Yet another Diversity/Adversity post

[eartharte]

Hi all! I was thinking through some topics to talk about for my Diversity and Adversity secondaries. I'd greatly appreciate feedback on these ideas!

Diversity

• Trilingual: I'm Chinese, and so I grew up speaking Mandarin around my house and then I also took Chinese for a year in college to learn how to read/write it. I learned Spanish first in high school, but then became surrounded/immersed in Spanish (my best friend from high school is Mexican and her family would speak Spanish to me all the time, both my parents remarried Mexicans so both sides of the family are Spanish-speakers, joined an org in college that volunteers in Tijuana and I speak mostly Spanish on the trips and most of the org members are Spanish-speakers, etc.). So I'm conversationally sufficient in both languages. Was hoping to explain how I became immersed in Hispanic culture, and how all three cultures (American, Chinese, and Mexican) have greatly influenced my life.
• I was the youngest in my school year because my parents enrolled me into Kindergarten a year early (because of my awkward birthday-timing). It really impacted me a lot in the long run because I always felt like I needed to prove myself to others, and I felt like that aspect of me was always a big part of my identity or how other's viewed me.

Adversity

• A more narrow aspect: I once had a logistical transportation issue with one of my organizations in college. We were supposed to go on a director's retreat, during which we'd bring donations to one of our sites and do a site visit. But because of a lack of coordination between my org and the school (as well as a lack of organization on the school's part but that's a story for another time), we were only able to bring 2 vans instead of 3, which impacted the amount of space we had - impacting how many people could go, how many supplies we could bring, etc. Even though we had less space and it was a really stressful night of trying to stuff everything in the vans, we still made it work. Lessons include being more transparent about communication, teamwork, leadership, etc.
• A more broad aspect: I have a lisp and have always had a lisp, and I've always been embarrassed of it, but rather than being shy and not speaking, I actually wanted to address it and (hopefully) improve it. It made me want to speak up in class more and do public speaking, read from the book in class, etc. Even though I still have a lisp and it's definitely still an insecurity for me, I never let that prevent me from speaking my mind or participating in discussions (and I'm also a pretty big extrovert).

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[Goro]

Diversity

• Trilingual: I'm Chinese, and so I grew up speaking Mandarin around my house and then I also took Chinese for a year in college to learn how to read/write it. I learned Spanish first in high school, but then became surrounded/immersed in Spanish (my best friend from high school is Mexican and her family would speak Spanish to me all the time, both my parents remarried Mexicans so both sides of the family are Spanish-speakers, joined an org in college that volunteers in Tijuana and I speak mostly Spanish on the trips and most of the org members are Spanish-speakers, etc.). So I'm conversationally sufficient in both languages. Was hoping to explain how I became immersed in Hispanic culture, and how all three cultures (American, Chinese, and Mexican) have greatly influenced my life.

Done to death.

• I was the youngest in my school year because my parents enrolled me into Kindergarten a year early (because of my awkward birthday-timing). It really impacted me a lot in the long run because I always felt like I needed to prove myself to others, and I felt like that aspect of me was always a big part of my identity or how other's viewed me.

I don't want to hear about you at age 5; I want to know about you as an adult.

Adversity

• A more broad aspect: I have a lisp and have always had a lisp, and I've always been embarrassed of it, but rather than being shy and not speaking, I actually wanted to address it and (hopefully) improve it. It made me want to speak up in class more and do public speaking, read from the book in class, etc. Even though I still have a lisp and it's definitely still an insecurity for me, I never let that prevent me from speaking my mind or participating in discussions (and I'm also a pretty big extrovert).

This is very good

 

[Osteosaur]

Goro knows more than me, obviously, but I've had to apply several times before getting in.

The one thing I did from the year I failed to gain acceptance, to the year I did, was approach my challenge essays a little differently. Don't look at it like the school is collecting hard-luck cases or want people who have experienced terrible things and have 'grit' for it. Look at it like a way to show "I had this problem. Here is how I fixed it and what I learned."

 

[eartharte]

I don't want to hear about you at age 5; I want to know about you as an adult.

Well even though the actual decision itself was when I was young, it’s always been a part of my “identity” at school as “that girl who was younger than everyone else” and even is now, and so it’s impacted how I carry myself through school. Is that still to irrelevant?

 

[ak-aka-dak]

For your diversity essay, think about what makes you interesting and unique. It’s not really about speaking another language. Do you have any special hobbies or interests that have had an impact on you? What experiences did you have in life that contributed to who you are now that would make an admissions committee want to admit you to their diverse class?

As for the adversity question, having a lisp and working through that to achieve your goal of becoming a doctor is an excellent idea for an adversity essay. You can show how you struggled with it, the steps you took to live with it and not let it get in the way of your goals, and how it will make you a more compassionate doctor with your patients because you have a better understanding of what it is like to have struggle with a life-long adverse situation.