Essay #1 (Required for all applicants. Approximately 250 words)
Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
I come from a community where work isn't referred to as a career, but a job. That job is the means to make enough money to pay bills, put food on the table, and make sure that there are clothes on backs, shoes on feet. Where I am from, fathers are rare, and in their absence are teenage boys, still discovering who they are themselves. I come from a community of misguided boys who never fully reach their potential. Most of the boys I grew up with in my community are in prison. Where I come from, if you're the oldest son, then you're the man of the house. I come from a community where at the age of twelve, there are boys doing whatever it takes to take care of their families, legal or not. I come from a community of resiliency, and perseverance. I come from a community where moral values are engrained, manners are a must, and common sense is survival. I come from a community where heads are held high and giving up is not an option. I come from a community of hope, where every generation gets a little closer to economic freedom. In my community I am the exception. I am the boy who defeated the odds, steered clear of jail and drugs, and made it to college. I want to be an example to the children who go through the same things that I did growing up, and show them that they are more than just a statistic. I want to show the elders in my community that the tough love and wisdom that they imparted in me was not wasted. I am an ambassador for my low-income, public housing community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
I come from a community where work isn't referred to as a career, but a job. That job is the means to make enough money to pay bills, put food on the table, and make sure that there are clothes on backs, shoes on feet. Where I am from, fathers are rare, and in their absence are teenage boys, still discovering who they are themselves. I come from a community of misguided boys who never fully reach their potential. Most of the boys I grew up with in my community are in prison. Where I come from, if you're the oldest son, then you're the man of the house. I come from a community where at the age of twelve, there are boys doing whatever it takes to take care of their families, legal or not. I come from a community of resiliency, and perseverance. I come from a community where moral values are engrained, manners are a must, and common sense is survival. I come from a community where heads are held high and giving up is not an option. I come from a community of hope, where every generation gets a little closer to economic freedom. In my community I am the exception. I am the boy who defeated the odds, steered clear of jail and drugs, and made it to college. I want to be an example to the children who go through the same things that I did growing up, and show them that they are more than just a statistic. I want to show the elders in my community that the tough love and wisdom that they imparted in me was not wasted. I am an ambassador for my low-income, public housing community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.