Undergraduate / "an all girls Catholic school" - Diversity [2]

Share an experience through which you have gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences. Comment on how your personal experiences and achievements would contribute to the diversity of the University of Michigan.

Attending an all girls Catholic school in the Detroit suburbs, opportunities rarely arose in which I was able to interact with those economically or racially different than myself. Most of the people that surrounded me were made from the same mold: white, upper-middle class, and Christian. A high school volunteer experience first provided me the opportunity to connect with those from a vastly different environment than mine.

I spent the summer preceding my junior year tutoring first through fifth graders at the Sarah Fisher Home in Detroit. The children that I worked with were African-American, many were living on welfare, and a number of them came from dysfunctional families. Initially, I worried that I might not be able to connect with the students. Upon meeting them, however, I realized how illogical my worries were.

I spent three hours per day, three days each week, drilling the children in multiplication tables and spelling words, sometimes becoming exasperated with their endless energy and short attention spans, other times bursting with laughter over their playful childhood stories. Despite the immense background differences, I found that these children reminded me of my own siblings. As one young boy bombarded me with paper airplanes he created, I immediately thought back to the days of paper airplane wars with my own brothers. In many ways, we were like a family at the Sarah Fisher Home, laughing, learning, and creating memories together.

This experience instilled in me a respect for individuals of all backgrounds and the knowledge to throw away prejudgments. I hope to carry this appreciation and respect with me to the University of Michigan.