He who does not know where he is coming from will never get to his destination.

Harvey mudd. How has your own background influenced the types of problems you want to solve?

"Experience is the best teacher"

In Akan, there is an old saying: "He who does not know where he is coming from will never get to his destination." I've always believed that the environment and a person's upbringing are what shape his tendencies, characteristics, and qualities. I keep my roots in mind every day in my pursuits, goals, and ambitions.

Although my family was a middle income type, it managed to send my two siblings and me to Catholic primary schools and junior high schools respectively, stressing the importance of what they believed to be high quality education. My parents constantly encouraged me to study hard notwithstanding the financial constraint of the family.

After my father died during my last year in junior high school, I began to notice the strains of my tuition fees on my mother. As a restaurant waitress, she began to work overtime and became so furious when a shift was cancelled. I therefore made the decision to go to a public high school. That was still insufficient to alleviate the situation. She had difficulty coping with the educational expenses of me and my siblings. Things even got worse when my younger brother was diagnosed of diabetes. I couldn't bear the hardship we were going through, so during vacations I would work as a sales boy in several Telecommunication Networks and also as a part-time cleaner in restaurants during the night to supplement her income.

Notwithstanding the economic hardship, I was never relentless in my studies. I was still making the grades as expected of every student. Almost every teacher recommended me to the National Science and Math Quiz coordinator to train me for the competition. My tenacity as a determined student flourished when I become the head of the Science and Math Quiz team. My perseverance and hard work paid off when I took the school to the final stage of the competition and won the ultimate prize for the Science and Math Quiz team.

I learnt a lesson when I faced all those financial struggles. I realized that in life some people need support to move on although I never received support of any sort during my early stages of my education. With the financial package I received upon winning the cup for me school and a little support from friends, I established a foundation. This foundation seeks to support the educational needs of students who are determined to substantiate their dreams. It also motivates students who are academically good but discouraged by their financial status. I strongly believe that helping a student today can generate a ripple effect in some days to come.

I also believe that every student in every class at Harvey Mudd College has something special to offer only if they can draw something from their experience. I've now come to understand my late father's saying, "Experience is the best teacher".

First, in its current form, your last paragraph has no connection with the prompt, other than every student at Harvey Mudd has a different background. However, this essay isn't about diversity at Harvey Mudd; it's about you!

I recommend clearly stating what kind of problem you wish to solve in your introductory paragraph so that admissions does not need to comb over your essay for a straight-forward answer.

From what I gathered from your answer, you wish to help solve financial troubles of students. This is because you faced financial strain as a student.

"Notwithstanding the economic hardship, I was never relentless in my studies"

I think you meant to say "nevertheless relentless"? not "never relentless"... that would be bad...

"although I never received support of any sort during my early stages of my education."

That part of the sentence reads like you're trying to make admissions feel bad for you, which isn't good. Also, you said that you went to a private Catholic school for primary school, so you did receive support, didn't you? It reads as a contradiction.

Overall, your essay needs more information about the problems that you wish to solve, and perhaps the steps that you have taken to solve them. Explain your foundation in more detail.

@yeboah hanson, I think the following edits are suitable.





Overall, the content is impressive. Just don't overstate the term Notwithstanding, it sounds redundant. You may use other synonyms instead of that.

Best.

Yeboah, your essay does not respond to the prompt. Based upon your life experiences, it seems that the problem that you would wish to resolve or the types of problems that you would like to address would be how to financially help families that have lost their head of the family or primary income earner. That is the clear problem that you have to state at the beginning of your essay. Only after you state the problem should you go into your family background that led to your desire to help address these problems. By connecting the problem with your background, you will be able to properly address the essay. The latter part, which deals with the solutions that you used to overcome the problems are no particularly relevant to the essay. Just stick to the discussion of the problems, in relation to your background. The concluding statement should be a reiteration of why you would desire to help solve those problems based upon your personal experience.

@Holt
thanks for your comments