"Вишневое" счастье | Документы, Справочник

Если вы ребенком лазили по деревьям и собирали вишню за деньги, об этом можно написать в эссе. Главная загвоздка заключается в том, чтобы преподнести факты правильно.

Вишни росло видимо-невидимо. Сочная, красная, вкусная. Небо синее-синее. Солнце припекало спину... Вы собирали целые корзины спелых ягод, а спустя много лет решили поступать на MBA...

Продолжение. Начало читайте здесь.

Anonymous, Harvard Business School

I have taken the liberty of enclosing something with this application that is very dear to me, a replica of a photograph of my family taken nearly 20 years ago. From left to right starting in the front row, the photo shows me, my younger sister, mother,father and older sister. The place is Oregon, where my family and I migrated every summer to work in the sweet cherry harvest.

Using all my might, I would carry the bucket shown from 4 a.m. to sundown. Each full bucket, which weighed approximately 30 pounds when filled, was worth $1.50. At the end of the day, my earnings were approximately $20, a seemingly large fortune to me at this age. Although I was very young, I learned quickly that the more buckets I filled the more money I took home. To fill more buckets required me to work harder and smarter. Since I wasn't very tall at the time, I focused on picking the low-hanging fruit and tried to find and acquire the trees with the best crop. I would frequently wake up earlier than most of the other workers as I attempted to work the best areas.

harvester At the end of the workday, I would make sure to record the number of buckets I completed (including fractions of a bucket). Each night I would review my progress and ask myself serious questions such as why the number of buckets made this week was lower than last week. Relying on my father and mother's expertise, I would devise strategies to counteract the downward trends and sustain the upward trends. My younger sister, who worked alongside me and competed for the same fruit, was just as ambitious and intense. I would focus on ways to intercept her strategy and outdo her in every aspect of the work. I reaped the benefits of my hard labor at the end of the summer when my parents allowed me to use my earnings to purchase school clothes and supplies.

I would like to make several points in relation to this story. Number one is that it was settings such as these where I gained my first true lessons in business. Alongside farm workers who had little or no formal education, I learned the value of money and how hard work and ambition related to success. The daily struggles associated with trying to make ends meet with my family were very valuable lessons in finance, management and accounting. Competitor evaluation and analysis, focus on high returns and relentless monitoring of progress and performance were among the strategies I employed in the situation described above and ones that I still use today in my career and personal life. This situation and many other similar ones form the cornerstone of my success as a student, professional and community servant, as well as provide a foundation for my desire to pursue an MBA from Harvard.

Secondly, reflecting on such experiences has ultimately made me realize my true calling in life. I chose engineering as a major because I enjoyed math and science in high school and college, and mostly because these subjects challenged my intellect much more than other subjects. Now that I have worked in engineering for over three years, I realized that, although I can perform at the level of most gifted experienced engineers in my company, this is not where my passion lies. The science and math-based curriculum I completed in college and my experiences as an engineer working in the private sector have given me a strong analytical and technical foundation, which I will undoubtedly apply to other facets of my life.

energy production

I believe, however, that my calling in the world is not to design the best process for producing oil or the most efficient way of bringing energy to the world. Although each of these objectives is an important and worthy challenge, my destiny is to help unleash the leadership potential of others. Whether it be working with disadvantaged students or motivating a work team during a project, I feel my true talents lie in helping others achieve that which they would otherwise not be able achieve.

There is one final point I would like to stress to the admissions board as they consider my application. I consider my ability to take standardized tests as one of my weakest academic qualities. Although I have learned and mastered the necessary knowledge to excel, I have never been able to master the subtle strategies and skills needed to achieve on such tests. The Graduate Management Admission Test was no different. I realize that I will most likely be well below the test average of your applicant pool. I simply want to emphasize that I believe my undergraduate curriculum and my technical work experience as an engineer have given me the skills and background to effectively handle an MBA curriculum.

My passion, work ethic and vision, derived in large part through experiences similar to the ones I had during my days as a cherry harvester, will supply the necessary raw materials to further ensure my success. One piece of evidence I offer to the board is my situation prior to commencing my undergraduate degree. When I entered the university, I had an SAT score approximately 13 percent below the average score. I was successful in obtaining an engineering degree, graduating with honors and in the top 10 percent of my class. I hope to have a similar story to share later regarding my MBA degree at HBS.

I thank you for reviewing my application and look forward to your consideration.

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