A Personal Quality, Talent, and Accomplishment, Personal Statement Example

Prompt: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?

Perseverance and inspiration define my life story and my leadership. My proudest achievement was to inspire African American students to form a student club that has successfully helped many minority students to narrow down the achievement gap on DVC campus. I have always believed in human potential and my life experiences have taught me that the achievement gap has less to do with differences in individual potential and more to do with access to opportunities and one’s state of mind.

The education system in Taiwan classifies students on the basis of their academic performance. Being a poor performer in high school, I personally witnessed lack of support and access to resources because the education system had little expectations from students like me. As a result, I became frustrated with the education system and lost motivation but it all changed when one of my best friends passed just one day before graduation due to a combination of alcohol abuse and sleepless nights. His death tremendously changed my perspectives on life and made me realized that it is never too late to bring a positive change in life and regain fighting spirit. My academic experiences in Taiwan have served as major inspiration behind my desire to help underserved students in the United States. Admission to DVC really motivated me because it was another chance life gave me to demonstrate my real potential as a student.

As soon as I was elected the cultural diversity officer in the student government, I set my eyes on helping underserved African American students. I soon discovered that African American students didn’t have a formal platform on campus and realized that African American students needed a student organization to have a stronger voice on campus. My efforts didn’t have a smooth start because people wondered why an Asian student wanted to help African American students but I eventually managed to convince the skeptics through stories of my personal experiences in Taiwan. I and my African American friends invited DVC faculty members and African American community leaders to mentor African American students at DVC. These efforts eventually led to the establishment of Pan African American Club (PAA) and PAA has been instrumental in increasing the number of African American students who choose to continue their studies at 4-year colleges and universities.

Studying in the U.S. has positively influenced my motivation level and self-confidence and I want to share my experiences with others to help them realize their true potential as well. When I return to Taiwan, I will continue my efforts in order to change the society’s perceptions of underachieving students. Through my speeches as a motivational speaker, I will convince my audience that failures do not determine one’s fate in life as long as they don’t give up. Everyone has potential but the society often wastes their talent by not providing adequate resources. My experiences will also help me become an effective business leader who will motivate his employees by understanding their problems, providing resources to effectively perform the job, and constantly encouraging them to boost their self-confidence.