Carroll School of Management, Boston College What

Carroll School of Management, Boston College

What are my career goals upon graduating from the Carroll School of Management? And, what steps do I plan to take before, during, and after my degree program to achieve career success in this field?

My career goal after graduation is to secure a position with a respected, visionary and upwardly mobile financial institution, or with any category of leading edge investment / development firm that is recognized as high caliber. In any case, I wish to be an important part of a financial group that specializes in international markets and global transactions.

The reason that I emphasize my enduring passion to be part of an international organization is because I was born and raised in Taiwan, and I saw Western world societies (Europe, the United States) and Third World countries (Africa, Asia, South America) from the perspective of a my well educated and successful family in a progressive Asian society.

Internationalism and global business has appealed to me, also, because I held a responsible, influential position with an international company (MeiDA Pharmacia, Inc.) in Taipei City, Taiwan; at my parents' urging, I paid my own way through high school and I saved my earnings dutifully in order to have the resources to fund my move to the United States.

Meanwhile, I fully expect that my skills and my ability to learn quickly will propel me up the ladder of success in any firm where I am employed. There has never been a day in which I did not give 100% of my heart, my brains, and my talent to whatever work I was engaged in.

Another immediate career goal: I plan to take the CFA test within a short period of time following the receipt of my MBA degree.

My long-term goal is to launch my own finance business, to compete and succeed in the global marketplace. Further, I wish to be able to become an innovator in the business world, and to not only earn the respect of my peers, my employees, and my competitors, but to provide many jobs for talented people who work with me and for me.

But before I enter the Carroll School of Management program I will invest considerable time researching the many opportunities that this fine program offers. I have been in the United States since 2003, and each day since my arrival here I have been reading the business and financial news prepared by the Associated Press and other world class journalism sources. That information provides for me a sense of being up-to-date with what is going on in the field that I wish to make my career in.

Also, I will engage in conversations with people who are or who have been intimately involved with the Carroll School of Management program -- students, staff, professors, graduates and others who are knowledgeable about the program -- in an investigative, resourceful ongoing search for meaning and scholarship background. Knowledge is power, and I intend to become a powerful student in the sense that I will be extremely well-informed as to all my options, all my opportunities and all my program choices.

During the span of my degree program I will at all times be thoroughly conversant with what is expected of me in each of my classes. In addition, I will embark upon a personal campaign of excellence, so that I will be known by my instructors and professors as someone who goes beyond the "call of duty," as someone who never settles for "average" but always strives to achieve more, learn more, and to be an active part of the university community.

I know that Carroll School of Management students are expected to learn as much from each other as they are from the faculty, and I look forward to the opportunity to be part of that learning process. I will excel in this aspect of the program, because I was raised to be a good listener, and to be a team player wherever I work and learn.

QUESTION TWO: Discuss my accomplishments; which of them required the most effort to achieve? What intermediary steps were necessary? How did I overcome challenges along the way?

I am an intelligent, ambitious person who was born and raised in Taiwan, the son of parents who were role models in several ways; their lives were richly full of accomplishments. I was brought up in a family where love, hard work, and a sense of history played a key role in my development. In this atmosphere, I was instilled with a burning desire to raise the bar high in every challenge I took on, and to commit myself to the task of fully accomplishing whatever goals I set out to achieve, at each step along the way toward my maturation.

I didn't have a normal life during my teenage years: My parents expected me to get a job while I was in high school, to learn about the world outside of school, and to pay my own way through life as an accomplishment that would bring me self-esteem, self-respect, and help me become self-sufficient. This experience was not difficult, because I have always been alert and quick to learn, and hard work was never a big problem in my life.

Work produces good results, and work opens the doors to the future for those who are willing to put in the effort. So, my first accomplishment was accepting the work ethic approach I would need in the process of becoming self-sufficient. And once that mind-set was established, I accomplished the tasks put in front of me, including understanding the business of managing one's own finances and learning English as part of my overall strategy for success.

My second accomplishment was an intermediary step toward the completion of the overall first accomplishment. I learned a great deal by working at the Hilton Hotel Chinese Restaurant in Taipei City; I worked as a waiter serving food and making customers feel comfortable.

At first I was very shy in my interactions with customers, but I wanted to accomplish becoming comfortable with all people from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, so I learned to be professional and so I became an excellent server and host. I learned to memorize frequent customers' names, and when I greeted them, it made me feel proud of what I accomplished.

I accomplished a lot as an executive assistant at MeiDA Pharmacia, Inc. Besides my own growth as a business-wise young man working my way up in a global industry, I was instrumental in providing the leadership for this company to convert from a manual to a digital billing system.

My duties included support tasks for the executive team and corporate clients, troubleshooting software and desktop problems, the proofreading and final-preparation of voluminous documents, and fine-tuning the art of tact when urgent situations cause stress in the office. And more than that, I learned a lot about the global business environment.

Another accomplishment I am proud of was receiving my Bachelor of Business Administration at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the accomplishment that took the most effort to achieve. While becoming fluent in English, and adjusting to life in the United States, I achieved a GPA of 3.463 and a personal portfolio study GPA of 3.667 at Mercer. I researched and produced a lengthy analysis of the global company Johnson & Johnson titled "The Fundamental Analysis of Johnson & Johnson Inc."

I overcame the challenges of living outside my native country, Taiwan; I overcame the challenge of learning to read, write, and speak in English, my second language; and I approached the challenges of my business coursework with a positive energy that had been instilled in my by my successful parents. How did I overcome these challenges? I looked at the big picture of my life and envision that, with continued hard work and a positive outlook, my skills one day will mesh seamlessly with the international business and financial opportunities waiting for assertive people such as myself. I cannot fail because I will not allow myself to be less than excellent.

QUESTION THREE: Why have I selected the MBA program in the Carroll School of Management?

I know that there are several excellent graduate programs for business majors in the United States, but I also realize that the Carroll School of Management is as highly respected and admired as any graduate program in the United States. Boston, as an urban community, boasts a wealth of highly respected educational institutions, including Boston College, Harvard, MIT, among many others. This kind of city atmosphere is intellectually invigorating, and I want to be part of it.

For me, meanwhile, I am very impressed with Carroll School of Management programs like the Business Plan Project, where I could work with four other students and experience entrepreneurship with hands-on experiential realism. I am excited at the possibility of actually creating a real business plan while interacting with my team, because in the "real world" of business, when I have my MBA, I intend to become a respected, successful entrepreneur.

Also, I am enthusiastic about the possibility of becoming involved with the International Management Experience program at Carroll School of Management, which would give me high-quality exposure to the economic and social realities of markets in Europe and Asia.

When I found out that Carroll School of Management offers such a challenging, innovative curriculum, I became eager to learn more, and to apply for admission.

And when I became aware that faculty members are encourage to foster close academic and intellectual interaction with students, and that the school encourages cultural diversity among the student body and ethical behavior on the part of all members of the campus community, I decided that this is the kind of learning experience I need, in order to achieve my most fervent dreams and aspirations for success at the global level of business and finance.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION that highlights unique aspects of my candidacy:

I have always been willing to help other people, especially those who are less fortunate than I am. Since the time I was 13 years old, I have been a volunteer for the Creation Social Welfare Foundation in Taipei. I am a "lifelong volunteer" at the foundation. There are people there who are barely alive, but still they need attention and love. I have worked for ten years, when time allowed, with impoverished patients who are in a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

The residents of the foundation always need help with their personal hygiene and safety, and I have been a helper to many of those less fortunate people over the years. I have also helped the Voluntary Home Services for older people during weekends.

As a person who has always been skilled in technology, and kept up-to-date with digital and computer advances, I was proud to be able to manage the database for the Creation Social Welfare Foundation. Also, if you want to get an idea about the degree of my dedication to charity work, you will be interested in knowing that I took careful minutes and kept financial reports for the foundation. I helped reduce the costs for the foundation when it needed to make purchases and acquisitions. It has all been a labor of love for me, because I have been a very people-oriented individual my entire life.

MSF Application -- Carroll School of Management, Boston College

QUESTION ONE: Define success in my specific area of interest. What have I done, and what do I plan to do, in order to position myself -- short-term and long-term -- for success in that area?

My specific area of interest is direct and interactive international marketing. On a broader level, I am very determined to emerge as a respected, skillful player in the highly competitive global marketplace of finance, business innovations, entrepreneurial start-ups, and, in time, sharing my successes with worthy non-profits through philanthropy.

Since I am a very recent graduate of Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, having just finished my undergraduate work in the spring of 2005, I have not yet had an opportunity to fully pursue professional goals in my fields of greatest interest.

Notwithstanding my relative youthfulness -- I am 23 years of age -- and the dearth of opportunities in finance and marketing that have been available to me, I have already carved out a reasonable level of business success in my own right. I have learned a great deal through hands-on involvement -- and working with top executives -- in the international financial arena, which is described in my answer to QUESTION TWO of this document.

And prior to that experience in international finance, I proved that as a high school student, I had the ability and drive to achieve business savvy, as I developed fiscal skills for later implementation.

Indeed, I learned that the combined dynamics of ambition and intelligence, when focused like a laser can propel a strong person to the finish line ahead of most competition. I believe I am that strong person, and my career will be dedicated to proving my worth and good judgment to colleagues, competitors, clients, and to the global business community.

To wit, at the insistence of my parents, I worked my way through high school in Taiwan, providing my own financial resources by first waiting tables, learning public relation skills, and helping develop a sterling customer service reputation for the Hilton Hotel Chinese Restaurant in Taipei.

And meanwhile, I am proud that I received an "A" and "A+" grades on two research projects I conducted and presented while in my senior year at Mercer University. One of the research projects was an analysis of Johnson & Johnson Pharmacia, Inc.; I gathered data and presented financial analysis materials from the past ten years to evaluate Johnson & Johnson's resurgence in the highly competitive global drug and healthcare industries.

In fact I created a real-world, highly professional economic analysis that allowed potential investors to view a comprehensive picture of the desirability of Johnson & Johnson stock. Johnson & Johnson has about 111,000 employees spread out in 57 countries, and they sell products virtually all over the world.

It may appear to have been a dry financial exercise to some of my fellow students, but I saw the opportunity as an exciting learning experience; I learned a lot about the dynamics of employment and management. I learned a great deal about what corporations must do to successfully compete in the global marketplace, where I will be competing upon completion of my MSF.

As to my short-term career strategy, it is a logical step for me to work hard and achieve an MSF during this time of my life. I already have had a number of very fruitful and challenging experiences in the world of business and finance.

I have performed well in my academic environments, and I have prepared my mind for the additional challenge that an MFS program presents. I am ready to pursue my MSF intellectually, emotionally, academically, financially and spiritually. This is what I have been preparing myself to achieve for many years, and I am fully organized and primed for the experience.

QUESTION TWO: Discuss the accomplishment of mine, which required the most effort to achieve. What intermediary steps were necessary? How did you overcome challenges along the way?

I am an intelligent, ambitious person who was born and raised in Taiwan, the son of parents who were role models in several ways; their lives were richly full of accomplishments. I was brought up in a family where love, hard work, and a sense of history played a key role in my development. In this atmosphere, I was instilled with a burning desire to raise the bar high in every challenge I took on, and to commit myself to the task of fully accomplishing whatever goals I set out to achieve, at each step along the way toward my maturation.

I didn't have a normal life during my teenage years: My parents expected me to get a job while I was in high school, to learn about the world outside of school, and to pay my own way through life as an accomplishment that would bring me self-esteem, self-respect, and help me become self-sufficient. This experience was not difficult, because I have always been alert and quick to learn, and hard work was never a big problem in my life.

Work produces good results, and work opens the doors to the future for those who are willing to put in the effort. So, my first accomplishment was accepting the work ethic approach I would need in the process of becoming self-sufficient. And once that mind-set was established, I accomplished the tasks put in front of me, including understanding the business of managing one's own finances and learning English as part of my overall strategy for success.