¶ … diversity of the entering class and enhance the educational experience of other students. First, I have lived in various places outside of the United States, including Africa (I participated in internships there) Bangladesh (I attended high school there), Germany, and Tanzania (my family lives there). Living in different countries has provided me with an opportunity interact with and meet people from different cultural, economic, educational, political, religious, and social backgrounds. In addition, living in various countries has enabled me to gain an understanding of various cultures and also to gain insight into the different needs and ways of thinking among various groups.
Next, I have used my background and experience to my advantage during my collegiate education at the University of Virginia. During college, I was involved in a lot of group work, often with groups that were very diversified racially and otherwise. My ability to interact with, relate to, and understand individuals from different cultural, economic, educational, political, religious, and social backgrounds enabled me to resolve various issues in a non-adversarial fashion while remaining focused on the objective of the group work. As a result, the group work that I was involved in was conducted in a highly efficient, non-adversarial, and organized manner wherein each group member contributed and participated equally.
Third, my internships in Africa during college have provided me with invaluable background and experience. Living in Africa enabled me to understand the African culture and also their way of thinking. In addition, I was able to create visual presentations in order to enable the Africans to understand particular concepts. As a result, the Africans were delighted to experience this type of learning because they were used to being taught concepts via continuous speech rather than visual learning.
In summary, my background and experience will contribute to the diversity of the entering class and enhance the educational experience of other students in many ways. First, I have acquired excellent communication and people skills by living in various countries and by participating in group work during college. Next, I am able to listen and understand varying perspectives, which makes the process of working together to reach a common objective more efficient, organized, and productive. In summary, my academic and non-academic background and experience have prepared me well for the challenges associated with business school.
