The Japanese language is highly complex. Two alphabets and a large number of kanji (characters) must be memorized, and respect for one’s elders reflected in the grammar itself: to mistake this is to risk insult. At age seventeen, after five years of study at high school in Australia, I came to Japan with a few rudimentary phrases and four hundred kanji—the average Japanese high school student knows more than two thousand.

My move to Japan in April 1993 represented a great academic challenge—to attend lectures, research, and study under the same conditions as a native at a Japanese university—but also a personal opportunity, a tremendous chance to broaden my horizons. Five years in a foreign country and culture by myself was a daunting prospect, but I took the view that if I could not cope, I could always return to Australia fluent in Japanese after the one-year intensive language training course. The experience was both more challenging and rewarding than I had imagined.

The first year at Kyoto University was particularly tough academically. Although Japanese language school prepared me for the grammar and vocabulary needed, I was overwhelmed at first by the sheer amount of work required, taking two hours, for example, to read what took my Japanese classmates half an hour. Not only was I studying new concepts, but in a foreign language; a novel experience was to learn German and Chinese from a Japanese base. It was slow and painstaking work, but I refused to give up, setting myself arbitrary high standards. I used English books to study together with the Japanese texts, borrowed friends’ notes to fill in the gaps I had missed in lectures, and with perseverance my language ability and grades improved.

At the university, a classmate asked me to join a newly established amateur musical drama group. I had performed in musicals and youth operas in Australia and was keen to join. We did everything ourselves, from creating the dialogue (in Japanese), music and dance routines, to backstage work (making costumes, sets, and lighting), to ticketing and marketing. The first performance had an audience of only one hundred in a crude yet intimate setting, but with time our productions increased in scale and hugely improved in quality. My strength is singing, and I am particularly proud that the vocal training regimens I implemented helped the group cope with the acoustics of the increasingly larger venues. I was also rapt when after one production I received a message addressed to the “foreign-looking detective” complimenting my performance. By my senior year, the group’s performance was an established part of the Kyoto University Students’ Festival, in a hall seating over one thousand people.

Upon graduation, I decided to work for a Japanese trading company. Many foreign students return home at that stage claiming some expertise in Japanese culture, but I realized I lacked the needed experience in Japanese business culture. I entered the company— only the second Westerner to do so—with much the same attitude that I had five years earlier: I have nothing to lose.

From the beginning I was treated no differently, expected to perform to the level of my peers. I appreciated and accepted the challenge, and I believe rose to it. Not only have I come to understand

Japanese customs—reporting techniques and the etiquette required in business discussions, for example—but also the Japanese way of thinking. This has not been to the detriment of my Western side, however. I believe I have maintained a global perspective and balance between cultures necessary for international business.

Analysis

Rather than presenting three independent accomplishments, Dale writes a narrative of his decision to study and eventually work in Japan. While moving to a foreign country is probably not all that unusual in its own right, Dale sets the stage by explaining why Japan, in particular, was such a challenging place to live and study. From all three stories we learn that he is determined and persistent and willing to do whatever it takes to make the most of a daunting situation. While he concedes that he could easily have gone home if Japan did not work out, we come to see that Dale is someone who would never have given up until he had accomplished what he had set out to do. The third accomplishment is perhaps the least compelling because while it reinforces that Dale approaches new situations with an open mind and a lot of determination, it does not say much about what he contributed to the organization. The essay would end on a stronger note if Dale had written about that rather than finishing with a somewhat confusing line about how living in Japan was not a “detriment” to his Australian heritage.

From 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2009 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group