150 to 500 words (maximum)

Please submit a personal statement of 150 to 500 words (maximum) that highlights your leadership achievements or significant service contributions to your community.

Surely this must be a joke. I cannot believe that anyone could expect to gauge a person's character from a self aggrandizing list of service and achievements. Would it attest to my individual worth if I highlighted my years as an executive officer in 4-H and FFA? Could knowing that I coached a youth livestock judging team speak to my strong leadership skills? If I spoke about my college involvement in political activism, would it attest to my ability to take initiative or, perhaps, if I told the story of how in high school I ditched my first period class once a month to have a buffet breakfast at Denny's with my friends? Do any of these narratives add to or subtract from a particular column about what type of person I am or student I can be?

While all of these anecdotes and experiences are part of my curriculum vitae from the past 26 years, the truth is that the bulleted points on my resume have done less to shape the person I am than the smaller events of my daily life. I've learned from my mistakes and from my successes, both large and small. These seemingly insignificant moments of my life have guided and shaped my awareness of a global and local community and my place in them, as well as, how I view and relate to others on an individual level.

I am still not certain of what I want to do in life, but by being open to new experiences and approaching them with curiosity rather than judgement, every day I get one step closer to becoming the kind of person I want to be. For better or for worse, this is what guides the choices I make in life.