(Name Withheld) (back to contents)
Picture with me a vivid childhood memory. One night as I watch my mother volunteer for the Red Cross, she receives a call from a lost woman looking for directions to a hospital. With disgust, the woman scolds, "I’m over here in [racial slur] town!" My mom, having good reason to lash out and punish the woman by giving her false information, maintains her composure and politely directs the woman to the desired location. In doing so, she teaches me a memorable lesson of self-control, tactfulness, and being true to one’s values. I adopt these qualities for myself.

As an adult I continue to learn from challenging experiences that test me and force me to grow beyond my comfort zone. These experiences also shape me into the person I am today, equipping me with character qualities that I bring into the MBA environment.

Now walk with me and watch what happens when I interpret all day in Guatemala, providing medical treatment for impoverished communities. A new spirit of confidence springs forth as I stretch to learn medical terminology and decipher Mayan dialect. Amidst my fatigue and frustration, I maintain a patient manner of speaking to a young girl suffering from psychosis, comfort a grandmother writhing in arthritic pain, quell an agitated crowd, and arrange corrective surgery for a child with club foot.

Successfully handling these situations strengthens my ability to function under pressure. Of course there is always room for the unusual when a nurse bursts into the room saying, “Keith, go to the gynecologist,” causing me to spend two blushful hours scrambling for Spanish words while carefully helping her explain personal processes that I know nothing about. Talk about being taken by surprise! In the end, however, the real surprise is that I am not helping the Guatemalans nearly as much as they are helping me. They are poor yet extremely generous; sick yet optimistic and thankful. I appreciate their model of friendship and hope.

Having learned from these experiences with family and mission trips, I now carry in my business school backpack a passion for service, a willingness to experiment with new situations, and the ability to get along with diverse groups of people. Contributing these qualities allows me to succeed in the B-school environment.

Finally, in a much lighter frame of mind, I cannot help but mention that although quiet-natured, I am very personable and absolutely capable of enjoying the social aspects of life with my classmates. See, we Southerners naturally emit a special genteel charm, creating feelings of mutual comfort and contributing to the cohesiveness of a community. My classmates love it. Besides, y’all, a bit of Texas twang and southern hospitality never hurt anybody.

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