The reason
I'm so keen to study at the Bachelor of Economics International Program,
Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University is because of my interest in
Economics. Many of my family members are economists. My Great Grand Father,
Sanish Prabhasanobol, was the first employee at Bank of Thailand. My grand
father, Prasert Prabhasanobol, recieved an M.A. in Economics from Thammasat
where he met my grand mother who was studying in Thammasat as a hi-school
student (around 50 years ago Thammasat had a pre-university level). He
has written some books on economics. My uncle, Rujapong, used to work in
BOT until he moved to the Gaysorn group. One of my cousins graduated from
BE only two years ago. Another one is currently studying in third year.
My mother and her sister both graduated from Thammasat university- in fact,
my mother, Thananya Shrestha, is teaching at the Faculty of Journalism
and Mass Communication. So, I feel kind of yellow and red in my blood already.
My own interests
in Economics started from my study of philosophy and politics. I found
out that Economics is the great combination of the two great humanistic
disciplines. As my grand father tells me, Economics is the art and science
of managing resources. Therefore, it is the most challenging subject because
Economics is the study of macrocosmic links among resources. Economics
is a study in the wholeness of resources. In this, I’m truly interested
to find out the holistic, ecological ways of resource management. My grand
father has also repeatedly told me that economics does not just determine
the profession of a person but it shapes his thinking by synthesizing central
humanistic concepts. He says Economists is fundamental to modern thinking.
I agree with him because most of the great leaders and thinkers have had
a solid background in the fundamentals of economics. Look at Plato, Karl
Marx, Pridi Bonomyong or even George Soros.
I am in the United
States attending high school while writing this essay, I can see that the
most influential person in this country is not President Clinton but Allan
Greenspan, Chairman of of the Federal Reserves. I decided in 1996 that
I want to study Economics when I chose to study Art-Math section in my
high school because I could see that the knowledge of History and Humanities
would help me better than Physics or Chemistry because it would help me
understand human's thinking and practices, which are main factors in Economical
events. As I was watching the Asian Economics Crisis, I could see that
Psychology become a great factor in economical events, it is very fascinating
to me to explore the relation of Economics and Psychology. I also studied
Calculus because it is fundamental to the understanding of Economics. By
talking to my two B.E. cousins and by its reputation, I know that Thammasat’s
BE English program is one of the best in Thailand and Asia. Besides the
high quality of study program, faculty members and student exchange program,
I like the student’s activities like Harvard project that my cousin (Sira
Klongvicha) participated and mini-symposium. I hope that, if I'm accepted
to study BE, I’ll have an opportunity to work with my fellow students and
faculty members and seek new Economics theories and practices that would
apply to our country. I would like to study and find out which direction
the future Economists of Thailand should go, how the future economists
can contribute to lead Thailand to the right path by providing a holistic,
ecological management of resources not just blind, short-term business/
corporation/industrial/finance oriented approach which led us to the Great
Economic Crash of 1997!
At Thammasat as a BE student
I also look forward to playing an active role in the students activities.
At St Gabriel’s, I was the president of Computer Club. Currently I’m a
vice president of an American Intercultural Students Exchange (AISE) Thai
students. Last year, A few friends and I from my Mathayom 4 class called
ourselves VSHOCX band and played XJAPAN songs at three department stores
and for TeenTalk, Lok Don Tri TV program. At my American high school, I’m
a member of jazz band and concert band. I play piano and guitar and I certainly
hope to contribute to making extracurricular activities of BE students
at Thammasat a rich one.
by Sunit Shrestha