Undergraduate / Goizueta Essay on Leadership [4]

Goizueta Business School's mission is to educate principled leaders for global enterprise. Leadership can move as many as an entire generation or as few as a single individual. On a separate piece of paper, in 500 words or less typed, please describe a situation in which you exhibited leadership.

The PVS Panthers fervently drove the soccer ball down the field and scored point number seven demolishing the opposing Brownsville Road team. The final score was seven to zero, the trophy was ours, and I, their demanding yet agreeable coach, was in euphoria as the Panthers were crowned champions of the entire recreation league for the fifth straight season.

Long before any trophies were handed out or practice drills were run, a decision had to be made if any of this were to happen. When I was in high school I found out that the soccer coach of my former elementary school had become ill, and would no longer be able to coach the team. I thought about the children, many of whom come from difficult backgrounds, and how they would have nothing to look forward to after school, nothing to take pride in. I then thought about how much soccer meant to me when I was their age, not only as a means to exercise, but as a way to escape troubles at home. A few days later I stopped by Pleasant View School and offered my help in coaching the team, "for the kids," I thought to myself. They gladly accepted and gave me a copy of the schedule, as well as the first practice day.

I arrived at the school's field on that balmy spring afternoon at 3:00 sharp, without the slightest idea of what to expect. There I was standing on the field with pumped balls, cones and drinks; not knowing that in the next 45 minutes I would meet kids whom I would be coaching for the next 3 years. The kids arrived, all ten eight year old with different backgrounds and skill levels but with one common goal; winning.

Winning is something we did plenty of during the next 5 seasons, but my relationships with the children did not stop on the field. I became someone they could talk to, someone who could help them with their math homework, I was not only their coach, I was a friend. The team depended on me to give them the tools to be champions, but they ended up giving me the tools I needed to be a champion. Sure I spent many hours drawing up plays, coaching players, and perfecting the fundamentals of coaching (not to mention pumping soccer balls and bringing snacks before every game)but looking back at it all, I feel as if I benefited more than the kids. I now think back to when I decided to take on the coaching position and doing it for the kids, but alas, "this was for me."

This is my first draft, do you think I answered within the prompt? Thanks for reading.

Undergraduate / Why Commerce? - UVA Transfer Essay, McIntire School of Commerce [4]

Prompt: If you are applying to the Architecture, Commerce, Education, Engineering, or Nursing Schools, tell us why you have chosen this field and what experiences (work, internships, etc.) have prepared you for it.

When I was in second grade, I was selected to be the treasurer for our class store. I paid out the "workers" their weekly 50 cent wage while keeping a portion of our sales to purchase more chips and drinks. It is not from this age that I decided I wanted to be an investment banker, but I knew one thing for sure, business was my calling.

Forward many years to high school summers, and this entrepreneurial spirit was still alive. My brother and I had our own lawn service one summer where our strategy was to undercut the competition. This worked well as we were able to increase our market without having to deal with overhead as our competitors did. The following summer I decided not to work outdoors and went on to start my own business on eBay. I sold Lacoste shirts that I imported directly from China. I was making an average markup of about 250%--within a month I had over $5,000 in sales. It all seemed too good to be true, as things turned out, it was. I was contacted by a law firm representing Lacoste and said that I was charged with international trafficking and counterfeiting; apparently I was selling fake Lacoste shirts from China. We were able to settle outside of court with my having to forfeit my profits. Never one to miss a business opportunity I offered my services to Lacoste and their Anti-fraud team to stop other sellers from selling fake merchandise on eBay.

More recently I interned at the Memphis Shelby County Office of Economic Development. Our office is tasked with stimulating economic growth in the region by offering incentives for businesses to either relocate or expand in the area. In my first week I created a fee structure for our Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) program, which was passed a few months later and has subsequently generated thousands in revenue for the City of Memphis. I met regularly with local politicians and international businessmen, updating them about our newest projects and incentive programs. Currently I am an investment banking intern at Morgan Keegan, a division of Regions Financial. My role primarily consists of assisting bankers with financial modeling related to mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and equity offerings.

These activities have strengthened and sharpened my abilities to solve problems, communicate effectively, organize efficiently, and lead successfully. I believe that McIntire will allow me a place to develop new strengths and gain a closer connection to my values as well as undoubtedly tap my passion for problem-solving and enhance my skills in business development and strategic analysis.