¶ … transfer to 'Dhobiwalla? What's that?" I asked. "Oh!" he said, laughing heartily as he leaned back comfortably in his seat, scotch in hand. "They're the laundry service in India!"

Mr. Patel was one of the many corporate clients with whom I worked on several occasions, spending hours at a time confined to the flight cabin while crossing trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic paths. The conversations that come up while we are miles in the air range from what our favorite fruits are to movies, to -- as I learned that day -- how we best like to do our laundry. Mr. Patel also told me the names of fruits and vegetables that I could barely pronounce at first but once I tried them in Bombay I have never been able to stop my cravings.

One of the most enriching aspects of my career as a flight attendant has been my encounters and interactions with people from all walks of life and from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. Especially as I have worked in different flight sectors, from government to commercial to corporate to private, I have met men and women who are rich and poor, from everywhere from India to Iceland. As a result, I have become flexible, able, and willing to work with diversity.

My people skills will seamlessly translate to campus life as a student at UUU, a world-renowned school that attracts students and professors from around the world. As a returning student in her fourth decade of life, I offer the campus community a unique perspective on both career and self-development. I have been married; I have traveled around the globe in various capacities; I have met unique persons, from corporate executives to dhobiwallas. My exuberance and affable personality has earned me a positive reputation from my companies' clients and my immediate supervisors. Moreover, I bring to campus life an open-mindedness...

Because I have witnessed and worked with so many different perspectives, I am able to weigh and balance many conflicting ideas at once and navigate between them.
Moreover, I my unique life experiences contribute to my overall knowledge about interpersonal as well as professional relations. I will interact just as well with advisors and professors as with students and with both I can share my stories, hopes, and dreams. I have set aside many of my dreams until now: I am returning to school with intense focus and determination that I hope will rub off on my classmates. Therefore, I feel that in all my classes I will offer inspiration, hope, and enthusiasm for others who might be struggling or bogged down by heavy course loads. Also, as a returning student and 43-year-old women, I can offer advice to younger students who might not be used to balancing family, career, and school at the same time. I will offer strength of spirit and support to all my classmates and together we will meet the academic challenges at UUU together.

Because I have done so much traveling and because I have worked for so long in a profession that has exposed me to different lifestyles and opinions, I truly enjoy meeting people from around the world. I expect UUU to have a diverse, international student body and I know that I will fit right in as a student. I look forward to studying at UUU full-time, immersing myself fully into coursework, working with professors, and also participating in the enriching social aspects campus life.

Essay 2: Have you participated in any programs 'OK. Take a deep breath ... hold it, hold it!" Sue looked up at me, barely suppressing a giggle. Our first aid examination was almost over: as flight attendants we were required to renew our license…