Chevening Scholarship essays on Leadership and influence; early experiences

Hi I'm #Danstand and I'm applying for a Chevening Scholarship. I have drafted my essays and need you input to help me come out with a winning essay

1. Chevening is looking for people who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer

my first leadership accomplishments

I still remember it like it happened in the last 24hours, when my stepmother left to the forest early dawn to search for firewood without leaving me and my four siblings any food for breakfast. This happened somewhere 1999. We went to school on empty stomachs and when we returned from school my stepmother was still not back and everyone was starving and did not know what to do. Our dad left to work before my stepmother and so did not know what we were going through that day. I could not take the hunger any longer so I called my other siblings told them if we want food we have to work together and prepare our own food. I shared responsibilities, others were to gather millet straws so we could use for fire, others were to harvest pumpkin and fetch water and I looked for the ingredients to prepare a pumpkin meal. At the end I was able to put food on the table for my siblings and myself. This was my one of my leadership accomplishments even as a child at the age of ten.

Since then I have taken keen interest in problem solving and building my leadership skills by taking up leadership positions throughout my educational ladder, in church, societies and anywhere I find myself I try to influence, impart, transform, motivate and to contribute my quota to the growth of society. I do voluntary work with a Non-Governmental Organisation called Youth education and Transformation Network for Africa at my leisure time helping to educate the youth, teaching them good leadership and providing career guidance to secondary school leavers and on Sundays I help teach Sunday school children. Putting smiles on the faces of these little ones gives me inner satisfaction. Friends and closed relations know me as the man with all the time for others and no time for himself.

Many have given various and varied definitions of leadership but in my view leadership is service to others and that is what I am passionate about. My communication skills, time management, and selfless nature is seen in all my activities. I once used six days to organise a youth success seminar under the Youth Education and Transformation Network for Afriica organisation to the amazement of the founder and all the other executives raining praises on me.

Gaining the Chevening scholarship would help me learn and discover more on leadership and motivating others as it would expose me to world great leaders and other upcoming young great leader.

Dan, there is a one essay per thread policy for the free review at this forum. Therefore, a review can only be given for the topmost essay that you posted in this thread. The rest of your postings will be ignored by the other participants here or the admin will delete the rest of them. If you can, delete the other essays, if you can't, then ask the admin to do it for you. You risk being suspended from the forum if you do not fix that problem as soon as you can.

While I can see the importance of your perceived leadership experience at the age of 10, that is not the kind of leadership that the Chevening reviewers are looking for. They will be looking for more recent and profession related leadership skills and proof of influencing. Try to find a more recent leadership example to provide. All of the other applicants will be presenting highly technical and professional experiences in this field. If you present such as simple example of leadership and influence, most specially at such a young age, you will automatically be disqualified from the running in the scholarship considerations. Don't use the essay that you wrote as it will not serve its purpose. Develop a new essay that is more mature , profession related, and relevant in presentation.

Thank you very much. I'll rewrite and post for your review

Hello, please I have re written my essay and I want to post it for your review (an extra review will require an Urgent thread - please refer to the written notice on that, thanks. EF).

Hi I have rewritten my essay on leadership and want your input

Travis Bradberry defined leadership in his article published at entrepreneur on September 14, 2015 as "a process of social influence, which maximises the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good". This is me when it comes to leadership. Recently, June, 2017 to be precise, I led a team of twenty teenagers to a cultural competition against six other teams and we emerged winners in drama and second runner up in poetry.

Each team was to compose their own drama and poem on the effects of child marriage on girl child education. I was able to bring these teenagers of different ages, sex and different backgrounds to work together as a team to achieve a common goal. My communication skills, time management, and selfless nature is seen in all my activities and this reflected in our rehearsals which inspired the children to work together and also gave out their best performance. A time came when these children will even organise and rehearse in my absence because I was able to make each person feel important, needed and selfless. Hence when the announcement was made after the completion, that my team was first in the drama and second runner up in the poem recital, I was not surprised though happy. We were to now represent the circuit in the district competition.

I have always taken keen interest in problem solving [....] I always try to involve myself in voluntary work at my leisure time helping to educate the youth, teaching them [....]

Gaining the Chevening scholarship would [....]

@Danstand
I think, that it is better if you emphasize on your leadership experiences during high school, and how it has affected you. But overall, the second one is better.