UBC SAUDER PERSONAL PROFILE QUESTION

EXPLAIN HOW YOU RESPONDED TO A PROBLEM AND/OR AN UNFAMILIAR SITUATION. WHAT DID YOU DO, WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME, AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE?

This began in September of senior year: I struggled to find the perfect time balance between running the school store and my academics. When I was selected, I thought that it'd be easy, "CougarMart is just like any other class" I'd reassured myself. However, being CEO increasingly demanded more. I thought I could put it aside and allow myself to focus on other things, yet I had grown a love for it as one would for a child. I found myself regularly worrying about it; I was completely captivated by it. Eventually, my grades plummeted. I took this as an opportunity to sit down and re-evaluate myself and where my priorities lay. I reassured myself that I had a capable co-CEO and a reliable executive team with me. Slowly, I began to organize my time and set a strict schedule. It was not easy to stick to it; I was struck with waves of insecurity that I was less of a leader because I wasn't giving Cougarmart my every free second. Eventually, I would come realize that results aren't produced by how long you spend on it, but rather how much passion you have for it. I found that following a schedule stopped me from being overwhelmed with all the things that had to be done for the store, something I consistently struggled with before.

This sounds like a very concise presentation of the problem that you faced as a co-CEO of the school store. Yet, that is where the problem with the essay comes from. The fact that you had a co-CEO means that you did not run the store alone. So why did you become consumed by the running of it? How did that happen? What was the scenario behind it? The discussion is too simplistic. Could you delve deeper into the background of the problem? What was the scenario that forced you to focus more on the store and less on academics? How did your academic performance recover after you solved the problem? A little more discussion development will help.