Personal Statement Example

I. Hardship encountered in life In the country where I come from, we have closely knitted extended families that gave both moral and economic supportto each other. I am particularly close an aunt and uncle who have no children of their own. Before I left Hongkong in 2001, my favorite aunt died of cancer. I was deeply saddened by her death and this compounded my separation anxieties. I lost her and I am also about to lose the things that I am used to. I am going to a foreign land where the culture is so different from my mine. I arrived in the US handicapped by the fact that I still can’t speak English so well and I have lost the strong network of family and friends I have back in Hongkong. Making matters worst is that fact that my favorite Uncle back in my homeland died of a heart attack two months after arrived in the US. I wanted to see him for the last time to give my final farewell but it just wasn’t possible. My grief and my culture shock were so great in my first few months in the US that I got depressed. School was one big ordeal. I simply could not get used to the new systems of academic instructions implemented in the US. Back in Hongkong, things were so different and methods of instructions were in my mother tongue and that’s not the case here in the US. It’s like unlearning and learning all at the same time. It was like a waking nightmare when you have these ideas and you can’t communicate them to the teachers and classmates effectively. I was so homesick and frustrated. It was my father who broke through my anguish and depression when I went to visit Hongkong in December of the same year for the Christmas Holidays. He told me that I should channel my energies towards achieving my goal instead of looking back at the things a have lost and wallow in grief. He me told to focus on the happy memories I have of the loved ones I have lost and concentrate on the things that would make them proud of me. He told me to visualize the things that would make them proud, hold that vision in my heart and makes a commitment to pursue that vision. From then on, I have tremendous progress in my studies in the US. Through my participation in extracurricular activities, I developed communications and leadership skills. For two years in my high school, I was chosen to be the Treasurer of International Student Club and also received the Youth Chinese Language Essay Competition Award-California. My high school grades were accepted into University. II. Understanding of Culture Culture is the way of social expression or behaviors of a given group of people. I am a product of a mixed culture. Being Chinese in American soil affords me great insights about cultural differences and how one acquires the culture of his adopted homeland. Back in Hongkong, we have different ways of doing things. Food for one is definitely distinctively oriental. However, alongside the distinctively Chinese looking stuff are traces of cross-cultural merging. Some products in my country evolved to integrate western culture like our manner of dressing and the other preferences. Here in the US, foreigners like me adopted into the culture and blended in. The deep understanding of cultures and acculturation is a vital tool in management, which I believe I have an edge. Being an outsider and an insider at the same time in the land I now call my second home afforded me with the valuable lesson of integration and adjustment to different situations. My experiences as an outsider in school trying very hard to fit in had sharpen my understanding on the importance of the communication and negotiation skills. I now understand how a message not properly conveyed could result into a different understanding, which may lead into a disaster. Cultural diversity poses a challenge to us but it can also be turned into something productive. Like what my father told when he told me to channel my energies on positive thoughts, cultural differences can also be channeled into positive routes such as the creation of more sectors of the market and more diversity in production. Bringing in my insights of the Hongkong culture into the US business systems can help break new grounds for hybrid systems that will allow transnational companies to navigate and manage their plants all over the globe, cutting across different cultures. III. Leadership My most significant leadership experience occurred last August/September when I visited my father in Hong Kong. I worked as an Executive Trainee in a trading firm. The primary responsibility was to set up the showroom before buyers’ visits, to prepare samples and quotations after the sales meetings. In performing this job, I need to make calls requesting samples for presentation to the buyers, making sure that such samples are available and displayed property before the buyers come in for product viewing. Timing was critical as buyers were stayed for few days in Hong Kong. Buyers may not be able to have another time to view the products. After handling a number of transactions, I already have a good grasp of the operations of the business and was tasked to simplify the internal office documentation flow for easier execution. To do this task, I met with all assistance and secretaries from different departments such as Sales & Marketing, Purchasing, Production, Quality and Shipping to get a better understanding of their functions. After collecting all the information as well as their suggestions, I sorted out all the potential problem and draft out a preliminary flow. Next, I met with the team members again and discuss my proposed flow, which they all agreed to be viable. The most valuable lesson I learned is this work is that it needs strategizing and a lot of negotiating skills to convince people to make changes. In order to do this, the concerned departments must first be consulted regarding their views regarding the process/flow of their work/functions. In this manner, you reduce the amount of resistance, as they will now be the one to identify work duplicity and the need to change systems. Good leadership should be coupled with good communications skills to get your point across. Leadership therefore is not merely standing in front of a line or sitting at the head of the table. It is also communication, respect and giving value to the ideas of others. IV. College Degree I am the first college student of my family. My father instilled in me the importance of having a college education. “Education in Hong Kong is hopeless since we returned to Chinese rule in 1997”, he told me. “The Chinese education system is far inferior to the old English system. English is used everywhere in the world. You must go abroad to improve your English and to broaden your prospects for the future.” That was how I came here in America. The occupations of my parents influenced much my choice of a college degree. My father is the General Manager of an American buying office in Hong Kong while my mother is the Operation Manager in a Japanese company. Often times, they work on weekends and I get watch them work. These trips to the office on weekends got me interested in the art of business management. At a young age, I was already exposed to “company talks” at the dinner table. My parents have a habit of comparing their work experiences and how their staff behaves in given situations. Often times, they ask for ideas and how I would react if I were on the shoes of the staff involved. I found these talks very interesting and enlightening. My choice of a career in business management pleases my parents. They are willing to support me financially in my studies. Read More