Scholarship / Effective networking goes beyond connecting individuals; [Chevening Scholarship] - Networking essay [2]

Hi everyone. I would be very thankful if I can get some feedback on my Chevening networking essay! I have to say I really had a tough time completing this first draft because of the word limit (I tend to include way too much detail in my essays, in which I would need your help to clean up even more) and the prompt (I am pretty sure I am overthinking the prompt at this extent) itself.

My biggest concerns:
1) Answering the prompt
2) Transition - I am afraid that my essay is not that fluid to other readers.

Please take a read and let me know of any feedback! Thanks in advance.

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Chevening is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your networking skills, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future. (495/500)

Effective networking goes beyond connecting individuals - it connects their unique experiences, too. I believe that this method of networking can provoke thoughtful ideas and inspire new perspectives, which has strongly resonated with me throughout university.

At [university], I was rather intrigued by [city] due to its conflicting portrayal - either a desolate wasteland or a gentrified utopia - which eventually led me to [organisation], one of the most established [city]-related student organisations on campus. However, although I wanted to engage with the city, I was initially concerned about joining [organisation] because of my unfamiliarity with both [city] and social justice - wouldn't I be out of place? Yet, as I later discovered, many of the members, whose passion for [city] is glaringly obvious, actually had the exact initial experience - curious and inexperienced. In fact, one even expressed how [organisation] introduced him to connections and opportunities that helped transform a once unconcerned college freshman to an active social citizen. In hindsight, this experience inspired me to establish my own network in [organisation], even though its steep learning curve seemed daunting at first. No different from any other social network, I learned to make, establish, and maintain relations through both my social skills and desire to learn. This flexible approach would later help expand my network beyond [organisation] and, thus, connecting me with more individuals and their ideas.

Two years later, my continuous practice of effective networking has arguably played an integral role in my appointment as the [position] of [organisation]. Among my many responsibilities, I led the planning of our annual [event] a micro-grant fundraiser for creative miniprojects in [city]. In order to attract engaging project leaders and audiences, I reached out to both campus-based and external organisations, regardless of their [city] affiliation, because they might know someone relevant outside of our network. While this network expansion might be overwhelming to maintain at times, it managed to attract a unique group of project leaders: a pair of high school freshmen, a [city] student organisation, and a postgraduate-level sustainability initiative group. In fact, this was the first year ever when we had non-undergraduates as project leaders. Their diversity, in both the topics and individuals, led to a very educational discussion that encouraged a near record-breaking fundraising amount. This success further reinforced my belief in the power of effective networking.

As a potential Chevening scholar, the ability to network effectively with other scholars would allow me to learn from and collaborate with the brilliant individuals in development studies. Since I plan to work in [country] development policy, where I will definitely face unfamiliar policy areas and/or their stakeholders, I believe that the unrestricted access to the Chevening network can provide much-needed inspiration and guidance for complex policy problem-solving. Furthermore, I hope to utilise my skills, knowledge, and experience to inspire and assist past, present, and future Chevening scholars, mainly through engaging those with (potentially) similar interests and/or career path, and actively maintaining the forged relations.