Pitzer supplement essay: Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one or more of Pitzer's core values?

Sustainability and Social Responsibility

I grew up in Jakarta, a concrete jungle in the middle of more than 17000 beautiful islands that all represent one country: Indonesia. Between beautiful beaches and lush green mountains, Jakarta is city plagued with pollution due to constant traffic on the streets, and plastic covered lakes and rivers. The cause to this, however, is just one: the lack of awareness. The general public is oblivious to the consequences of these environmental problems, and the very few that aren't, don't do anything because they don't think they're enough to bring a change.

For example, in Jakarta, it is extremely common to burn waste, the reason for this belief is: "it is the easiest way to manage the waste! Set it on fire and 'poof' it's gone." To them it the most efficient way of handling waste, however, they aren't aware of how the smoke that is emitted from the waste contains chemicals that pollute the very air we breathe.

In grade 10, upon learning more about the negative effects on burning waste, I set out on a mission to raise awareness about its effects on the environment. I wrote an article about the negative effects of burning waste, which got published in a local newspaper and magazine: The Jakarta Post and Jakarta Expat Magazine. Furthermore, I often also went to educate the waste management workers along with a few other classmates and our art teacher, who supported us in our venture.

During my junior and sophomore years, I also had the opportunity to become a member of Global Issues Network Indonesia (GINDO), which is an inter-school organization that is lead by the youth to solve some of the pressing issues of our generation. As a member of the organization, I have taken part in many events aimed to provide service to the local community. Among others, Cilincing project and Clean-Up Jakarta were events I volunteered for, both aiming to clean polluted areas near the school. We segregated the waste materials as organic and non-organic in the area and strived to raise awareness regarding the importance of segregating waste. Currently, I'm also working on a new project aiming to introduce a proper waste management system in my school. Together with school, I am working with waste banks to help us recycle all of the school waste. We are also encouraging the community near the school to segregate their waste, instead of burning it.

Indonesia, can easily be considered amongst of the most beautiful countries in the world, yet it's capital city itself contradicts what the country represents. This is also due to the lack of education in remote areas, which is why, in grade 11, as a part of Global Issues Network Jakarta, I volunteered to help build a kindergarten, in less developed city near jakarta. We worked on building the pavement, the roof, and painting the walls both inside and outside the school.

Growing up in Jakarta has taught me the importance of preserving the environment and that with little conscious effort we can contribute a lot to the world. Therefore, environmental sustainability and social responsibility is the core value I resonate with the most.

Good essay. I recommend you to write more about how you felt when you engaged in such ativities. You just wrote about what you have done. What was the outcome after you cleaned waste? Did the residents appriciate it and did you feel sence of accomplishment? Reflect your thoughts more on your essay, not just wrote about the facts. Good luck!

vabhavi, you may want to reconsider the presentation of your activities with the organizations. The purpose of this essay is to prove that you are an up and coming leader who shares the CSR and ES values of Pitzer. This is best depicted by showcasing your leadership skills in these areas. While you did present some nice information about the activities that you participated in. The mere participation in the events do not make it impressive to read about. What you have to do is make it sound exciting. Improve upon the presentation by focusing on your participation in the project or organization. What was your position? What were your duties? How did you contribute to the success of the project? These are considerations that will help to prove the alignment of your interests with the core values of Pitzer. Right now, it has a general presentation and does not really help you to set yourself apart from the other project participants. We need to separate you from the group in order to entice the reviewer to consider your application.