Forty-one years ago this month, John F. Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". The global society in which we now live has changed since then. My experience and my goal is now world-wide. So, it is important to realize not what the world can do for me, but how my background and my ambition and the furtherance of my education can do to bring about some sort of harmony, economic as well as political and social stability. As one whose family has lived for generations in what is now Iran, my immediate goal will be to establish a public service consultancy where I can help bridge the ages-old traditions of my native land, and help bring it into the circle of modern nations. I realize that this is a momentous task. I will need far more training and background, more development and fine-tuning of my skills. It is for this reason that I want to be accepted as part of the JFK School's diverse student body: to help me realize the goal of providing ideas, implementing the strategies for public service, and developing effective leadership roles that include the next generation of citizens who will need to shoulder the burdens of re-integration.
At first glance, it might seem that my background, which includes three years with McKinsey & Company and work in the cement industry, following undergraduate studies in business, is more focused on economic priorities. However, having been part of an international team, it has made me understand what the future requires: not merely "businessmen" and venture capitalists, but those dedicated to public service with emphasis on those nations now unable to be part of the mainstream as we begin the 21st century.
Specifically, my background provides me with insight into how public service can accomplish the building of that bridge, especially between Iran and the West. Already, the Iranian government is more liberal in many ways than ea...