Now thirty-one, I came to America from my native India at the age of fifteen, first completed high school, then college, and finally medical school in the Caribbean, going on to pass all three steps of my USMLE on the first attempt. Even before I finished medical school, I found myself reading in my spare time about Cardiology and I have known for a long time that it is to this area of medicine that I want to give my all for the balance of my professional life - as both a doctor caring for patients and as a physician heavily engaged in research. I keenly look forward to a lifetime of investigation on the forefront of study in Cardiology, new techniques, technological advancements, etc. I was persistent and confident in my career choice of medicine, and I consistently received honors for my academic excellence as a medical student at Ross University on the island of Dominica, especially in physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. For these reasons, I hope to be given the opportunity to prove myself and to give my all to the advancement of Cardiology in your distinguished Fellowship Program. After graduating from medical school, I completed a clerkship at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, where I encountered a wide array of diseases and pathologies that compelled and fascinated me to no end. I have always been grateful for the opportunity that I had to work closely with Dr. XXXX, a Cardiologist. Standing alongside Dr. XXXX was a defining moment in my career development; he stands among my foremost role models and is someone who I deeply admire and find enormously inspiring. Another of my foremost mentors in medicine who has inspired me greatly and encouraged me along the way was Dr. XXXX, a gifted cardiologist, and my mentor at XXXX University Medical Center, where I completed my residency in internal medicine (07/2012 - 06/2015). We worked together on several poster presentations and, in particular, collaborated on a study of the quality improvements that were needed for our Department of Cardiology. In July of 2015, I became the Chief Resident of the XXXX Telemetry Unit at the XXXX Center and served in this position for one year – providing me with the opportunity to practice clinically while I stay heavily engaged with research. My primary responsibilities included making the rounds to get to know the new patients admitted to Telemetry and CCU, working closely with attending Cardiology faculty. I also collaborated with the cardiology outpatient and congestive heart failure clinic, working with patients with everything from acute coronary syndrome to arrhythmia and advanced heart failure. I covered the other rotating cardiology fellows as needed, helping with consults, echocardiograms, stress tests, cardiac catheterizations, electrophysiology studies, pacemaker/ICD implants, and the interpretation of nuclear stress tests. Outside of these clinical duties, I conduct studies in basic science and clinical research with Dr. XXXX, Chief of Cardiology at the XXXX. Our current research focus involves studying neonatal rat ventricular myocyte monolayer as a viable model for in vivo physiology. Running the lab and carrying out experiments on a weekly basis, we are also trying to create new methods using stem cells in monolayer optical mapping. I have worked on several research projects with Dr. El-Sherif and Dr. Natarajan, who is on the research faculty of NYU School of Medicine. My position as telemetry chief resident position has enabled me to grow rapidly professionally and come to a much fuller understanding of the complexity of cardiac patient management in outpatient as well as inpatient settings. Born and raised in a small village in India, the specter of suffering was a constant. As I went to school each day, I could not help but notice the thin, slight, elderly men and women, on their sunbaked stoops, wracked in pain. As I entered adolescence, my life was upended with no warning when my father suddenly died. My mother became our emotional rock, which is why the devastation was beyond words when I learned, at 19, of her diagnosis with advanced stage cancer. Beyond the overwhelming fears, there was the reality of family need. I was pursuing my undergraduate studies and working full-time as a pharmacy technician. Having come to the United States, I was working as I never had before. After earning my BS in Biochemistry from Temple University, I started working as chemist. Yet, deep within, I began questioning myself, wondering if I could do more. Later that year, inspired by the plight of the underserved, especially in my country of origin, India, my mother’s illness, and my growing passion for scientific research, I decided to attempt a career in medicine. I scored a 90th percentile overall on the MCAT, which would have been higher if it had not been for my subpar performance on verbal reasoning - since English is for me a second language. This helps to explain why I ended up going to medical school outside of the USA. Since then, my English has continued to improve. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to practice in a profession that allows me to explore my fascination with the human heart while getting the satisfaction of helping people to live longer, more fulfilling lives. Currently serving as a hospitalist in the Department of Cardiology at XXXX Hospital in Connecticut, I learn increasingly about Cardiology every day, attending to patients with a wide variety of cardiac pathologies and gaining additional valuable experience in cardiac management. I have also volunteered as a fellow in heart failure and transplantation to learn how to manage advanced heart failure patients more effectively, especially with the support of mechanical circulatory devices. Now, I hope to become a transplant fellow for the upcoming academic year. I look forward to being a part of your cardiology fellowship program and fully demonstrating my determination, hard work, and commitment to patient well-being as a member of your distinguished team. Thank you for considering my application. Sample Cardiology Fellowship Personal Statement

I hope to be selected to earn the PHD Degree in Psychology at ____ University. The PHD at ____ is my first choice among doctoral programs based on my research interests which lie at the intersection of social identity, intergroup relations, and health behaviors. Born in Anniston, Alabama to Korean parents, I was raised mostly in Houston, Texas, and now live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Visiting South Korea with my family this last time, right before the COVID pandemic, was an extraordinary joy for us all. I have also explored Japan, the Philippines, Shanghai, China, and Hong Kong. I like to think of myself as an Asia-centric, Asian-American, and Asian issues will always be on my mind and in my heart. Most recently, I have been paying especially close attention to the literature on trauma, and the way that it tends to accompany the immigrant experience. In fact, these days, one can make a case that levels of migration are now taking place, or beginning to take place, which are unprecedented in human history. Increasing numbers of refugees are climate refugees, adding still further to the enormous numbers fleeing lack of economic opportunity, conflict, and/or political oppression. I look for numbers of refugees in South and Southeast Asia to increase in coming years. I hope to be paying close attention as a doctoral student at ____. I long ago gave up trying to coax my immigrant Korean parents into speak to me more in English. Now, at 38 years old, I have found the serenity to accept that this is not going to happen. I look forward to a focus on Korean issues, but my focus is more general, on the immigrant, the minority, surviving the cultural adjustment, mental health, and immigration. While I shy away from referring to myself as a native speaker of the Korean language, thanks to my parents, I am close, and I look forward to using this special language as a Psychology professional, alongside my English. Most precisely, I wish to center my attention on the neural mechanisms of semantic memory processes along with the perceptual schemas that underlie group stereotypes, discrimination, and power dynamics. In a complimentary fashion, I also seek a full immersion experience in the literature dealing with stress, decision-making, societal inequalities, and health outcomes. Nothing excites me more than my study of semantic memory and the perceptual schemas that underlie group stereotypes, prejudices, power dynamics, and inequality in health outcomes. I am also interested in research exploring the neural processing of multisensory perception - especially sound (music) – in dopaminergic neural pathways of reward, pleasure, and memory, with further exploration into consciousness and neuroplasticity, hierarchical neural coding, and the mechanisms that determine decision-making and schematic processing. Finally, the areas in which I would like to claim some level of expertise in the future, include the effects of risk and uncertainty as they relate to language processing, semantic memory, and social behavior. Since earning my graduate degree in Social Work, I have worked in a variety of clinical and community-based settings. For years, I have read widely about marginalized groups, disadvantaged communities and people from low-income backgrounds, especially at-risk youth, the homeless, LGBTQIA+, the formerly incarcerated victims of domestic violence, and persons suffering from eating disorders, bereavement, and addiction. I have always worked with tremendously diverse populations spanning all ages of development. Years of working with diverse populations have revealed a palpable, common thread that has stood out: many of my clients from underserved backgrounds have at least witnessed if not experienced some form of trauma in their immediate environment. As I studied the complexities of traumatic situations and how they are so impactful on the development of aversive symptoms, I delved further into researching integrative trauma-informed interventions specific to the field of human services. Hungry for information about the relationship between trauma and symptomology as it relates to neuroscience, I have been disappointed by what little information is available on how to effectively treat widespread trauma in marginalized population from a neurobiological frame of reference. My hope is that advancements in neuroscience will help to foster levels of care that are increasingly sensitive to the neurocognitive impact of trauma, so that we can more effectively address the complex needs of marginalized and traumatized groups, particularly those individuals that are homelessness. I hope to broadly expand my scientific research skills and develop new levels of sophistication in my thinking, particularly about statistics, to make the fullest contribution possible to shedding further light on cultural complexities intertwined with both multiple and social identities.  and the neural underpinnings behind these social behaviors (risk/reward, fight/flight, etc.). I look forward to designing culturally competent, evidenced-based interventions that are based upon solid research into the literature of social and cognitive psychology as well as affective neuroscience. Thank you for considering my application to Psychology at ____. PHD Psychology Statement of Purpose Asian Woman Sample

A dedicated student of the Fine Arts throughout my life, I was born and raised in China and came to the USA to study. As long as I can remember my central passion has been drawing and painting. I was first prepared at the college level to become a public functionary of some sort, earning my undergraduate degree in China in Public Management (2012). Next, I came to America and ended up spending two years at La Verne University earning my MBA with a special focus on Marketing (2014-2016). Most recently, I have been taking classes at XXXX College of Design at night. I prepared my portfolio and was accepted into and have been studying in XXXX’s MFA program in the Figurative Track – after completing my MBA. However, as my knowledge of art has grown, I realized that for a contemporary artist, it is important to study in an interdisciplinary environment where different ideas and media serve to inspire and endorse each other. Thus, I hope to transfer to the MFA Program at XXXX so that, in addition to painting and drawing, I might also be able to absorb as much as I can from multi-media artists – peers as well as professors. Some of my earliest memories are of drawing, the sheer pleasure that I experienced. My parents, however, insisted that I train for a ‘job’. Thus, I did not have the opportunity in China to study Art at the University level. For me, this would come only because of the liberating effects of America, building a new life more fully characterized by my inner creativity and drive as an artist, the person that I want to become most fully. My friend, a Chinese painter, suggested that I take classes at night at XXXX; and I have fallen very much in love with everything around me. I now have concrete hope that I have found my niche in life in the academic pursuit of artistic joy and beauty. My mentors at XXXX, Anne ____ and Denis ____, have become my most salient guides, inspirations, and role models. I appreciate how they have supported me emotionally as a student. Continuing to learn from them and the rest of the faculty at XXXX would be a profound honor. I am convinced that the XXXX is the optimal intellectual and artistic environment to stimulate my creativity, with my art welling up from my heart. I very much adore the multi-media focus of XXXX. Thus, I have my heart set on attending and completing your unparalleled, innovative program. I seek to incorporate elements from both Eastern and Western cultures and my unique subjective experiences into my artwork. I hunger to advance my grasp on methodology as well as my creative processes. With its location in Pasadena, close to Los Angles, one of the premier art hubs of the world, I will get great exposure to influential upstart galleries and institutions, all close by. I am convinced that such exposure will help me to develop a unique, artistic worldview and result in positive influences on the evolution of my artwork. With the opportunity offered by your program to study abroad in places such as Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, and Cologne, I am sure to acquire an advanced international perspective in my artwork. I have participated in a XXXX SoCal MFA group exhibition, and I could not be more geared up for the fullest immersion experience possible in Multi-media Art in Southern California. Central to my conviction is the fact that XXXX is a thoroughly interdisciplinary Fine Art program, with students studying film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and everything in between – all sharing a classroom. For me, exploration itself is what is most fundamental, learning from all the creative people around me, and seeking to become a bridge between Chinese and American Art, through multimedia exploration and cross-cultural sharing. I seek to devote myself most fully to the implementation of life experiences with the constant synthesis of new knowledge and Self-exploration of personal possibilities/means of self-reflecting in and through art. I want to have share in the creation of works of art that induce introspection and invoke learning challenges, fully engaging with multimedia art that is powerful, speaks to the times, and carries with it a refreshing, redemptive message, and humanitarian sensitivity. I appreciate how conceptual art is fully interconnected with and an expression of philosophy – providing an intellectual foundation. My work will focus on designing pictorial spaces that use formal elements to present known and unknown stages - where present and past, reality and dream, memory, and desire all intermingle exploring multi-media metrologies to express my ideas in both 2D and 3D.My background is diverse. I played basketball for more than ten years, first as a student and later as a professional. After my professional career ended, I studied Public Management and played for my college’s golf as well as basketball teams, performing for our college’s big events. I spent almost four years playing for Beijing Shougang Basketball Club as a professional basketball player and I learned a lot about competition, control, hand-eye coordination, determination; and a world of things that I feel will always continue to fortify me as an artist. In addition to continuing as a competitive athlete in college, I also organized various sports activities for the XXU Student Union Sports Ministry, realizing my leadership potential by helping to organize the first golf team at my university. Finally, I also participated in numerous community development activities as a volunteer. Thank you for considering my application to your MFA Program at XXXX. Personal Statement for Transfer from one MFA Program to Another, Chinese

It has long been my dream to become a professional artist ceaselessly exploring, interacting, and learning from others. Your MFA Program will provide me with the preparation that I need to achieve my fullest expression as an artist – my central goal. I want to work on the intersection of American and Chinese art, celebrating the symbiotic relationship between the two, overcoming language barriers and cultural differences, building networks among Chinese and American artists that help us to develop more sophisticated perspectives on art and better appreciate the beauty to be found by drawing from each other’s traditions. I want to cultivate my identity as an artist to fully implement life experiences gleaned from Self-exploration and reflection. As a result of completing your most exceptional MFA Program, I will learn to challenge my artistic energy in the most creative ways and directions possible. I see your diverse, innovative faculty as ideal for preparing me to make my maximum contribution to both the art world and humanity writ large. I especially appreciate the interdisciplinary focus and structure of XXXX, the way that you cultivate and reward diversity of opinion, with the atmosphere itself serving to foster boundary breaking creativity.  XXXX’s transcendence beyond a 2-dimensional discipline allows for self to challenge ideas and learn techniques to augment the subtlety of one’s expression. I have already studied at XXXX, and I feel most at home, love the people, and find myself most excited by the directions taken in your program at the integration of art with the student’s inner world. I could not have had a more favorable impression of the faculty at XXXX, the ones that I have gotten to know and based on the research that I have done. All internationally recognized artists and writers, I am also attracted to the fact that you have one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios among comparable MFA programs. I appreciate your annual rotation of internationally recognized artists, historians, and critics that will help me to understand the critical depth of social as it relates to artistic criticism. I love the fact that XXXX is fully global with students having the opportunity to get to know and learn from artists coming not just from all over Los Angeles, but Berlin, Cologne, Vancouver, etc. The possibility of spending some of my time studying abroad intrigues me. I am mesmerized by the diversity of the faculty - artists, critics, and theorists - all steeped in the historical, cultural, and political aspects that result in the creative processes that shape great works of art. It would be a special honor to study under XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, all widely recognized multidisciplinary artists in multimedia and world-class master's in visual language. Similarly, under the tutelage of XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, I will have the optimal opportunity to find my own space and creative energy within the enormously diverse and complex world of contemporary art. MFA Goal Statement Responses, Chinese Artist

I was identified as a ‘gifted student’ while at High School and realized that many professions were open to me. I considered the many paths available to me very carefully. I knew that I wanted to help people and concluded that my abilities and potential would be best applied to medicine. I have never regretted my decision. I now seek to broaden and maximize my knowledge and skills with the aim of enhancing the health of as many people as possible. At the age of sixteen, I was exposed to some distressing sights when visiting Kenya and Tanzania. On my return home, I researched what efforts were being made to improve healthcare provision and to increase access to healthcare in Africa. This was the first time that I became familiar with public health as a discipline and determined that I would pursue a career in this field after I qualified as a physician. Since my interest in Public Health was first fired, I have become aware of the increasing burden of non-communicable chronic diseases in Saudi Arabia, which I consider as the biggest threat to the country’s economy and stability. I hope to apply the skills and knowledge which I will acquire through this program to establish or join a specialist research team, which would aim at finding and applying innovative ways of educating the public in adopting healthy lifestyle choices to reduce the incidence and severity of non-communicable diseases. I hope that there will be an opportunity for me to assist in research in a related area of work during the program and to continue this in the long term. I hope to pursue a Ph.D. degree and I look forward to ultimately becoming a researcher and (possibly) a university teacher. I am aware that research is a major element in improving public health. I have enjoyed the research in which I have so far been involved and believe that I possess the natural intelligence, diligence, insatiable curiosity and determination that are required to be a good researcher. I am used to applying an analytical approach to problems and adept in distinguishing relevant data from the less pertinent. I have experience in bio-medical and statistical research. As an example of the projects with which I have been involved, one was entitled ‘Surveillance Unit Reports and Application’, undertaken during my internship in XXXX Public Health in Canada. The project involved reviewing and applying a modification in order to maximize the usefulness of the reports to the different public health services operating within Hamilton. I was engaged in identifying and summarizing problems and in establishing protocols to increase the effective and efficient response to those problems. This was a very useful and successful project and I greatly enjoyed my work. I have carefully explored the programs available to me and have concluded that MPH at XXXX University best fits my needs, and to enable me to achieve my goals. I am attracted by the highly prestigious reputation of the faculty and program. I look forward to joining a program in which fellow students will share my enthusiasm to ‘make a difference’ in significant ways and who will come from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise from which we shall be able to draw and share. I look forward to sharing the fruits of my own insights and experiences in public health. It is also, of course, very important to me that I shall benefit from the most recent research and techniques in the enhancement of public health. It is clear to me that the program will meet all these criteria. I am aware that an appreciation of cultural differences and sensibilities is vital in this specialty. I have travelled widely and I enjoy learning about different cultures and meeting people of very different cultural and social backgrounds. I am also alive to the fact that the aging of populations in many countries will have a noticeable impact on public health priorities and the targeting of research and resources. I came from a culture in which the aged are valued for their wisdom and knowledge and enjoy interacting with the elderly. I have been involved in many voluntary endeavors and projects starting from the age of 14. It has been important to me to supplement academic and professional studies with engagement with the wider world and especially where this involves those in need. During my medical studies, I led several programs aimed at increasing health awareness and knowledge in the communities and believe that we achieved significant benefits. I believe that these experiences are highly relevant to this application. I know that the program will attract many highly qualified applicants. However, I genuinely regard myself as an exceptional candidate. I am an enthusiastic and experienced researcher; I have demonstrated intelligence, diligence and academic excellence in my educational and professional career to date as my attainments will testify; I have some experience of providing effective and targeted community health education; but my main strength is a passion for improving public health through acquiring higher skills and knowledge that will enable me to make significant contributions to the society in my country and elsewhere in the world. I undertake to apply myself whole-heartedly to the program and to seek to excel within it for my own benefit, that of the populations I hope to serve and to enhance the high reputation of the program and its alumni. MPH Public Health Personal Statement Editing Service

A fully bilingual and bicultural Mexican American woman, I now have a broad base of professional and life experiences in a variety of areas that I feel strongly will enable me to make important contributions as a Social Work professional. UXX is my first choice among MSW programs because of its location as the flagship online pioneer in social work; along with the fact that my social issue of greatest focus is military and veteran’s affairs, inspired very much by the courageous example of my daughter who is active-duty Air Force. When I am not giving my all to my career and my family, I enjoy taking road trips and hiking in nature. I was born and raised in Southern California, and I now live in Florida. My understanding of the core values of the Social Work profession has very much been shaped by my current professional position with the XXXX Cancer Research Center Tampa, Fl. Moffitt (Nov 2016 – Present). As a Medical Assistant and a Patient Observer, I have had the opportunity to assist with a broad variety of privileges of service that have helped me to develop the skills that are especially critical to the Social Worker. I help patients with terminal cancer to spend the rest of their lives as comfortably as possible, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. I have always had leadership tendencies and drives. First in high school and later in college, I lead many team projects, presentations, and papers. I work well under pressure, always meeting deadlines and encouraging and supporting the members of my team. I appreciate the responsibility that I have as a Patient Observer, monitoring the safety of the patient while relaying pertinent information to doctors and nurses - the patient’s mental status or any changes that occur in their physical condition. I know how to talk to patients to keep them calm, providing them with full support as their struggle against cancer enters its final stages. Serving alongside my Supervisor and mentor, XXXX, completing an internship at the Department of Children and Families from (11/29/2016 - 03/27/2017) was also foundational to the establishment of my core values as a social worker.  I worked as a CPI, conducting investigations regarding allegations of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and/or special conditions for children, working very closely with law enforcement. I helped to collect information through observation and interviews with children, parents, relatives, neighbors, and other parties associated with the case, as well as analyzing criminal records, past service histories, and other relevant documentation. I learned a great deal about family perspectives, dynamics, special challenges, and solutions. Critical to my area of responsibility was the identification of need that was sufficient to spark critical intervention, voluntary or court ordered. I could not have been happier during that period, totally immersed in my work, assessing danger threats, child vulnerabilities, and caregiver protective capacities to accurately determine the extent to which a child was or was not safe. The drawback with this position was that I would go home thinking about the children and often wake up thinking about them as well. Two sides of the same coin, if one loves what they do, they just think about it wherever they are because something like this is so much more than a job – it is a life. It is my central passion and my greatest source of strength and joy. I most thoroughly enjoy the rapid learning experience that I underwent at the Department of Children and Families, the analysis of danger threats in operation, management, and modification of safety plans as necessary during an investigation. I arranged emergency placement for any child that could not safely remain in the home and notified the state attorney, law enforcement, child protection team members and other parties as appropriate. I provided present and impending danger assessments; completed risk assessment forms for families under investigation and explained risk scores to families involved. My Internship Experience at XXXX Recovery Center (Jan 2016 to May 2016) serving as an Advocate/Intern also inspired me forward towards study through the MSW Degree, serving in a social work setting, answering phones, photocopying, scanning documents, rerouting calls to the proper departments. I prepared material for our female residents, gave presentations, and held group therapy meetings to educate in broad areas of life skills and healthy relationships, and designed activities to help the woman at the center to heal and live a more productive life. I answered the rape hotline, helping victims and this launched me on a lifetime quest to better understand the numerous, complex links between sexual violence and substance abuse, in particular. I could not feel more strongly that I am the best fit with the MSW Program at UXX because of my passion for military social work. Since my daughter is an active member of the U.S Air force, increasingly, I hold dear all the veterans and the problems they face, especially as their service ends and their recovery – on so many distinct levels - begins.  With each day that goes by my appreciation for the sacrifice of our service men and women grows deeper, as I reflect increasingly on the profound challenges that they face, particularly with respect to the family. I was born and raised in Southern California and would see so many homeless vets in Long Beach, and street corners throughout L.A., the vast majority addicted to alcohol, drugs soft or hard, and/or prescription drugs. PTSD is real and I do not think that they are respected or given the help they need to recover, especially in terms of jobs and healthcare. I would like to do more research in this area. I know what it feels like to have a service member deployed and wonder if they will make it back home. The anxiety and fear that a family member feel can at times be overwhelming. I also believe that the transition back to civilian life is scarier and more overwhelming than it would have to be if the proper resources and personnel were there to inspire and assist our returning veterans throughout the process. Children and families are especially dear to my heart and during my internship the abuse that I witnessed made an indelible impression on my heart and soul – especially where the abuse in question was clearly a direct result of substance abuse and domestic violence in the home. I will never forget the pain in the eyes of those that I interviewed. I have helped many people throughout my educational and personal journey, more adults than children, and many people have also helped me. I feel that I can bring hope and knowledge to vulnerable populations, especially the children of families in crises, particularly substance abuse and domestic abuse victims, most specifically our veterans and their families. I am a compassionate person and value each life regardless of socioeconomic background. I have had doors closed in my face but never lost my great hope because of those special people along the way that have genuinely believed in me and given me an opportunity. I know what it feels like to have people inspire hope when there was none to be found because of difficult life circumstances. I want to inspire people that have been through traumatic life experiences to never give up hope. I want to give back to the community my knowledge and experience, sharing strategies, techniques, love and support. My central, long-term goal is to work for a government installation or the department of Social Services helping families, children and military personnel struggling with substance abuse issues and PTSD. I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a concentration in Family and Child Services and a certificate in this area in May 2017. Every day brings me joy, helping people through the end-of-life experience, providing hospital care as a medical assistant interacting intensively with patients at this special time. This could not come more naturally to me since for as long as I can remember I have enjoyed helping people who had no one else to turn to for support: individuals that did not meet society’s norms and expectations, those simply turned away. I would acknowledge them and help them by providing a hearing ear and helpful information. I have overcome many obstacles and difficulties through a great deal of strength, perseverance, and determination. My hope is that by being a great listener and sharing my own stories, I can instill hope where hope is in danger of being lost.  I want to be remembered as the lady who genuinely cared about homeless veterans on the streets of Southern California. I thank you for considering my application to Social Work at UXX. Personal Statement for the master's degree in social work

People are becoming ever more sophisticated and what passed as a strong PR strategy even a decade ago may no longer be effective in an age of internet networking and a general distrust of corporate ‘spin’. It is also fascinating to see that, for all the training and knowledge accumulated by PR professionals, ill-considered remarks by a senior executive or a CEO of large companies continue to be a regular feature of corporate news with often disastrous but avoidable outcomes. PR ‘disasters’ have particularly fascinated me even before I began my bachelor's degree studies in International Business Communication and I believe that careful study of them has the potential to teach much to PR professionals and senior executives of all specialties. This is a particularly interesting time in the world of PR and Corporate Communications requiring the adjustment of current techniques and thinking to new situations and to researching, designing, and applying methods of getting a message over. I very much want to be involved in this process. I can think of no better way of acquiring the education I seek than by joining this program. I am drawn by the teaching methods involving as they do actual corporate projects, and I am aware of the prestigious reputation of the faculty members and the quality of the program amongst professionals as evidenced by the awards given in recognition of its effectiveness. My goal is to acquire the very highest available level of skills and knowledge in my chosen field and initially to apply these for the benefit of an international non-profit organization and in founding my own firm. The relevance of my bachelor's degree studies and my experience in sales, PR/event and customer relationship management will enable me to bring useful insights and ‘add value’ to my class. I am a sociable person who gets on well with others. I realize that a likeable ‘messenger’ adds much to the positive perception of the message itself and believe that I have the characteristics to do so. I enjoy working as a member of a team working towards a common and useful goal and look forward to working in project teams. I have spent six months in the US studying in Georgia and travelling. I am also quite widely travelled otherwise having visited Greece, Germany, and Turkey. I also spent several months ‘backpacking’ in India and Thailand and was exposed to diverse cultures, social structures, and the contrasts between rich and poor, it was this experience that had fired an interest in working for a charitable organization once I have completed the program. I am extremely interested in acquiring knowledge of new cultures and in sharing knowledge of my own and so look forward to the opportunities that I will find in the multi-cultural environment of New York. I know that this highly prestigious program will attract many professionally qualified applicants. However, I am an exceptional candidate. I have a bachelor's degree in a closely related discipline; I have practical volunteer experience in PR projects and relevant professional experience in being part of the public ‘face’ of organizations. My main recommendation is a passion to become an honest and highly effective communicator assisting organizations in identifying and resolving internal and external communication problems and in providing them with a positive and widely heard voice. Master's Public Relations and Corporate Communications

In the banquet room of an Italian restaurant in Northern Alaska, my high school track coach addressed his team and their families at the end of the season. Most senior athletes were complimented on a winning season or a season of arduous work. I had accomplished neither. In addressing me in front of the crowd, he said: “Despite what the record books show, I know Karen is the best triple jumper to ever compete for this school.” I was so proud to hear those words after a season that began with me favored to win the league title and break the school record and ended without me having the chance. My senior season turned into months of physical therapy, sitting on the bench, and hoping for a chance to get back to the form I once had. Although my injury kept me from breaking that record, the lessons I learned during that time have proven to guide me in my choice of career. Since then, I have been drawn to a career where I am involved in helping people achieve optimum function and recover from similar experiences where dreams seem lost, and rehabilitation can be complex. I had my first hands-on experience with the field of rehabilitation during college when I volunteered at the first rehabilitation hospital to open in my hometown. I worked in the Transitional Care Unit, leading activities including wheelchair aerobics, art therapy, and pet therapy. The physicians and therapists I met there played a role in encouraging me to apply to medical school. During my first two years of medical school, working with three different Physiatrists introduced me to a field where I witnessed the long-term relationships between doctor and patient, as well as the opportunity to be the leader of a rehabilitation team. Both aspects of the specialty are important to me and coincide with my strengths, which include strong interpersonal skills and the development of relationships, as well as a love of organizing and motivating people. The ease with which I work with all types of people has always been one of the areas where I have been complemented most by others. In my third year, during my family medicine and internal medicine rotations, I found my interest in the specialty confirmed by my enjoyment of workman’s Compensation and orthopedic surgical recovery patients. I now look forward to broadening my exposure to the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation during my two elective rotations in October and November. In residency, I hope to attend a program that will provide a solid foundation in pathophysiology as well as the clinical practice of rehabilitation medicine. I value structured training with a diversity of exposure to patients and facilities. I want to learn in an environment that encourages close relationships with patients, other residents, and faculty. As far as my goals after residency, I would like to continue my education with fellowship training in either musculoskeletal or sports medicine. I aspire to a career in clinical medicine with opportunities to do clinical research and supervise medical students and residents. I love the academic community environment and especially the constant learning that accompanies the field of medicine. Anyone living in Big Town, USA, can attest that its streets foster a sizeable homeless population. About a block away from my apartment lives a homeless veteran who finds shelter at our neighborhood video store entrance. Mark is living with an above-the-knee amputation after losing his leg to diabetes a decade ago. He roams the streets in a dilapidated vinyl wheelchair, toting an old prosthesis with an occasional bottle of alcohol on his lap. Mark and I have gotten to know each other over the years; we pass each other nearly daily. We have discussed his struggles living homeless with an amputation and the barriers posed by his disability. Years before I became interested in Physiatry, I would ask myself, “What role did Mark’s disability play in his homelessness?” With added resources and support, could Mark have better overcome the loss of his leg?” Later, as a second-year medical student interested in Physiatry, I wondered what impact an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team could have had in maximizing Miles’ functional outcome, addressing his psychosocial needs, and imparting the vocational adaptations necessary for Mark to resume working. Now, having gained experience in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, I have found many answers to my questions. I compare Mark to Nick, a 55-year-old diabetic who also lost his leg to amputation, was wheelchair dependent, and never planned to walk again until four years ago when he was fitted for a prosthesis. He has since become a world traveler. He has hiked the Rocky Mountains, seen the glaciers of Alaska, and kayaked the Colorado River. These have been the happiest years of Jim’s life. Jim now volunteers his time helping other amputees overcome similar obstacles to achieve the independence and inner peace that he has obtained from his rehabilitation. Through relationships with patients like Nick, I realize the tremendous impact I can have on my patients’ lives as a physiatrist. Physiatry appeals to me as a humanistic field. Physiatrists coach their patients through the stages of loss, helping them turn denial into acceptance and anger into motivation for rehabilitation. This leads to a more positive attitude and renewed appreciation and perspective. It is a privilege to care for a patient population that demonstrates such resilience, focus, and optimism. I also appreciate the practical guide of Physiatry on those aspects of recovery that most concern patients. After suffering a stroke, patients do not ask what artery was occluded; instead, they want to know whether they will walk, work, dress, and toilet again without assistance. As a Physiatrist, I will help my patients work to find the answers to such questions. I will care for my patients, treat them with dignity, and never lose sight of medicine as a form of service before science. Indeed, I cannot imagine anything more productive or satisfying than dedicating my knowledge, skills, and life toward helping others liberate themselves from the confines of chronic disability. I now realize that well before I understood the field of Physiatry and even before I was interested in practicing medicine, certain life events and personality traits have made me uniquely qualified for this specialty. Growing up with a deaf brother, I learned the challenges and limitations of handicaps. I witnessed firsthand the pervasiveness of disability in all of life’s domains, along with the inflexibility and harsh judgment passed by society. This awareness has imparted me with a drive to serve others faced with such obstacles. I have also realized that one can only hope to overcome or adjust to a disability by focusing on ability. This exposure has helped me maintain a broader, more holistic appreciation for the human rather than the constituent systems and the individual rather than the disability. Through my volunteer work and medical rotations, I have witnessed the unfortunate realities of neurologic impairment, along with the pain of knowing the limitations of science. Only through continued research and preventative education can we hope to overcome these afflictions. Through my work with the Adopt-A-School program, I teach the realities of drugs, gun violence, and high-risk behavior to children through lectures, presentations, role-playing, and field trips. Simultaneously, I have worked diligently throughout medical school researching the functional organization of the human brain and the implications of aging and disease using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Only through understanding the active organization of the healthy brain and its reorganization in response to aging and illness can we appreciate the mechanisms which underlie recovery of function after brain injury. Research is an integral part of my life and gives me much gratification; I have devoted a huge portion of my time before and during medical school to dozens of research studies leading to multiple publications and presentations, and I plan to continue these efforts through residency and beyond. Through my research, I have come to appreciate the need for increased empirical study within the field of Physiatry. I plan to devote my research interests and abilities toward this requisite. I seek a residency program in an academic setting that promotes and supports resident research while offering comprehensive clinical education in a dynamic teaching environment. I am interested in a program with a compelling reputation that provides inpatient and outpatient training opportunities in multiple clinical settings and ample procedure opportunities. The location of the program, the diversity of its population, the social and cultural chances outside of residency, along with the conduciveness of the setting toward the pursuit of my interests in distance running, road biking, hiking, mountain climbing, and scuba diving are all also important considerations. Indeed, having completed twenty years of education to get to this point, I cannot wait to embark on my formal residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Not only have I come to realize the impact that I can have on people like Mark, but also the deep sense of enrichment that practicing Physiatry will bring to my life and my patients' lives. Residency Personal Statement, Physical Rehabilitation

My career evolution, learning experiences, and my interest in musculoskeletal disability have uniquely directed me towards the field of physiatry. Throughout my clinical rotations, I learned from patient contact and disease investigation but yearned to see my role in their daily life after they left the hospital. Unlike any other field of medicine, my PM&R elective delved much deeper into the patient’s biopsychosocial realm, investigating their daily functional abilities, tackling their social welfare issues, and ensuring the patient was well-equipped to survive many times on their own. My road to education has molded me into a jack of all trades, whether I am a leader, traveler, linguist, teacher, or trainer – all things that were advantages for me as I teamed up with the patient to map their prognosis. I was fascinated by inpatient post-stroke recovery and biomechanical isolation of the musculoskeletal system to rule out radiculopathies, to working with cerebral palsy kids to fit them with braces, I constantly wanted to learn more about physiatry. As a personal trainer by experience, I was intrigued by their motor strength loss and decline in proprioceptive function and speech. Still, many times patients were more concerned if they would be able to comb their hair, climb the stairs to their apartment, or even be able dress themselves properly. Disability was certainly physically debilitating, but many times I witnessed patients’ acute depression ensuing to an ability to communicate, resulting in a decline in their social function. Working with a team of specialists, I learned from neurologists, rheumatologists, orthopedists, psychiatrists, and internists, to provide a holistic learning experience to address the patient’s diverse medical profile. As a professional, I was impressed with how rehabilitation was charged with managing the patient’s road to recovery and the satisfaction I received from participating in this long-term process. Making sure the patients knew how to tackle their disability, I took it upon myself to educate them on how to cope with impairments that affected many facets of their daily lives. Whether as a medical student, teacher, counselor or translator, my metamorphosis from one role to another prepared the patient to face mental, physical, and social adversity outside of the hospital. As a resident, I cannot only contribute my basic science knowledge and clinical acumen to physiatry but also McGraw on my experience as a teacher and leader. As a teacher and director, I worked in a team-oriented setting to help children reach their daily learning goals and overcome their learning barriers. Thriving off these intense interpersonal relationships, I helped my students overcome their learning deficiencies and regain their confidence in a school setting. This same satisfaction attracted me to physiatry, where I could make a functional impact on people’s daily lives, but in a health care setting. Working with patients and colleagues as a team leader towards one common goal – is not new to me – I have jumped to interact with my environment at every step in my learning process, whether it is academic, in an educational setting or at the hospital. My diversity of experiences, skill set, and propensity for the mechanics of the musculoskeletal system will help me thrive in physiatry w; here, I can continue to work with my colleagues to effect change in patients’ daily activities. In residency, I hope to train in an institution where I can further my understanding of the clinical pathophysiology of rehabilitation with diverse inpatient and outpatient exposure. Noi would also like to work with motivated faculty who promote teaching and an intimate relationship with the patient and rich my colleagues with my enthusiasm for musculoskeletal recovery teaching. In the future, I envision myself practicing physiatry in conjunction with hospitals, alongside medical students, and residents, as well as working on new strategies to improve rehabilitation – to improve the function of the patient in society. Residency Rehabilitation Personal Statement Example

Business management and the technology that drives economic development are my foremost loves in life. An extrovert, I am passionate about people, marketing, and business connections; I never tire of talking, plotting, scheming about how to make business grow. And I like to think that this is about a lot more than making money. Since I see business development as the primary motor of human development, I also see the promotion of business development as a humanitarian enterprise, helping myself and others to succeed together, through intelligence and hard work. These are the principal reasons why I am a strong candidate for your program: especially my incessant good cheer and my dedication to my work and my colleagues. Furthermore, as a cosmopolitan young woman whose adventurous spirit has led her to travel much of the world, I feel that I am a natural for business development in the international sphere, long having cultivated my intercultural sensitivities, appreciation and respect for diversity, and a pragmatic approach to problem solving, bringing people together to perform important tasks, negotiation, leadership, and all the qualities that go into making a successful business performer in the international arena. My ideal job after completing your program would be to work as a Product or Business Development Manager, especially in the area of software development—given my passion for technology and communication, and my conviction that IT represents the single-most important factor in the success of any given company—especially when operating on the international level. I particularly look forward to assuming responsibility for the increase in market growth and the subsequent profitability of a product line. I keenly look forward to continuing to travel as a professional, fulfilling my responsibility for the implementation of products in new international markets. I see your program and earning the MBA at XXXX University as the key foundation for my future success. I fully trust that your renowned program represents the ultimate tool kit of resources that I need to acquire in order to realize my dreams to the fullest extent possible, especially my long term goal of serving our global motors of economic development in the capacity of a Recruitment Consultant with a proven track record in Sales and Marketing. A solid team player dedicated to excellence and professionalism, I am most excited about the fellowship and exchange of ideas that I will be able to benefit from in your program, working alongside students from diverse backgrounds helping to prepare each other for ultimate success. Born and raised in Poland, I left my native country because it was too easy - thriving on challenges and always holding aloft my goal of becoming an accomplished international player, I have stayed glued for many years now to both the English language and my study of business development. Completing an MBA program in America and becoming an internationally successful businessperson has long been my dream. In fact, quite literally, I even dream in English now, and most of the time, of course, I dream about business, marketing, meeting the challenges that lie ahead in new frontiers. As someone who is fixated on the goal of someday becoming a director of sales and marketing for a progressive, rapidly expanding company, I see your program, geared towards Service Marketing, as an especially good fit for my career goals and I look forward very much to the privilege of meeting your faculty and the other graduate students in the program. MBA Personal Statement Service Marketing Development

The responsibility of a pediatrician is to take care of the world's future. This is why I want to work as a pediatrician to have a tremendous, long-term impact by taking an active role in the healthy development of children. I hope to bring my finely honed skills to your residency program in pediatrics. Being born into a family of the medically underserved in rural India, there was only one primary health care center staffed by one pediatrician and a handful of nurses. The only doctor in the clinic had been trained as a pediatrician and was seen as a god by the villagers. I was deeply impressed by how much the people genuinely loved him, which goes a long way to explaining my early interest in becoming a pediatrician. Now, I would like to serve as an advocate for children in the community and encourage them to develop their talents and promote healthy lifestyles. I am fascinated and very enthused about opportunities to prevent childhood health problems. I am most distinguished by my dedication to helping kids in medically underserved areas. It is my spirituality, my way of contributing to the community, and supporting and serving as an excellent example to my family. I have been groomed from early childhood for a life of service to others, and I have always brutally lived this calling. I believe that the seriousness that is attached to the educational process in Indian culture has helped me to become one of the most highly motivated doctors in the profession. Serious and dedicated words best describe my character and life philosophy. Pediatrics will enable me to make the most positive and lasting impact possible over the long term, from newborns to adolescents. I find the care of patients from birth to adulthood to be incredibly satisfying since I have always had a deep and abiding, special love for children and look forward to forming the types of enduring relationships that characterize a distinguished pediatrician. Some of the most enriching months of my life were spent studying for my MS Degree, building upon the solid experience that I gained doing clinical rotations in surgery, medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics, and gynecology for one year in Miraj, following my graduation from medical school in my native India. Though I have appreciated the educational opportunity represented by the treatment of adults, I have unequaled enthusiasm for my pediatric patients because I have a natural ability to create a rapport with children and gain their confidence which is all-important to their successful treatment. This was the reason I was a favorite intern for many patients. I would now be profoundly honored to give my all to the practice of pediatric medicine in your distinguished program. I want to thank you for considering my application. Residency Pediatrics Personal Statement

Several factors combined with careful planning and a long-term goal coming to fruition have motivated me to pursue my MSW with XXXX University. First, I feel that I will quickly exhaust every path of opportunity and challenge at my current academic level. I have an ardent desire to build a career in the field of social worker management, inspired by my current position working in a hospital for the Ministry of Health. From all that I have seen and experienced, it is my belief that there is a distinct need for quality Social Workers working with one person, one family, one community at a time, fostering change on a systemic level. By earning my MSW with an emphasis in Health, I will fill that need, building upon my existing academic foundation and body of experiences, naturally, fluidly, and logically. In the most practical terms, I am now financially able to complete my professional and personal plan, and the convenience of the distance-learning program cannot be underscored enough. As a mature professional, I am grateful for the opportunity to undertake scholastic development and still contribute to the workplace, and at home. I have long since planned for, and indeed, dreamed of the day I could enter in this program, and am eager to begin. Coming from a family of Caribbean immigrants, I am particularly sensitive to the unique needs of minorities. I heard stories of the struggles of acculturation, language barriers, racism, discrimination, and other issues the immigrant faces, most of which I have experienced myself in Caucasian schools both public and private. Even as a little girl, I felt drawn to the outsiders, that I understood them, befriended them, and consistently mediated in school situations. Moreover, I come from a family of caregivers, particularly nurses, and I grew up in an atmosphere that emphasized helping others - the poor, the sick and the needy - at all costs; and not only physically, but socially and spiritually, as well. It is little wonder that my feet were put onto the path of Social Work and Health. Proof of my commitment and indeed of my passion for helping others, can be found in the mission work, community outreach, and work with women in prisons. For over twenty years, I have devoted my time, energy, and spirit to the elderly, within shelters, child welfare agencies, social services, social program management, all with unswerving discipline, drive, strong work, and dedication. There is so much more, though, that needs to be done. By increasing my knowledge and acumen, I will be able to affect the changes that are so desperately needed. This enhancement of myself will be amplified by my record of accomplishment within the community, aiding in my success post-graduation. While the focus for my MSW is Health, I bring a unique perspective, a belief that good overall health comes not just from dealing with symptoms, but overall well-being, a tot ensemble of mind, body, and health. Choosing the path of Health stems from all of my experiences, from childhood to the present, from growing up in a family where most have dedicated their professional lives to the care of others, through my own BSW and subsequent professional experience, I always want to give that much more, and have a positive impact on as many lives as I can. There are many social issues in Health, and reflect a challenging role for any Social Worker, even the most dynamic and energetic. While doctors treat patients when they are at their most vulnerable, it is the Health Social Worker who deals with vulnerable populations so they can rise above their illnesses, taking up where the surgeon cuts, we add positive living resources. Where the doctor treats the patient, the Social Worker aids the patient as well as the family around them, counseling and laying out sustainable plans. Hospital or outpatient care ends at the end of their sidewalk, whereas the Social Worker goes beyond, into the home, arranging in-home services. For the Medical Services Social Worker, there are many aspects to consider, psychological, social, cultural even religious along with medical, all interrelated and complicated by medical conditions. Given the massive influx of people of differing cultural backgrounds into Canada’s healthcare system and each group brings with them unique needs that deserve to be recognized and catered towards. For Medical Social Services to work effectively for all their patients, a one-size-fits-all attitude or system simply will not work. Furthermore, given the current economy, lower income groups are increasing, bringing an increasing need for outreach services, to not just bring about financial relief, but stress relief as well. There are distinct and causal – proven – links between stress and illness, and the Social Worker is on the forefront of aiding others in reaching more peaceful circumstances in their lives, minds, and hearts. Lastly, the Social Worker deals with patient advocacy in an economic climate that is forcing insurance companies and healthcare providers to redefine needs based on cost and availability of services, a situation that is stretching resources further and straining healthcare teams. The contemporary health social worker must be increasingly creative in their advocacy, and be completely aware of the right organizations, changing healthcare resources, policies, availability, and then cross-referencing this with our patient’s unique cultural or social idiosyncrasies. Immigrant UK MSW Online Personal Statement Editing