Undergraduate / "what do you want to be when you grow up?" - UM-Flint Essay [18]

This is just my first rough draft, but any suggestions?

The essay should include, but is not limited to, discussion of your academic potential, work ethic, and integrity. (Limit: 2000 characters)

Since the day I started kindergarten I have been preparing for what I want to do after high school even without thinking about it. People would always say, "Michelle, what do you want to be when you grow up?" and the answer was always the same: a doctor. However, as I grew older and wiser I realized that maybe that wasn't the best career choice for me and began thinking about what I really wanted to do with my life. That's when I stumbled upon pharmacy. I realized that I could still do something in the medical field without having to actually be a doctor. I truly believe that my academic potential, integrity, and work ethic will allow me to achieve this goal of mine at UM-Flint.

Throughout my career at Birch Run High School I have maintained a 3.93 GPA and achieved a 28 on the ACT. While doing this I have a part-time job as a sales associate at The North Face. On top of all that, I am a Varsity Cheerleader and a member of the National Honor Society. I believe I have the potential to keep a high GPA throughout college and work towards getting accepted to a good pharmacy school. I believe that I can reach my fullest potential at UM-Flint because of its commitment to excellence and achievement.

My personal integrity is top notch. I believe in always telling the truth, no matter how bad it is. I always try my hardest and never settle for cheating my way through something. The best example of my personal integrity is one day at work I found $100 laying on the floor. Instead of picking it up and keeping it, I set it up front for the rightful owner to claim. It would have been extremely easy for me to keep it and act like I never saw it, but my conscious would not let me.

When I start a project, I finish it. I do not settle for "almost done" or "second best" work. I always try my hardest at everything I do, even when the going gets tough. Being a Varsity Cheerleader has helped me improve my work ethic. I realized that I may not always be the best person on the mat, but if I work hard enough I can improve and become the best. After our first competition, we realized that many schools were out of our league and we felt as though we couldn't compete with them. However, our coach wouldn't let us give up and made us keep practicing even nobody wanted to. After many hours of pain, sweat, and even tears we went to Regionals and were able to compete with the best. We may not have won that day, or even advanced to States, but we did beat all our other scores and proved to ourselves that by never giving up improvement is possible.

Scholarship / MSU Personal Statement and Scholarship Essay [4]

This is just my rough draft. Any suggestions?

Describe the environment you come from - for example, your family, community, or school - and how this environment has affected or influenced your plans for the future. (400 words)

My entire life I have grown up in a small town where everybody knows everybody else. Most of my family lives in this same town and have lived there for many generations. My class is made up of about 120 people, most of whom I know. This has impacted me greatly by providing me with a second family. I have gone to school with basically the same people for twelve years now and we know each other well. I feel like I belong no matter where I go in Birch Run because I always know someone there. During my time at Birch Run High School I have been on the Varsity Cheer Team for four years. This too has provided me with a second family; at times I feel like I spend more time with my teammates than with my real family. We laugh together, cry together, and succeed together. Being a cheerleader has taught me that if I want something, I must work to get it; not everything in life will be handed to me. During competitive season I realized that there will always be somebody out there that is better than me, but if I work hard enough I will be able to do what they do. It also allowed me to stay involved in what was going on in school and to participate in school activities. The environment I have been in has greatly impacted my future plans. Growing up in such a small town has sheltered me. Plain and simple, I want to get out. I want to go somewhere where I may not know everybody. I believe Michigan State University is exactly the place for me to go. There I will definitely not know everyone, but will make new friends and form new bonds that will last a lifetime. Birch Run has provided me with a strong foundation and has instilled old-fashioned family values in me that MSU can build on.

Essay Topic: Please provide, in 500 words or less, an example of your leadership in an area(s) outside the classroom

While attending high school, I work at The North Face as a part-time sales associate. During the school year I work on average twenty hours a week and in the summer I work about 36 hours a week. At work I encounter many different types of people and work with them to help them find exactly what they are looking for. I also have store duties that I must fulfill before the end of my shift be it simply straightening the store or doing the nightly closing tasks. I am forced to be a leader and help others get these tasks done in a timely manner. Because of my work ethic and leadership abilities I have been Employee of the Month three times in the past seven months. As while as working, I was also a Peer Tutor. Once a week I would stay after school to help my peers with schoolwork they were struggling with. This also taught me to be a better leader and help them understand what they were learning to allow them to achieve good grades and not fall behind. Being a peer tutor taught me that not everyone understands things the same way, and some people need to have things explained to them many times before they will comprehend it. This, at times, made me have to stop and think about how to explain something to someone in a different way to help them get it.