Thank you in advance for helping me.
Essay #1
1) In order of importance to you, list significant extracurricular activities, professional associations and civic organizations in which you have participated in school, work or the community. Provide the dates of your involvement and indicate whether you were elected or appointed to any leadership positions.
I enjoy being active in the community and participating in a number of fundraisers for different causes. I have been a part of my company's community service committee since I began in 2007. Below is a list of programs I have volunteered with and fundraisers I have participated in:
1. Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Race for the Cure: 2010 & 2011
I led the office fundraising efforts with one other member of the committee in 2010.
2. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Light the Night Walk: 2008 & 2010
3. Metro Atlanta Boys and Girls Club, We Care Atlanta: 2008-2010
4. Hero for Children, Hero for a Day: 2008 & 2009
5. Habitat for Humanity: 2008
6. Office Community Service Fundraisers: 2008-2011
I coordinated over five lunch sales to raise money for various community service efforts from 2008-2010.
2) Describe below, including dates, any significant cross-cultural experiences you have had outside of your home country, including study abroad, exchange programs, extensive international travel or residence in another country.
Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to travel outside of the country do to financial reasons but I have recently discussed with my employer future travel opportunities once I obtain my masters degree.
3) List any other interests, hobbies or recreational activities you currently pursue in your free time.
When I am not at work or taking classes, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. A number of my friends have children so we spend a lot of time with them at the park and various other entertainment venues, such as the zoo, the aquarium and the museum. When I am not with friends and family, I enjoy going for a run in the park, watching the latest movies or curling up on the couch with a good book.
4) If you have received any academic, professional, or civic honors or awards, have received any patents or authored any books, or have any other significant accomplishments that you would like the admissions committee to consider, please describe them below.
When accepted to the University of Florida, I was awarded the Florida Presidential Scholarship and the Minority Ambassador Scholarship. These scholarships are based on merit and required that a minimum gpa be met each semester to remain eligible for the award. I was able to maintain both scholarships throughout my four year program.
In my post graduate work I was able 3.0 gpa at Georgia Perimeter College the entire time I was enrolled. Also, I was on the Dean's List at Georgia State University for the summer 2009 semester.
5) Explain the primary factors that influenced your decision to apply to the Florida MBA Programs.
Coming into my position at XXXXX without a business background has been a challenge. I have learned a lot working in the marketing department for the past three and a half years. I believe that earning an MBA will enhance the skills that I have learned in the workplace and place me in a better position to become a Marketing Manager with XXXXX.
The University of Florida has always been my first choice for my post-graduate degree. Being an alumnus, I know the reputation of the Warrington College of Business and understand that earning an nationally recognized MBA degree from the University of Florida will put me at the necessary level I need to be at to reach my goals.
Essay #2
Everything happens for a reason. A saying I hear repeatedly when things go wrong. This time I was hearing it because I was laid off from my job. The company I worked for decided to close their Atlanta market due to financial problems. Granted, I was not that fond of my job but I needed the money. At the time I did not want to hear that saying but I knew it was true. Everything does happen for a reason; too bad you don't know the reason when it happens.
Four months later I started my current position at XXXXX, an international architecture and interior design firm, as a Marketing Coordinator. My main duties are proposal writing, creating public relations documents, presentation preparation and market research for our Atlanta and Tampa offices. For the first time, I found myself looking forward to going to work everyday. After my first year, I realized that this was the career I wanted to focus on and to grow.
While working with our Tampa office an opportunity came to me to work on a proposal for a project in Argentina. The challenge was to communicate with our project team in Tampa and communicate with the partnering firm in Argentina, who only spoke Spanish. Utilizing my two years of high school Spanish, the few classes I recently completed at Georgia State University and the assistance of the Tampa project team we were able to complete the proposal, blow the client away in the interview and walk away with the project. Going after two additional projects in South America and winning them both I realized the importance of being bi-lingual and having knowledge of international business would be to the achievement of my professional goals.
I always had a desire to become fluent in Spanish but I knew learning the language or obtaining a degree in Spanish alone would not help me achieve my goals. I began to research Master of Business Administration programs and I knew it was the right path for me. I knew a Masters degree would help me achieve my short and long term professional goals by expanding my understanding of the fundamentals of corporate and international business. In January 2009, I enrolled in business classes to prepare myself for graduate school.
After graduating from XXXXX, I would like to continue working with my current company but transfer to our Miami office as Marketing Manager and work with the Tampa, Miami and Costa Rica office on their Latin American business development and marketing. In this position I will be able to apply what I have learned in my graduate studies and gain valuable experience that will be valuable in my long-term goal of opening my own International Marketing and Public Relations firm.
I believe that after three years of business and marketing experience I can now take the next step to reach my goals. My professional experience has helped me develop strong communication, time management and teamwork skills that will contribute to my graduate studies. I also have the drive and dedication to be an active member of the XXXXX Summer 2011 class. I am looking forward to being a part of the XXXXX College of Business and gaining leadership and management skills to help me grow as a professional and achieve my goals.
Essay #3
My undergraduate experience was similar to a lot of other students. I came to college not sure what to major in and changed it a number of times. I began my college experience majoring in architecture but quickly switched to engineering. I love math so I figured since this degree was based on mostly math classes I would get through no problem. I was wrong. After the math classes were completed came the real work, the work that I had absolutely no interest in and struggled through. At this point it was near the end of my junior year and I was just looking forward to graduating. So I decided to chose a major that I thought would still let me graduate on time. Since I loved sports and exercise I chose to major in Exercise and Sports Science. I was so unmotivated and frustrated with school at the time that I did the bare minimum to pass. I am not proud of this but at the time graduating was enough for me.
After graduating and working for a couple of years I was still trying to figure out my career path, I began to realize how important having a sold educational foundation is to finding a career. I decided to enroll in the local community college to take some classes to see if anything sparked my interest. This time I was serious about learning and took the time to really focus on the material resulting in a 3.47 gpa. Even though I did not find a career path at this time I found a new appreciation for education.
In 2009, after starting a new job and realizing it was something that I enjoyed, I began to take business classes at Georgia State University to prepare myself for the MBA program. I was really dedicated to proving that even though I did not have an undergraduate degree in business and a low undergraduate gpa that I was capable of doing well in these classes. During the last two years I completed six core business classes obtaining a 3.23 gpa in these courses, earning no grade less than a B-.
I believe that my post-graduate gpa shows that I have grown since my undergraduate degree was granted, learned to appreciate the value of a solid educational foundation and have developed the dedication and motivation to excel in your MBA program.
