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Harvard MBA Growth Essay Example – Drug Addiction and Gaming

Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

Background Information: The applicant – a beneficiary of the foster home system, captures the sacrifice his adopted grandparents made to save him from a path of addiction. Paying it back through early intervention among teenagers and community engagement is the curiosity narrative.

Commentary from the Author on connecting your experience with addiction before narrating the cause

Curiosity: Gaming

Curiosity (Explained): Excessive gaming is considered an addictive behavior primarily because of the lack of in-person interaction and the opportunity cost to academic learning and social engagement.

MBA Essay Strategy: My strategy is to capture a gratitude narrative in the first one-third of the essay to demonstrate motivation for starting the venture and dedicate the latter part of the essay to the unique solution.

Theme: Addiction

Theme (Explained): Intervention in addiction is relatable only if applicants themselves have overcome some form of addiction or a close family member (parents, siblings, partner) faced a similar challenge. 

Profile: Entrepreneur

Industry: Non-Profit

Opener: The opener establishes why addiction and its ripple effect on family and communities are personal for the applicant.

Sample Harvard MBA Curiosity and Growth Essay – Drug Addiction and Gaming for Good (244 Words)

My mother worked in three jobs and didn’t show up for weeks. Finally, when I had the courage, I asked my grandfather about her erratic behavior.

His words still haunt me, “As an engineer, I had a comfortable life, but if I had just pursued my career, you would not have become a capable young man.” 

In 1992, I lost my father in a ..

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Download F1GMAT's Harvard MBA Essay Guide to learn how the applicant's closeness to addicts helped him find the right cue to re-imagine rehabilitation (Also includes 20 Sample Essays with unique themes + 300 Pages of Essay Writing Tips - Storytelling Strategies and the Secret to creating a persuasive Harvard MBA Essay)

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