¶ … life experience that has had a significant influence on my interest in research would have to be my years in school when I saw how my professors were devoted to understanding the subjects they taught. I was always very impressed by their motivation to dig deeply into their different fields and I wanted to understand the processes they went through to secure their standings. They always seemed so confident to me and full of knowledge. So that is what challenged me to want to become a researcher. One professor in particular that always stuck with me (though this may not be the best reason for wanting to pursue research) is actually a fictional character, who every young kid probably looked up to. That would be Indiana Jones, believe it or not. I loved the way he knew everything about ancient artifacts and different cultures, and I loved that he took time out from his adventures to actually teach students at a school. So while when I was younger I wanted to have his adventures, when I became older I wanted to have his learning and understanding. To do that, I realized I had to turn to research. And to do that, I knew I had to actually have an interest in other cultures that were different from my own. Fortunately, I realized I did have this interest -- and maybe the seed for it was planted long ago when I was first watching those movies!

What I personally...

I bring with me the knowledge and insight that I have gathered from two generations (my parents and my grandparents, both of which I have been close to). Coupled with these insights are ones that I have developed on my own, through my reading of different materials, whether history or literature. I have always been fond of learning, of the social sciences, of history and literature -- and this probably stems from an interest in the human experience and how we come to know things about ourselves. I bring a fascination for that study and my perspective is shaped by the experiences I have had as an individual.
One thing that I can say that is unique to me is that I have actually had the opportunity to get to know other cultures first hand through my various experiences in getting to know different religions. I looked into both Western and Eastern religions growing up and met a lot of different people from many different places who taught me about their own ways of living and their own ways of believing in and worshipping God. This was sort of like "going into the field," as Jean and Stephen Schensul say (2), although they assert that going into the field demands a certain amount of "know-how" already possessed by the researcher…