Background Information: The applicant’s professional journey is not captured in the essay. Instead, I have focused on the person’s change in perspective around diversity and leadership.
Theme: Diversity, Leadership, Authentic Communication
Theme (Explained): For diversity, the early experience in a community with a similar background is quoted to contrast the value of diversity that he later experienced moving to a multicultural city. The second theme – leadership is quoted from the perspective of vulnerability; first, in school when the applicant sought help when the role of the ‘leader’ felt overwhelming. Second, through a tragic event.
Profile: Consultant
Industry: Non-Profit
MBA Essay Strategy: The narrative starts with the change in perspective he experienced from exposure to peers in a school that accepts students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The value of diversity pivots to a leadership narrative where the traditional definition of a stoic leader is reexamined to underscore the importance of authentic communication. The third half of the essay narrates the applicant’s leadership role where he failed to prevent a tragedy. The failure is narrated through a silver lining about their parents and their trust in him even when they faced an unimaginable tragedy. The tone, although sober, captures the applicant’s authentic communication despite the setbacks he faced throughout his leadership journey.
Is it safe to use a ‘negative’ narrative?
The applicant had an impressive professional career to risk the tone and mood of the narrative. He wanted to capture one aspect of his leadership that is a hallmark in his professional and volunteering experiences – authentic communication.
Opener: Starting the essay with his childhood sets up the essay to the ups and downs of the applicant’s leadership journey.
Sample GSB MBA Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (649 Words)(Vulnerability, Diversity and Leadership)
Born into a hamlet in India, I was inoculated with a conservative culture that valued tradition over discovery. Luckily, my father’s exposure to port cities for his trading business brought in the consciousness of exploring - a way of thinking that became standard in our household.
When I faced a life-threatening illness that left me with a high risk of an epileptic seizure, we moved to Mumbai.
Unlike the fixed conversations about the sowing season or the new gadget ..
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