HELLO EVERYBODY!!Hope you have a great day!
I am Nora, attempting to get KGSP ( Korean government scholarship program) for undergraduate in animation/film and video major.
I have to mention that English is not my first language and it is my very first time to write such an essay; therefore, I need your help to revise my personal statement essay. Any little advice would be really helpful.I will appreciate your efforts for helping me out.
(my essay is exactly 2 A4 page with Times New Roman font-size 10. They didn't mention required font and size but in the graduate guideline they propose Times New Roman with size 10 and used that.)
kgsp personal statement essay (Animation Studies)
I was born in Sabzevar, a town in the northeast of Iran. I grew up in a middle-class family which comprises of my parents and a younger brother. My father works in a bank. The way he is organized and punctual taught me about the value of time. My mother is a housewife, who showed me how to analyze every aspect of an issue to solve or present it. Growing up with having a younger brother made me responsible for my behavior and younger ones. They supported me all along as well as letting me experience and learn from my mistakes. Therefore, I grew up with this vision that I am capable of doing anything if I am brave and have a consistent endeavor.
As I entered school, I became an active indulgent student among others, who often participated in extra-curricular, mostly art clubs and maintained to be one of the most top students. I was engaged with studying hard; consequently, I got accepted into the National Organization for development of exceptional talents (NODET). Admission to NODET schools is selective and based on a comprehensive nationwide entrance examination procedure. Every year thousands of students apply to enter the schools, from which less than 1% are chosen for the 99 middle schools. Having the chance to study in such a distinguished school with the prominent instructor and compete with other top students had a drastic influence on my educational life. It made me an organized, self-motivated, and diligent individual.
At the first grade of high school, I saw a poster for a national movie competition named " healthy teen "; Therefore, I made a short movie combined with animation and live action named " Flames" and later I was honored with a national award from education minister for the very first time in my life.
Despite getting a prime award, I was dissatisfied with my major. I have chosen science as my major to become a doctor as everybody expected of me, however, it was not what I was willing. In the middle of the first semester of second-grade high school, I confessed that I didn't want to continue in the science major and willing to leave NODET and attend an art school. Furthermore, I left NODET after 5 years to pursue my dream in an art school and studying animation for 2 years.
I adopted new school quickly and started working hard and studying as well. In the 2 years of art school, I got many awards for my short animations. Most discernible of them are 5 national awards and one international.(All notarized translation of awards are provided in documents.)
In the last year of art school, I ranked 3rd in the national university entrance exam for A.A. degree among thousands of other students. I got accepted to Shariaty Technical College in animation major. Dr. Shariaty Technical College is the largest public all-purpose college in the Middle East that offers associate's and bachelor's degrees to women. I left my little hometown to live independently in a dormitory in the capital city of Iran, Tehran.
While I was studying, I worked as an educational advisor as a part-time job for an institution called Kanoon Farhangi Amoozesh which is a private organization in Iran's educational sector offering a wide range of educational products and services all around the country. I was truly fond of my job because I care about education and I could encourage students to study and gain their confidence to pursue their dreams despite the hardships and obstacles. I also made some commercial motion graphics for startups and little companies such as AKAM security equipment.
I attended to AIESEC which is the world's largest non-profit youth-run organization. It is an international non-governmental not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural global internships, and volunteer exchange experiences across the globe. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a positive impact on society. I became a member of social marketing group of our local committee at Amirkabir University(AUT). In addition, I made several motion graphics and 3 short documentaries of 3 AIESECers that had gone for an internship to Turkey, Finland, and India. We used those documentaries in our events to promote AIESEC and I was mesmerized by the faces, focused on the big screen and watching a work of mine. I had the similar feeling when I was 15, crying out of joy when they showed my short animation on a big screen in front of hundreds of people in one of the cultural festival. I decide to create movies that would touch people's hearts.
I always was amused by Korea's culture, language, and entertainment industry. Foremost, Since I love reading books and nations' tales, I found oriental tales, history, and culture absorbing. Korea's and Iran's long-running relationship and active cultural exchanges during the 7th century Silla era is my favorite part of Iran-Korea's history. This is one of the subjects that I really want to turn it into an animation and illustrate this friendly historical relationship among my country and South Korea. Also attending to Korean traditional festivals that were held in Tehran by South Korea's embassy made me more aware of their deep and respectful culture. The Korean language seemed tender and elegant, thus I started to learn Korean alphabet and basic grammar. Finally, I acknowledged South Korea entertainment industry. I observed my relatives talking about k-dramas, friends becoming a fan of certain k-pop bands, and my brother playing Korean games. I wondered how Korea entertainment industry conquered the whole world? What is their secret? I wanted to know.
At the third semester of my education in associate's degree, I attended an event in the house of South Korea ambassador, Mr. Park Jae-Hyun in Tehran which was about South Korea's universities and scholarships. Due to this event, I found about KGSP and Korea's innovative educational system. Finding of an opportunity to attend a high ranked university, experiencing living abroad, educating in an international environment, coexisting with other students from all around the world and pursuing my desired field of study with myriad benefits was beyond the imagination.
After graduating from my associate's degree, I returned home and start self-studying for TOEFL and TOPIK to enhance my knowledge in both international language and my favorite language, Korean. Hopefully, I succeed in both, despite not having a teacher because my family had moved to a remote region which didn't have any English or Korean classes. In the year of taking TOEFL and TOPIK, I learned how to play Santour which is a stringed instrument similar to Yanggum, a Korean traditional instrument.
I ranked 1st in the national entrance exam in the whole country for bachelor's degree. Returning to Shariaty Technical College and currently studying painting as a freshman, a major pertaining to animation for bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, I didn't have any other option because there was no animation major for undergraduate in any of valid universities in my country.
I hope to study in South Korea and living my dream. Studying animation in an excellent university, being an AIESECer once again, finding friends from all around the world, being able to speak Korean fluently and most paramount one, being the friendship ambassador for both countries, Iran and South Korea, are some of the reasons that persuaded me to apply for this beneficial scholarship.