networking Academy for one year and a half with great result, despite all my efforts I always had the feeling that I did not find my way in life. Now, I am preparing for the next step in my life, the Master and that is why I dedicated a lot of hours into reading about different programs and curriculums. I want to make sure that I decide what is best for me and what suits my personality. After 3 months I found what I was looking for in the Crime Scene Investigation Master. I believe that the program you are offering is exactly what I would like to study and the next step for my future career. Although I am an applied electronics major, what I have learned as a undergraduate can be applied in many ways into the Crime Scene Investigation. Because I have a strong technical background, I have been trained extensively in solving problems both alone and in teams. Although the problems themselves have been technical, the analytical skills that I have acquired in solving such problems can be applied to the world of crime scene investigation. The laboratory hours allowed me to work in teams of different sizes. I also work in a team while preparing my Thesis in Torino, Italy at the Politecnico di Torino in the Prof. Danilo Demarchi team to develop a program that could simulate the physics phenomena without making the actual experiment. I have also worked during one summer in a company as an Assistant Manager and draft man were I increased my organizational skills and I learned how to effectively deal with crisis situations. Because I am applicant from a different background I can, I can provide an altered perspective to problems encountered in forensic investigations. I received an Erasmus Scholarship to prepare my Thesis abroad for 3 months. This was the greatest challenge of my undergraduate career because not many students leave to study at a foreign institution. During those 3 months I studied in research with a team of researchers in English which is not my mother tongue, I learn how to use new programs in order to adjust to the Italian system I was able to finish my Thesis research with great results. This is the reason why I asked for a recommendation letter from Prof. Demarchi.

My past experience have well prepared me to pursue graduate education at the George Washington University. Mu under-graduated education in electronics at POLYTECHNIC University has enabled me to not merely reiterate ideas, but to apply the concepts I have learned in any situation I encounter. The lack of confidence in the University that I chose can be seen in my grade average in the first and last year. This lack of confidence made me put under question everything I loved like mathematics and physics, as evidence of this problem are my very different grades in physics and mathematics that cannot be explained in other way considering that only 6 months passed between my BAC (the Romanian SAT) and my first exam. I feel that my life experience would be an asset to George Washington University master program in Crime Scene Investigation. George Washington University has a exciting program that is exceptionally impressive. I need to go to graduate school to achieve my dream of becoming a crime scene investigator. The Master program holds the resources that can enable me to continue my quest. Thank you very much for your time and for taking my application into consideration. Sincerely yours, Ana Maria Ioni