I have two technology summer experience applications asking for an essay about leadership.
One of the prompts is:
Please give us one example of how you have exhibited leadership. Explain how you were influential, what you were trying to achieve and the impact you had as a result. This need not be demonstrated through a formal or traditional leadership role. Think broadly and examine the ways you are having an effect on the members of your school or your broader community.
The other prompt is:
Leadership is an important skill at Microsoft. Please tell us about a time when you demonstrated the characteristics of a leader in your school or community.
But since they ask essentially the same question and must both be under 200 words I am going to use the same essay for both.
I have two ideas for addressing these prompts:
1: An essay about how I feel programming education should be taught at younger ages and how I talked to district administrators and politicians about considering that change. And how that all compelled me to volunteer to co-teach programming classes at my local library.
2: An essay about the time when I composed, directed, and performed an arrangement of “One Day More” for a talent show fundraiser. I organized 8 vocalists and 3 musicians, arranged the parts, and scheduled practices and found locations.
I personally feel like the 2nd one has a lot more potential to be better because I don’t really consider co-teaching a class as leadership and my attempts to advocate for programming education have not been very successful thus far. However, with the 200-word limit I am really struggling to tell #2’s story properly.
If people would be willing to read both and let me know how they feel about them that would be amazing. The word limit is 200 words (most restrictive essays I have ever had to write) so it shouldn’t take you too long. I can pm you the essays if you are willing to look at them.