Undergraduate / Google, myself, photo company, abroad - Syracuse University Supplement [2]

1. Who or what influenced you to apply to Syracuse University?

When I first made the decision to study abroad, I searched tirelessly for the school that would best fit me. A school with a good communications program, open to diversity and hopefully located in New York City, the city of my dreams. When Google listed Syracuse University, I fell in love. It went way beyond my expectations and I couldn't have found a better school that had everything I was looking for, but what really hooked me in was the amount of school spirit that the students seemed to exude. It didn't hurt either that The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was listed as a top school for communications. It was all these factors and more that makes Syracuse one of my top choices.

2. Who is the person you dream of becoming and how do you believe Syracuse University can help you achieve this?

I dream of becoming the best that I can possibly be, the kind of person that my parents can be proud of but still structured in who I am. I value my current identity. I believe that Syracuse can help me unlock my full potential and mold me into being one-day successful in the field of communications. I want to become culturally diverse and to explore the media in an international level, which I think Syracuse can offer with its Study Abroad Program. All in all, I want to be the type of person that can give back to society and live a life with no regrets, which I know I will achieve at Syracuse University.

3. If you have had work experience, what skills and/or knowledge did you gain?

My parents own a photo company so for a time over the summer when I was younger I would work as a cashier and cater to the costumer in one of the company's branches. Make no mistake even if I was the owner's daughter my mother told the manager not to give me any slack and work me hard because I was still getting paid. So I learned the ropes of working as a cashier and how the customer's happiness came first. I learned that you have to work as a team, if one person made a mistake it would affect the whole company. I learned how important greeting a costumer is with a smile and knowing your company and what you're selling goes a long way. It went beyond earning a few bucks over the summer; it was more about learning how lucky I had it and what hard work meant.

4. Our mission of Scholarship in Action, education for the world in the world, extends beyond the classroom to include engagement opportunities with our campus community, the City of Syracuse, and locations across the globe. Based on your interests, tell us what real-world experiences you might pursue during your education at Syracuse as part of this mission.

The whole world will be my classroom; the four walls of the university alone will not limit me. I have always wanted to study abroad and experience new cultures. With that being said, I plan to take full advantage of SU's Discovery Programs, be it Strasbourg or Florence. I know that this will be a good opportunity to expand my horizons not just through the city but to the whole world as well. To set the foundations of my education at an international level and to broaden my horizons, I know that this is an opportunity of a lifetime. I don't plan on limiting myself, I am open to any opportunity that will come my way so that I can graduate a better person filled with the knowledge to really give back to society.

Thank you! any feedback and how to improve would help :D

Undergraduate / 'Live Life to the Fullest' Common Application Essay & Short Answer (Extracurricular) [3]

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

Live Life to the Fullest
My family and I visit my grandmother's grave every year on her birthday. The first time we came to visit, I remember being so bored because at the time, I did not understand the significance of being there and how much it meant to my father. So naturally, as a kid who had nothing to do, I began to examine my surroundings. I read every single grave that I could find and even calculated how long they had lived for. I stopped at one grave. It was simple and didn't have the fancy script that the others did, or let alone a picture of the deceased. All it had was the name, date of birth to death, and a short message from his family. When I looked at the date, I realized that this person had only lived for a day. It shocked me because all the other graves beside it, according to their dates, lived much longer. Looking at all of that and to suddenly see a grave of a person who lived for only one day surprised me. I called my brother over to tell him, but he just looked at me and said, "So what?" like it was nothing to him. It was more than just another slab of rock to me because there lied a boy whose family cared enough to actually put his body in a grave even though he had only lived for a day. It dawned on me how lucky I was to be alive at that moment because I was already living years more than what this person would ever be able to see. With that realization came guilt because I realized that I was wasting the precious hours, minutes, and seconds that I had more than this person. I felt lucky to even be able to wake up in the morning because it was another day that I had more than that boy. I was lucky to just have a life that I could actually experience. After that, I swore to never take anything for granted again. I swore that I would seize every opportunity, and enjoy every moment I had no matter how small because each day is precious. People die everyday, but that grave in particular made an impact on me because it reminded me of how fragile life is. Now every year we visit my grandmother's grave, I make sure to pass by his as well to remind me of how lucky I am to be alive.

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum).

Landas ng Karunungan (path of wisdom) is a summer tutorial program for public high school students. Established in 1986 by Fr. Patrick Lim of the Sta. Maria Della Strada Parish, LnK has helped send hundreds of Balara High School students to school. Volunteer tutors come from different high schools in the Metro. I was one such tutor privileged to spend my summer in the company of such bright students and the only thing holding them back was that they lacked the means to really flourish. I would teach first year English and second year math and it astounded me how eager they were to learn every time I would teach a new lesson and how they saw mistakes as not failing but getting closer to the answer. With the company of my group of good friends, we taught the class together for 10 weeks one subject after another so that the most deserving of students could get a scholarship for their high school tuition fee to be lessened. It would always warm my heart whenever they would greet me in the morning ot say thanks you after every lesson because I knew they truly meant it. Of course, it wasn't all fun and games, there were some students who had a hard time and gave up right away but their fellow classmates would always help those who didn't understand the lesson, they had each other's back. I really did create a lasting bond with these students and I know that they will go far. That is why I will be coming back next summer to help these children and myself because it's a learning experience for both teacher and student.

Thank you!

Undergraduate / Business program and international setting - BU Supplement Essay [4]

Essay 1: In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission?

Ever since my mother came back from studying in Harvard for a summer business program, she had been telling me non-stop about the benefits of studying in Boston, a city so ripe with students eager to learn and a rich historic background to boot. I ventured to find out if it was as impressive as she made it out to be. It was all that she said and more, I instantly found myself wanting to study at BU the most. With its diverse population and students eager to reach their dreams I feel like it's the best place for me to grow and flourish, especially in an international setting. As a student who is highly motivated and eager to learn, I feel that BU is the best choice for me to really prepare myself to go out into the real world and give back to society.