Berkeley Haas MBA What Makes you feel Alive Essay Example: Innovation in Education with Satellite Technology
What makes you feel alive might be a vision that you have about a future – a future where education is affordable and accessible, renewable energy is mainstream, polluting industries operate outside the earth, or any sci-fi-themed narratives that benefits a large population.
Beyond Yourself – the leadership principle reiterated by Haas’s four defining leadership principles should be the guiding force behind setting up the context for the narrative.
If your long-term goal is to work on the problem full-time as an entrepreneur, the narrative is for you.
Theme: Education, Entrepreneurial Thinking, Vulnerability
Theme (Explained): One of the common themes is an extra-curricular, volunteering, or full-time engagement around Education. The challenge for applicants is bringing enough differentiation to highlight the problem. Here, applicants working on problems that impact a large group of beneficiaries have a clear advantage.
Influencing 2-3 students works if you have other personal branding to complement your story. A strong college extra-curricular – preferably leadership roles and impactful contributions that the college is still benefiting from are a few I have read.
Pioneering projects in college will also add to the contributions in the education space. Some common ones are starting niche student clubs, fundraising initiatives, and technology/consulting solutions. Even partnerships that increase the reach of the student body are one way to add to the education theme.
Profile: Remote Engineer
Industry: Oil and Gas
Similar Narrative (Industries): Manufacturing
MBA Essay Strategy: A challenge applicant from legacy industries face is the disinvestment in the industry and the haphazard manner in which renewable are integrated into the operations. To smoothen the PR of working in a harm-causing industry, applicants tend to focus on two noble and essential initiatives – education and renewable energy.
Education works with a narrative on extra-curricular or volunteering. Renewable energy with the theme that enough is not done in the Oil and Gas industry. Both work if there is proof that your efforts were sincere, and you have unique milestones. The scale or the reputation of the collaborating organization matters here.
Writing Tip
As with any family business or parent as an entrepreneur narrative, they are mentioned to offer context to the story - not to take the limelight away from applicants.
Opener: I wanted to straightaway set the context on the sacrifice the applicant had to make to fulfill her parent’s ambitions – a way of giving a peek into the life of an entrepreneur without making the story about the entrepreneur.
Background Information (Resume): Remote Engineer with 3+ years working in cutting-edge oil exploration technology, pivoting into Consulting for the government in emerging economies in Africa.
Sample Haas What Makes You Feel Alive (Affordable Education and Satellite Technology) (300 Words)
From the comforts of the city, I was thrust into an environment where infrastructure was lacking. As the daughter of an entrepreneur, I gained a unique perspective on building an educational institution in rural India but felt less than my peers in the city. The selection into a global team of 20 for NASA’s <x> program built my confidence.
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