Hi all, I want to submit a self-introduction essay for POSCO scholarship. Here's my draft. can anyone help me to review it whether it's suitable to be accepted for a scholarship? thanks in advance.
Note: I replace my own data with X for my own privacy.
Self-introduction essay
My name is X and I hold a bachelor's degree in arts. However, I have not worked in any arts industry for the last five years. Instead, I have been working in a technology company. My love for STEM began when I worked as a technical writer at X, one of the biggest technology companies in Indonesia. I wrote articles that explained how X app technology worked. My writing proved useful to many university students and junior engineers who found the complex technology of X accessible through my writing.
I then made a career switch to User Experience writing (UX writing) to make a bigger impact. For me, UX writing is a discipline where science meets arts. To write an impactful UX copy, I need to understand the psychology of our users and analyze data or research insights to solve their problems. Only then can I craft copies that can help our users and the company achieve their goals.
In my three years as a UX Writer, I have expanded my skills in UX design, research, and product management. I have managed several projects that required me to do more than just UX writing, but also product design and management. For instance, I conducted several copy experiments within our app to reach the company's business goals by encouraging users to change their decision.
One of the experiments that significantly impacted the company's business goals was when I changed the copy of the booking cancellation confirmation screen. The result was impressive, as my copy reduced the booking cancellation rate to X%, saving the company XXX.
However, not many UX writers go beyond their job description. It is proven from the recent events where I have become a benchmark for a UX writer to be promoted to a senior position in my company. That made me realize that Indonesia lacks talents who pursue becoming UX writing experts. We need more people who understand the complete skill set of product design, research, and management, with a focus on UX writing because even the biggest technology company in Indonesia recently recognized the right skill set required to level up as a UX writer.
If I want to break another glass ceiling and become a UX Writing expert in Indonesia, I need to learn from more experienced people from developed countries, such as South Korea with the POSCO Asia Fellowship, which focuses on developing STEM industries. I want to pursue a master's degree there to reach my two big goals in life:
- Become one of the first UX writing experts in Indonesia and contribute to developing more technologies that can increase the welfare of our people through writing and interaction design.
- Teach advanced UX writing courses and create more UX writing experts in Indonesia.
I choose to pursue my master's degree specifically at Yonsei University because they offer a major that aligns with my future goals, which is the Master's in Innovation. During this course, I intend to hone my design and computational thinking skills, which are crucial for designing a technology product. I want to learn to design more than just an app (which I have experience with), but also learn to design conversational AI, which I believe is the future of our civilization. I want to be the bridge between humans and complex machines so that AI can help us simplify our day-to-day tasks.
Furthermore, I believe this master's degree can help me learn the complete skill set of product design, research, and management, which will enable me to become a UX writing expert in my country. Only then can I teach an advanced UX writing class that can create more UX writing experts in Indonesia.
