Using the BMG ‘Buy 1 CD get 12 CDs free deal’ that came in the mail, I started buying jazz CDs in 5 th grade, which opened my mind to new creative expressions.My father was a Lutheran minister and taught us through example the value of helping others and community service.This is a brainstorming exercise so don’t mull over these too hard – write down whatever important or surprising memories come to mind.ġ: Write down experiences/observations from childhood (8 th grade and younger)Ģ: Write down experiences/observations from high schoolģ: Write down experiences/observations from college and later ![]() Create at least 3 bullet points of experiences (1-2 sentences) under the 3 lists below. Exercise 3: Uncover your storiesīrainstorm experiences from various times in your life that have influenced your current world views, including your political opinions, your passions, and your priorities. If you really can’t come up with a good reason #10, then reflect on that before moving forward with your application). (By the way, this exercise can also reveal if you are applying for the fellowship for the wrong reasons. Reason 10 will be a lot harder to generate than reason 1, but reason 10 might reveal something you hadn’t considered about your fellowship motivations. The exercise requires you to do this 10 times so that you are forced to come up with 10 specific, unique reasons for pursuing the fellowship. Why exactly do you want to do this fellowship? What will you gain from it, personally and professionally? Consider the skills and experience you would gain, people you would meet, and goals you would achieve. This exercise can be more challenging than you might think. Next fill in the sentence – not once – but 10 times, with a different ending each time: Or: spend one year in Germany researching how German government agencies process and settle Lebanese refugees. This might be something like: work for one year as an advocate for a non-profit that is addressing poverty in Oakland. Prepare a brief, one-line summary of what you would do during the fellowship if you were to win, and be as specific as possible. Exercise 2: Clarify your motivations for applying to the fellowship Once you do this simple written exercise with all the words on your lists, you’ll begin to have a clearer picture who you are and what drives you. I am motivated because I can see the positive impact of my volunteer work at the women’s shelter and I want to help as many people as possible. I am a leader because I realized I had the skills to help my hockey team achieve their goals. Don’t worry about being perfect – just write! This is just a creative exercise to get your thoughts flowing. Fill in the sentences below using one word from your lists at a time. ![]() Put these in list #2.įinally, reflect on your relationship with these words. Next, identify the adjectives that describe their ideal fellow, words such as motivated, knowledgeable, connected, entrepreneurial, passionate, and committed. These may be leader, advocate, expert, networker, scholar, cultural ambassador, teacher, entrepreneur, etc. Pull up the materials about the fellowship program, whether online or in print, and identify the nouns related to their ideal candidates. Turn off your phone, TV and other distractions and let’s get started! Exercise 1: Identify what the fellowship is looking for An expression of your future plans post-fellowship, and.Specific, memorable examples that are emotional and personal.A coherent story that explains why you are applying to the fellowship.A powerful opening statement or paragraph.An effective statement has 5 main elements: Since I have your attention, I’d like to share with you my exercises for conquering writer’s block and starting a personal statement.įirst, let’s review the elements of a personal statement. Writer’s block happens to the best of us, including experienced and published writers. Just the anticipation of writing a personal statement can cause writing paralysis, otherwise known as writer’s block. ![]() No matter how great a writer you are, that’s a tall order. You need to express succinctly and eloquently why you are a great candidate and leave a memorable and positive impression on the reader. A personal statement is a written description in essay form of your background, motivations, and interests in applying for the opportunity. One of the biggest challenges to applying to a competitive fellowship is completing your personal statement or essay.
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