stargirl21
Nov 28, 2020
Undergraduate / UC Application Essay: leadership + forming a black student union [3]
Hey! I need to cut down a few words from this essay (7 to be exact) and I am hoping to clarify anything that doesn't make sense. Thanks for your help!
Prompt: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Panic set in as I stared at the empty zoom waiting room. What if no one showed up? Through weeks of work to create my school's first Black Student Union (BSU), I never considered what I would do if no one came. Then a notification appeared, followed by another. As my screen filled with the beautiful brown faces of my peers and teachers, I sighed a breath of relief.
I decided to start the BSU after I was tormented by a racist student in my grade. His words were so vile and demeaning that they would have been right at home in a Jim Crow Caricature of slaves. Yet I didn't allow them to make me bitter or insecure; instead, I developed a hunger to change the environment that hurt me. I spent countless hours forming a community where my black peers and teachers could finally feel safe. Emails. Mission Statements. Meetings. Conferences. All this while trying to balance a job, a rigorous course load, leading other clubs, and just being a normal teenager.
Then one of my classmates reached out with ideas for the Black Student Union and offered to co-lead the club with me. Immediately my mind shut it down. I thought that in order to be a good leader I needed to do everything alone. Then I took a moment to reflect and consider what was best for the BSU. I am so passionate about everything I love that I often get swept up in the moment. I was so eager to participate and share my ideas that I forgot to take a second to listen and reflect. I have since learned that the best leaders are not afraid to ask for help. As the co-president of the BSU, I have collaborated with my peers to develop a comprehensive Afro-Caribbean history curriculum that is being adopted by the humanities department. We have organized anti-racism programs for the 5th-12th grades and we are planning activities that can become traditions long after I have graduated. By incorporating my peer's opinions I gain a new perspective that allows me to understand each issue from a wider lens.
Hey! I need to cut down a few words from this essay (7 to be exact) and I am hoping to clarify anything that doesn't make sense. Thanks for your help!
leadership essay
Prompt: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Panic set in as I stared at the empty zoom waiting room. What if no one showed up? Through weeks of work to create my school's first Black Student Union (BSU), I never considered what I would do if no one came. Then a notification appeared, followed by another. As my screen filled with the beautiful brown faces of my peers and teachers, I sighed a breath of relief.
I decided to start the BSU after I was tormented by a racist student in my grade. His words were so vile and demeaning that they would have been right at home in a Jim Crow Caricature of slaves. Yet I didn't allow them to make me bitter or insecure; instead, I developed a hunger to change the environment that hurt me. I spent countless hours forming a community where my black peers and teachers could finally feel safe. Emails. Mission Statements. Meetings. Conferences. All this while trying to balance a job, a rigorous course load, leading other clubs, and just being a normal teenager.
Then one of my classmates reached out with ideas for the Black Student Union and offered to co-lead the club with me. Immediately my mind shut it down. I thought that in order to be a good leader I needed to do everything alone. Then I took a moment to reflect and consider what was best for the BSU. I am so passionate about everything I love that I often get swept up in the moment. I was so eager to participate and share my ideas that I forgot to take a second to listen and reflect. I have since learned that the best leaders are not afraid to ask for help. As the co-president of the BSU, I have collaborated with my peers to develop a comprehensive Afro-Caribbean history curriculum that is being adopted by the humanities department. We have organized anti-racism programs for the 5th-12th grades and we are planning activities that can become traditions long after I have graduated. By incorporating my peer's opinions I gain a new perspective that allows me to understand each issue from a wider lens.
