Preliminary comments: This essay is about 100 words too long, so I would like help cutting some parts out. Also, although not explicitly mentioned in the prompt, I am trying to use my statement to address a weakness in my transcripts (due to the injury stuff). This means that I can't cut *too* much of the disability stuff, which is the obvious candidate. Anyway, I also would generally like to know how well the essay works. Thanks.
Please consider the following prompt: Describe your most important accomplishments and how they prepared you for graduate study at (insertschoolhere). Outline carefully your current goals and professional plans. Explain your reason for selecting (insertschoolhere).
I was 21 when I ruptured my patellar tendon. Your patellar tendon is the thin cord that connects your patella, or kneecap, to your tibia. A rupture is, medically speaking, a complete breach. A patellar tendon rupture is generally a repeated-use injury seen in basketball players who hit one too many jump shots, and one day their tendon can't take the stress anymore. But I didn't play basketball; I had a disease called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS.
I just tripped and fell. Anyone else on the planet would have been fine, but the primary symptom of EDS is weakened connective tissue. I hit my knee on sidewalk at low speed, but I was cut like a knife through butter. I was so injured that hospital staff alerted the police. They actually thought someone had tried to kill me. About five weeks later, I tripped over my crutches and ruptured the other patellar tendon. That began a nearly 10 year journey that featured 6 reconstructive knee surgeries, some highly experimental, and hundreds of hours of physical therapy. Today, I have one good knee.
Before the injury, my attention to academics was lax. I had gone through high school with a steadily winnowing attention span, able to pass tests without the inconvenience of keeping up with coursework. After the injury, I was more alert-I had to be. It was difficult for me to merely get to class, as two immobilizers made it incredibly difficult to walk. I could get by in warmer semesters, but winters were terrifying, even with handicapped accommodations. Every time I went outside my door, I wondered: what will happen to me the next time I fall?
I wasn't making progress, physically-speaking, and I was regressing academically. I took time off, moved back home, and had another surgery that improved my condition. I was able to enroll at the University of Michigan's Flint campus, and after some initial struggles, succeed. I had rehabilitated myself, both physically and academically. I graduated with a drastically improved GPA, and I won an award for my achievements both inside and outside of the classroom.
My experiences taught me a lot about disability, for I am still disabled now. I experienced the kinds of issues that disabled people face. I dealt with barriers, lack of elevators and ramps, lack of reasonable accommodation, and even discrimination at the administrative level. These experiences have given me insight into the kinds of problems that the disabled face, and the kinds of remedies that will best address their concerns. This insight is what drives me to pursue public policy at higher levels, so that I can address the kinds of problems that the disabled face in all corners of life. We are disproportionately poor, underemployed, lacking for proper healthcare and housing, and desperately underserved by the public sector.
I believe that my combination of academic success and the determination I've found through my struggles will allow me to succeed at insertschoolhere. My circumstances have taught me that you only get a few chances in life, and you have to make the most of them. I have applied this at the University of Michigan, and I will show the same work ethic at the graduate level.
This is important because insertschoolhere can help me reach my goal. The "Social Policy" specialization would help me address the core issues that the disabled suffer, such as poverty and lack of health care. I would be able to take my degree out into the real world and apply it by working at public sector and non-profit sector organizations that truly care about improving conditions for the disabled. I would be able to make an impact not just because I have a graduate degree from an excellent school, but also because I have something schools can't teach: a first person understanding of what the disabled need.
Please consider the following prompt: Describe your most important accomplishments and how they prepared you for graduate study at (insertschoolhere). Outline carefully your current goals and professional plans. Explain your reason for selecting (insertschoolhere).
I was 21 when I ruptured my patellar tendon. Your patellar tendon is the thin cord that connects your patella, or kneecap, to your tibia. A rupture is, medically speaking, a complete breach. A patellar tendon rupture is generally a repeated-use injury seen in basketball players who hit one too many jump shots, and one day their tendon can't take the stress anymore. But I didn't play basketball; I had a disease called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS.
I just tripped and fell. Anyone else on the planet would have been fine, but the primary symptom of EDS is weakened connective tissue. I hit my knee on sidewalk at low speed, but I was cut like a knife through butter. I was so injured that hospital staff alerted the police. They actually thought someone had tried to kill me. About five weeks later, I tripped over my crutches and ruptured the other patellar tendon. That began a nearly 10 year journey that featured 6 reconstructive knee surgeries, some highly experimental, and hundreds of hours of physical therapy. Today, I have one good knee.
Before the injury, my attention to academics was lax. I had gone through high school with a steadily winnowing attention span, able to pass tests without the inconvenience of keeping up with coursework. After the injury, I was more alert-I had to be. It was difficult for me to merely get to class, as two immobilizers made it incredibly difficult to walk. I could get by in warmer semesters, but winters were terrifying, even with handicapped accommodations. Every time I went outside my door, I wondered: what will happen to me the next time I fall?
I wasn't making progress, physically-speaking, and I was regressing academically. I took time off, moved back home, and had another surgery that improved my condition. I was able to enroll at the University of Michigan's Flint campus, and after some initial struggles, succeed. I had rehabilitated myself, both physically and academically. I graduated with a drastically improved GPA, and I won an award for my achievements both inside and outside of the classroom.
My experiences taught me a lot about disability, for I am still disabled now. I experienced the kinds of issues that disabled people face. I dealt with barriers, lack of elevators and ramps, lack of reasonable accommodation, and even discrimination at the administrative level. These experiences have given me insight into the kinds of problems that the disabled face, and the kinds of remedies that will best address their concerns. This insight is what drives me to pursue public policy at higher levels, so that I can address the kinds of problems that the disabled face in all corners of life. We are disproportionately poor, underemployed, lacking for proper healthcare and housing, and desperately underserved by the public sector.
I believe that my combination of academic success and the determination I've found through my struggles will allow me to succeed at insertschoolhere. My circumstances have taught me that you only get a few chances in life, and you have to make the most of them. I have applied this at the University of Michigan, and I will show the same work ethic at the graduate level.
This is important because insertschoolhere can help me reach my goal. The "Social Policy" specialization would help me address the core issues that the disabled suffer, such as poverty and lack of health care. I would be able to take my degree out into the real world and apply it by working at public sector and non-profit sector organizations that truly care about improving conditions for the disabled. I would be able to make an impact not just because I have a graduate degree from an excellent school, but also because I have something schools can't teach: a first person understanding of what the disabled need.
