Led You to Want to Aim for

¶ … led you to want to aim for an MBA, particularly, why an MBA, why William and Mary, and why now? Please address your post-MBA professional goals as part of your response. During my educational career and throughout my life I have slowly learned the world is ever-changing in nature. To succeed in modern business tomorrow's leaders have to have the skills and technical knowledge that will allow them to become flexible and adaptable leaders.

Eventually my goals for the future include opening and starting my own firm in the global marketplace. To do this however I need to posses more knowledge not only of the technical aspects of the business world but also of the qualities a leader must have to succeed in this environment. I feel aiming for my MBA will provide me with knowledge of global trends and problems currently affecting enterprises large and small, and help me learn what steps are necessary to become a responsible and effective global community leader.

To become a strong and motivational leader I feel I must gain significant skills in the areas of management, technology and finance. I see my MBA as the key toward uncovering and fine-tuning those abilities. Pursuing my MBA will also provide me with an outlet to express my personal qualities such as my adaptability, creativity and compassion, which lead us to the next subject. While young I feel I was blessed with successful and motivational parents who inspired me to do well in academics.

My parents raised me in a manner that encouraged me to become a gifted and assertive student. With their support and encouragement I developed the motivation to do excellent work and transform myself into a leader that would lead others to do the same. To lead successfully however and earn a position where I will have influence on others I must first gain the skills necessary to do so effectively. William & Mary offers just that opportunity.

The Wall Street Journal recently released its MBA rankings which reported that William & Mary's MBA program now ranks among the top 19 in the nation. These rankings suggest the quality of education provided by William & Mary is superb. William & Mary is the type of educational facility and program that not only introduces students to the global business environment but also promotes student excellence by encouraging real life opportunities.

William & Mary's MBA curriculum includes a seven-week immersion experience that enables students to uncover the day-to-day realities of working the business world. As an added advantage the MBA program at William & Mary includes career acceleration modules to help students gain insight on what techniques and methods will propel them to executive levels of success. William & Mary's program was clearly designed for student interested in excelling.

The MBA program targets students who want to improve their interpersonal, communications and problem solving skills as well as maximize their flexibility and adaptability in today's changing global business environment. These qualities and traits are all personal characteristics I hold dear, therefore I feel that William & Mary's program was almost uniquely designed to meet my every needs. To survive in the global business environment one cannot simply rely on initiative alone. Rather one must have knowledge of day-to-day and real world business affairs and experiences.

The MBA program at William & Mary offers students just that opportunity, to explore the field through hands on experiences by working within corporate settings and on consulting projects. Students graduating from William & Mary's MBA program are more prepared to take on the challenges of the real world business environment than those graduating from other universities. I feel at William & Mary I will have the opportunity to experience business as it happens, rather than watch from the sidelines.

As I briefly mentioned before my goals include starting my own business. In the short-term my goals include securing a position with a Wall Street firm to heighten my skills and taking the CFA test. My expectation is that my skills and abilities will increase quickly and allow me to rapidly climb the ladder of success that will allow me to compete and succeed in the global marketplace. To become an innovator and leader in the business world, I must first however prepare myself academically.

Aiming for my MBA at this point in my life seems the logical choice to make this happen. I have performed well so far in all my academic pursuits. My task now is to aim for an MBA, hopefully at William & Mary, on all levels including emotionally, academically, financially and spiritually. Describe three personal qualities that you feel would make you a good MBA candidate. There are many personal qualities a good MBA candidate must have.

Some examples of qualities I have held dear in the past include a strong commitment to academics, a strong inquisitive nature and an open mind and spirit. While I feel I have these qualities, there are other personal qualities I feel even more important predictors of ones success as an MBA candidate. These qualities I feel are my strongest.

I feel the strongest qualities I posses also prove my greatest assets and include my compassion for the community, my devotion to interpersonal relationships and learning in the work environment and my flexible nature and adaptive spirit. Each of these qualities should not only help me excel in my academic pursuits at William & Mary but also help me develop as a global community leader after graduation and much experience in the workplace.

Experience so far has taught me to be a good leader one must first step back and listen and learn from their community. This is one reason I value my compassion and commitment to my community as a personal quality that defines my aptness as an MBA candidate. I devoted much my time so far to the Creation Social Welfare Foundation, where I worked with impoverished people in persistent vegetative states.

I have also committed much of my time to Voluntary Home Services providing direct care and support to the elderly. I feel both of these experiences have provided me with the balance, knowledge and compassion necessary to succeed as a global community leader. A leader is many things and possessed of many traits including charisma and dedication. A good leader must balance these qualities with compassion, a skill I feel I have mastered given my life experiences.

An MBA candidate will be presented with multiple challenges and an often fast paced and changing environment while following their academic career. To meet the demands placed on one in this environment it is important to be flexible and adaptable. I feel I am possessed of a great amount of flexibility and adaptability that will help me be the ideal MBA candidate at any university.

My devotion to people and adaptive nature has also inspired me to achieve new levels of success and has drive me to continue my education even further. A good leader is one that must above all else remain flexible and adaptable in an ever changing marketplace. Leaders know that at certain times or within certain environments it becomes necessary to adapt or change ones behavior. One must have the ability to do so quickly and responsively to reap the rewards of adaptability.

I consider adaptability and flexibility as the most vital skill and trait a leader can posses. I certainly consider myself well possessed of this quality. As explained by my personal history, I decided to move to the United States while just 19 to follow higher education. Despite the fear and anxiety that accompanied such a big change, an overwhelming sense of excitement and opportunity also filled my very soul.

It is this excitement and sense of opportunity that I carry with me today and that continues to fuel my academic pursuits and my need for excellence. When moving to the United States I realized that things often worked in a manner different from I was familiar to. Rather than back away I found myself adapting and varying my behaviors so I could learn from my environment rather than fall under the pressure of change. Yet another example of my adaptability and flexibility comes from my experience as a waiter.

In this highly volatile environment customers often presented me with unnatural and what seemed like unusual requests in my mind. Rather than dismiss them however I set my own judgments aside to do what the customer wanted and ensure their happiness and well-being. Often immediately after I found that I learned something in the process. This helped me develop a keenly open mind and help reaffirm the importance of preserving a flexible and adaptable nature when working in any field.

A good student and a good leader must also have the ability to communicate with people in diverse settings. I feel my interpersonal skills are perhaps my best personal quality and will help me excel as an MBA student. To survive in the global business environment one must first learn how to communicate well with others. Often communication is hindered by cultural difference, personal roadblocks or a closed mind and attitude toward certain events or practices.

Fortunately I feel I am open-minded and have learned through my diverse experiences the importance of building and creating strong interpersonal networks. As an MBA student I plan to increase my knowledge and skills by building even more interpersonal networks within the university setting. My dedication toward people and building strong interpersonal relationships is shown in many ways. By simply glancing at my resume you may not get a complete picture of my values and academic experience.

I have experienced many positive opportunities to learn and grow as well as develop my interpersonal skills during my academic and professional career. One example is my research about Johnson & Johnson which helped me learn more about and better understand the global marketplace. While researching this company I immersed myself in the global business environment. Johnson & Johnson is an ideal company to learn from, servicing over 57 nations and employing more than 100,000 people the world over.

To succeed in this environment one must be flexible and adaptable but also committed to excellence. The company offers multiple products, research and rules within all markets. It was here I learned the importance of interpersonal relationships in the workforce. Here I learned the relationships between employment and management can make or break an organization and a leader. I also learned that relationships vary from culture to culture.

I also discovered that a corporations economic health is not determined solely by financial results but rather is the combination of all aspects of a corporations business prospects. What is the most creative solution you have ever used to meet a challenge? Was it successful? If yes, how so? If not, what will you do if confronted with a similar situation in the future? I have faced multiple challenges in my personal and professional life so far.

One of the most difficult challenges I faced was managing a full-time career and completing my education so I could pay my way through college. Alongside this I faced multiple other challenges that needed creative thought processes and solutions, including in my volunteer work with members of my local community. Born and raised in Taiwan I was raised in a family where love, hard work, a climate of grace and dignity were often touted as critical to ones success as a human being and as a professional.

I have faced multiple challenges my entire life, yet despite that have always risen to the challenge and come out ahead. Growing up I feel that I did not have the 'normal' life one would typically associated with life in high school, however I feel I turned my situation into one that was both productive and interesting.

My biggest challenge included working throughout high school not only to learn about the world outside school according to my parents, but also to raise the money I needed to continue my higher education. My parents felt that to become a contributing and respectful member of society I would learn best if I paid my own tuition rather than accept handouts for others. While others may look this obstacle in the face and run, I found the experience was uplifting.

I met this challenge in many creative ways, not only by working in multiple environments including as a waiter and as a research assistant but also by being alert and quick to learn. I came to learn through my experiences that work produces decent results and opens many doors of opportunity for the future. When I was just 13 I began volunteering for the Creation Social Welfare Foundation in Taipei, and am now a lifelong volunteer at this organization.

This experience was a creative way to prepare myself for college and my professional career not financially, but mentally. It was here that I learned that even among those who barely experience life, love, attention and compassion are still greatly needed. Since then I have continued to work for more than 10 years with patients in persistent vegetative states. During this time I was faced with multiple challenges unique in and of themselves, including providing hygiene and safety to those who could not have helped themselves.

Working in this environment prepared me to face the unexpected. Thus when I finally reached high school and my father told me I needed to earn my own tuition I began searching immediately and without hesitation for employment, grateful simply for my health and the opportunity to complete my education. I subsequently took on employment as an assistant and as a waiter.

When in college I continued to work to support my education, opting for night classes and a tutor so I could take part in internship experiences and learn about firm's decision making processes. My schedule even at a very young age enabled me to involve myself in executive decision making activities including board meetings and investment shows. The multinational company I worked with helped me early on appreciate firsthand the realities o the new and global economy.

During this time I also traveled extensively to varying businesses environments to examine the working practices of companies in China, Taiwan and Japan. After coming to the United States I studied finance and fimbriation systems. I would not change one thing about my experiences except perhaps to participate more in global opportunities and world events. I would travel even more to understand business operations in even more remote locations.

And as always, when faced with the financial burden of funding a task as huge as education or any other endeavor, rather than run away I would accept the challenge head on. I would take immediate action to ensure I earned a job or other situation that will enable me to meet my goals and objectives.

Through the challenges I have faced I have learned and have come to understand the need for business leaders of tomorrow to shoulder the responsibilities of local and global citizenship through just practices and fair business policies. It is my hope that when confronted with challenges in the future I will look toward my experience and past commitments to make decisions that will provide just and ethical practices in the global business environment of tomorrow. I feel my experiences have made me more strong and independent.

I learned my third language and the life style of U.S. citizens only after I came to the U.S. At 19. After this time I learned that as an international student I had to push myself even harder to adapt to a complex and diverse environment. Fortunately this experience caused me to learn much. As I grew and developed in the U.S. I learned to combine my Eastern background with my new American culture.

I also learned to develop a new style of living and to commit myself to a new leadership experience, one that incorporates multiple viewpoints and practices. If there is any additional information that you believe is important to our assessment of your candidacy, please feel free to include it in your application here. A University as stellar as William & Mary receives thousands of applicants from eager candidates every year. What makes me stand apart? I have already defined my personality as one filled with ambition, drive and enthusiasm.

I have described my passion for the community and my intense need to grow and learn in the global business marketplace. What sets me apart from others is perhaps my intense understanding and immersion in multinational and subsequently multiethnic practices. In today's global business environment, organizations must be increasingly prepared to handle diverse working conditions and address people of varying backgrounds and histories. I am possessed not only of an international background but also a multicultural one. I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese, English, Japanese and Taiwanese.

These are skills that will help propel me to the top of the global business market. I have also however had the unique opportunity to learn about varying cultures and varying business practices and environments hands on through my diverse work experiences.