Global UGRAD ESSAY; being open-minded towards everyone's way of life

WHY would you be a Great Participant for the programme?

(In 400-600 words)

Devdutt Pattanaik once said, "If you want to look at the cultures around the world, all you must do is understand the mythology that surrounds them and you will see how they behave, why they behave and how they do business"

Being a citizen of a country where there are 22 official languages, hundreds of different tribes and various different cultures, I have grown up to be open-minded towards everyone's way of life.

A few years back, when I used to go through the various sources of information about any developed nation in bits and pieces like on the news channels, TV series, or any movie, I would always wonder what those cultures are so great and better than our Indian Culture, until I realized the power that the Indian culture holds. I then realized that it is also one of the most advanced cultures to prevail in the world. What I came to realize is that it's our mythology and our folk tales that have helped our culture to form in a certain way and that the way two different people of two different cultures think is simply based on where the roots of their respective culture lies. Therefore, if I am selected for this programme, I promise to bring all the varied stories of Indian mythology and a strong sense of cultural awareness about India, with me, to the United States of America.

I would very much be interested in interacting with as many new people and also the future world leaders who will have come in the form of the participants in the programmes. It would be quite interesting and equally thought-provoking as they will all be bringing in different stories of their own respective cultures and where they come from, on the table. It will be an enlightening turning point in my life.

Furthermore, being a Liberal Arts student has its benefits. It has helped me in being able to acknowledge, appreciate and respect everyone's individuality. The coursework that I, as a student have to follow has provided me with the knowledge to understand the various aspects of each situation and work through them to resolve the situation. Apart from that, since I have done quite a few internships with different roles, it has given me a lot of perspective on small scale enterprise working, of the various sector like consultancy, coaching classes and publishing houses. Thus, all these minor experiences of mine will help me a lot to participate in a better way on the class.

When it comes to working with people in the field, I have various different experiences like organizing small charity events, serving at the community gatherings, volunteering as a teacher at Teach for India to serve at the minority schools and organizing sessions for the homemakers of our community. I would be more than happy to participate in the community service sessions since I just enjoy doing that.

This programme will also help me to bring in fresh ideas and new perspectives to inculcate in my personal career, along with the community service that I am involved with.

Hitesh , the quotation you used to kick off the essay is nothing more than a word filler. It is totally unnecessary and does not add any value to the paragraph below it where you actually explained the quote and its relevance in your own words. However, Since you did not create a connection or transition sentence to incorporate the quote it became a sore thumb sticking out without a real anchor within the actual essay. It would be best if you don't use the quote at all. You don't need the word filler since your essay is tremendously interesting and engaging without it. In fact, presenting 477 words or less (the minimum is 400), would be much appreciated by the reviewer because he can quickly review and analyze your essay for quality, relevance, and stand out points. Your concluding sentence is weak. I suggest that you just bring that up as the final sentence of the current 6th paragraph. You can also merge the first and second paragraphs for a more complete and relevant presentation in that paragraph. One final observation, in the part where you promise to bring stories about Indian mythology to the table, drop the mythology reference and just keep the part about the strong sense of cultural awareness. That is more important for the reviewer to know rather than the idea that you want to be a story teller who will regale the participants with stories about your mythology. That is making an assumption that the people in the group will be interested in that when there is no assurance of such. The same goes for the reference to "future world leaders". You are talking too much in a hyperbolic sense and that creates a sense of an unrealistic expectation of what the program can deliver to you. Keep it simple and just discuss realistic references to your potential for consideration as a candidate.