Hi everyone! This is a personal statement to apply to the Global Korea Scholarship (previously KGSP) for an MBA. Could you please let me know what you think?
On a certain day of fall 2015 I found myself running towards the edge of a mountain in rural Cheonan. With a parachute attached to my body, I was about to leap into the wilderness to glide over the autumn foliage. Behind me was a Korean gentleman who kept desperately yelling I should lift my legs. The language barrier could not be helped, but even if I had been able to understand everything he said, I cannot promise my legs would have responded accordingly. I was captivated. A few moments later, up in the air, was exactly when I knew that after graduating and being employed by the largest Korean company for two years, I would do everything within my reach to go back to the country that helped me become the man I am today.
I am not foreign to the work and study environments of Korea. My semester there as an exchange student has been the most formative period of my entire life. As a senior college student living in Sinchon, I learned more about who I was and who I wanted to be than ever before. I was honed by new studying mechanisms and problem-solving skills. Never before had I studied as hard for anything as I did for my Power Electronics course in Korea, and at the same time, I have never felt so satisfied and rewarded as when the course ended.
The reason I have chosen to go back to Korea is twofold. First of all, and most importantly, I want to be the embodiment of what the Korean professional mindset is capable of when paired up with a different cultural background. In my case, as a Latin American, I am used to a work setting where quirkiness and nonlinear thinking is encouraged. I believe that by taking the best parts of the Mexican working climate and mixing them with traditional Korean praxes and values that encourage diligence and a strong sense of belonging, I can foster an unrivaled work environment with happy and productive people.
The other reason I hope to be admitted into a Korean university is that I want to fend off some deeply permeated stereotypes the global community may have against Mexicans. I am set on demonstrating that Mexico has ambitious, capable people which are looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. I will commit myself to showing everyone that the people of Mexico have everything that is needed to become a pulling force in the current economic and technological zeitgeist. As a top-of-the-class student and lauded employee, I want to raise the name of Korea and my country as high as I want to raise mine.
When I was in my third year of university, I won a scholarship offered by Samsung Electronics and promptly joined as a software developer after graduating. My undergraduate degree provided all the tools needed for me to quickly become the team leader for the mobile division in my region. After developing mobile applications for two years, I know I could not have picked a better company to work for. Samsung has taught me how to work under pressure and with very tight deadlines, all while delivering quality results. The software I helped build is being deployed to millions of phones throughout the world, and this fills me with a sense of pride that I cannot put into words. I discovered that I want to be someone who uses technology to shape the world around me.
I would also like to give back to the Korean community. One way of achieving this is through a blog called Mexikoreans (mexikoreans.com), through which I intend to upload free Spanish lessons exclusively in Korean. To fully develop this project, I need complete mastership of the Korean language, which is why earning a high-level certification of Korean is of utmost priority to me.
As a citizen of Mexico, it is unlikely to be able to attend an overseas university with my own income. Currency conversions and the higher price of most commodities make it unviable to pursue quality education anywhere outside Latin America. I know I have the intellectual potential to match any of my peers; all I am hoping for now is an opportunity to work together with other like-minded people from the rest of the world to forge a brighter, better future for myself and my community.
Personal Statement for study in Korea
On a certain day of fall 2015 I found myself running towards the edge of a mountain in rural Cheonan. With a parachute attached to my body, I was about to leap into the wilderness to glide over the autumn foliage. Behind me was a Korean gentleman who kept desperately yelling I should lift my legs. The language barrier could not be helped, but even if I had been able to understand everything he said, I cannot promise my legs would have responded accordingly. I was captivated. A few moments later, up in the air, was exactly when I knew that after graduating and being employed by the largest Korean company for two years, I would do everything within my reach to go back to the country that helped me become the man I am today.
I am not foreign to the work and study environments of Korea. My semester there as an exchange student has been the most formative period of my entire life. As a senior college student living in Sinchon, I learned more about who I was and who I wanted to be than ever before. I was honed by new studying mechanisms and problem-solving skills. Never before had I studied as hard for anything as I did for my Power Electronics course in Korea, and at the same time, I have never felt so satisfied and rewarded as when the course ended.
The reason I have chosen to go back to Korea is twofold. First of all, and most importantly, I want to be the embodiment of what the Korean professional mindset is capable of when paired up with a different cultural background. In my case, as a Latin American, I am used to a work setting where quirkiness and nonlinear thinking is encouraged. I believe that by taking the best parts of the Mexican working climate and mixing them with traditional Korean praxes and values that encourage diligence and a strong sense of belonging, I can foster an unrivaled work environment with happy and productive people.
The other reason I hope to be admitted into a Korean university is that I want to fend off some deeply permeated stereotypes the global community may have against Mexicans. I am set on demonstrating that Mexico has ambitious, capable people which are looking for an opportunity to prove themselves. I will commit myself to showing everyone that the people of Mexico have everything that is needed to become a pulling force in the current economic and technological zeitgeist. As a top-of-the-class student and lauded employee, I want to raise the name of Korea and my country as high as I want to raise mine.
When I was in my third year of university, I won a scholarship offered by Samsung Electronics and promptly joined as a software developer after graduating. My undergraduate degree provided all the tools needed for me to quickly become the team leader for the mobile division in my region. After developing mobile applications for two years, I know I could not have picked a better company to work for. Samsung has taught me how to work under pressure and with very tight deadlines, all while delivering quality results. The software I helped build is being deployed to millions of phones throughout the world, and this fills me with a sense of pride that I cannot put into words. I discovered that I want to be someone who uses technology to shape the world around me.
I would also like to give back to the Korean community. One way of achieving this is through a blog called Mexikoreans (mexikoreans.com), through which I intend to upload free Spanish lessons exclusively in Korean. To fully develop this project, I need complete mastership of the Korean language, which is why earning a high-level certification of Korean is of utmost priority to me.
As a citizen of Mexico, it is unlikely to be able to attend an overseas university with my own income. Currency conversions and the higher price of most commodities make it unviable to pursue quality education anywhere outside Latin America. I know I have the intellectual potential to match any of my peers; all I am hoping for now is an opportunity to work together with other like-minded people from the rest of the world to forge a brighter, better future for myself and my community.