GKS-G Scholarship Personal Statement: Marketing Major

Graduate Scholarship application

Hello! I am going to apply for the GKS Graduate Scholarship for a Marketing major through embassy track this year and wanted some feedback (: This year guidelines changed a bit as shown below. Thank you!

- Motivations with which you apply for this program
- Family and Education background
- Significant experiences you have had; risks you have taken and achievements you have made, persons or events that have had a significant influence on you

- Extracurricular activities such as club activities, community service activities or work experiences
- If applicable, describe awards you have received, publications you have made, or skills you have acquired, etc.

Where some people see problems, others can see opportunity. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we should look at it as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves and the approaches we have been using until now. Life is unpredictable so one should grab every opportunity given and not wait for tomorrow, which is why I am applying for this program. Disappointment and failure are still better options than the regret afterwards for not trying enough.

My parents gave me an education based on values. Our abilities and gifts are always to be used for the good of the community. I should never depend on anyone but me and reach farther places than my comfort zone. Thus, I developed a curious, adaptive, and perseverant personality. Never afraid of trying new things and finishing everything that I embarked on despite the difficulties. School was my only responsibility so for myself and my parents, I always tried my best to get good results in everything I did. By learning languages, I discovered how it can improve my career and my passion in other cultures. Because of this, I decided to major in Foreign Languages. Subjects like international business, international law, and intercultural negotiation showed me that my passion is deeply linked to business. I joined the Students Association and did a Seminar in Research about the differences in speech between men and women and got interested in its business approach, how verbal and non-verbal language influences customers to achieve greater sales. After the research, my interest in marketing was born. I obtained a diploma in international relations and graduated as the second best within my class.

I did an exchange in Montreal, Canada where I learned French, global perspectives about my studies but also about my international classmate's cultures, especially the Korean culture. My Korean friends showed me their values and taught us the beautiful Hangul alphabet. The impact from my classmates made me decide that the next language that I wanted to learn was Korean and its culture. I returned to Mexico and worked in my University's Elementary School Promotion Area. It helped me gain experience and save money to study in South Korea. The school was suffering from a lack of students so we provided better care for the parents and organized events that external students could also attend to make the school attractive. After a lot of hard work, we received more students, and all grades were open for the next school year.

After a year, I got enough money to pay my Korean language course in Ewha Womans University, where I completed all 6 levels and a 7th level which focused on Korean language in business and media. I participated in extracurricular activities to fully immerse in the culture. I was part of the Korean cuisine cooking club, dance club, and the Samulnori club. I also participated in cultural activities attending a Korean etiquette class, visiting temples and palaces, and volunteering in Mapo Youth Center.

I did not know much about Korea before my trip, but it was nothing like I had experienced before. Behind its economic growth, I saw the excellence of the Korean education system and its competitiveness. However, what surprised me the most was the world-class technology and its common use for everyday necessities. It made every online process accessible, effortless, and fast. South Korea provides a glimpse into the digital future. After experiencing the spread of the COVID-19 in South Korea from the start, I realized how this digital culture is in fact a real necessity. Services provided via online platforms and digital tools limited the damage to the domestic economy, but the picture in the West is harsh. Once I returned to Mexico, I recognized how much we are lacking and how much there is worth of emulation in South Korea.

Though we cannot ignore the damage the pandemic has brought to our society, it had a positive impact on the e-commerce worldwide. Third world countries like Mexico; were not ready for this sudden change to online channels for consumption. However, it came as an opportunity to cause a sudden boom in the development of the smart areas for business. Companies that put e-commerce as the center of their business strategies are prepared for the post-COVID-19 era. After my experience in South Korea, I knew that I had to pursue my higher education there to be one of the pioneers and trendsetters in the development of the most innovative marketing and business strategies for the post-pandemic new business era. I believe that we should act now and take the lead to be ready to face and overcome the existing challenges and emerging new trends that came to stay. The first countries to resolve the post-pandemic problematics will become the new economic world leaders. The further development in this area, will help Mexico in the settlement of the e-commerce and contribute to South Korea's continuous leadership and branding as one of the smartest economies in the world.

It will be a challenge; however, I believe in my capabilities and the potential that this opportunity can bring to promote the globalization of Korean education, contribute to the development of our countries, and strengthen relations between South Korea and Mexico.

If the first paragraph is your motivational statement, then you need to work on it. The motivational statement should provide the reviewer with the compelling academic and professional reason for your interest in pursuing a masters course. The prompts are only guide questions, you can place the information in any portion that you like, provided it helps to create a smooth discussion presentation to the reviewer.

Try to develop the family discussion a bit more. Since these are the most influential people in your life, their influence should be presented in more than just a single sentence. Who are they? What sort of characteristics do they have? What did you inherit from each parent in terms of your personality, interests and aptitude for learning, and other similar considerations?

Though you are no longer required to discuss why you are motivated to study in Korea, a quick, single paragraph reference to that would help your application. More than that and the essay is delivering unnecessary information. So, you don't have much in terms of achievements and influential people? Try to come up with some references to those as these are specific parts of required information. Skills acquired are acceptable. the exchange in Montreal is notable.

Though you are not required to relate the discussion to your masters course, a reference to how your experiences helped develop your motivation to study the course would help. Right now, I am not sure what course you want to study, what motivated you to study it, and how the Korean study experience can help you become a better masters graduate. these are not very well discussed or presented in the overall essay. Your motivation discussion needs to represent the academic and professional goals, always remember that. It is not to be used as a portion that presents your ideologies or beliefs in life. Those are not relevant motivational information.