Berkeley Haas MBA What Makes you feel Alive Essay Example: Design as a Tool for Change
Theme: Design
Theme (Explained): When engines and integrated chips can be concealed beneath the flow of human interaction with no one even wondering that there are hundreds of machines and technology, a few inches and a few yards away from our daily existence, the eye soaring wind turbines and clunky solar panels are a big resistance to the adoption of renewable energy.
The applicant is working on designing space efficient renewable energy technology.
Profile: Engineer
Industry: Renewable Energy
Similar Narrative (Industries): Non-Profit
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to highlight the role parents’ expertise in design - one in clothing and another in book cover design had on his choice of a career in design. Unlike parents, he chose technology as the industry and found inspiration from Tesla’s strategy to capture market that can afford to spend dollars on clunky but useful technology before the larger population are persuaded with sleek design.
The Strategy in this essay was not to reach any particular conclusion from the applicant’s achievements but share an example of collaborations with the Berkeley engineering team to demonstrate that the person is committed to solve a tough design problem that could directly impact mass adoption of renewable technology.
Opener: I had a choice to highlight the influence of parents on the applicant’s design engineering career as an opener. I chose not to do so. Instead I focused on summarizing two key contributions – one with the government and another with Uber to demonstrate the wide-range of customers he has served.
Writer’s Tip
A common challenge I noticed while editing MBA essays is that applicants find it hard to switch from parents to their own stories. The reverence for parents, forces many to keep highlighting their influences throughout the story, making the MBA essay more about the parents than them..
A better strategy is to start with your unique experiences and then mention the influences from parents in a line or two.
Background Information (Resume): Engineer with a master’s degree and consulting experience, who has started a venture to offer consulting solution in design for the renewable energy industry.
Essay #1: What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum)
Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Design as a tool for Change) (296 Words)
Figuring out the shortest path from the villages to the suburbs of Mumbai for the <x> pipeline project to designing the shortest interactions before food is delivered to your doorsteps, I have been fortunate to engage with the Government of Maharashtra and also present my understanding of user resistance to the team at Uber.
What makes me feel alive is when..
