With the motto Pro humanitate, Wake Forest provided a context for continuing my commitment to service while taking on new academic challenges. With a curriculum that included service-learning—applying classroom lessons to volunteer work—my academic experience involved more than textbooks and lectures. The courses I enjoyed most were untraditional in format, and my classrooms extended beyond a Winston-Salem campus.

During an economics course and subsequent independent study in West Africa, I researched micro-finance and later presented my now-published findings to an economics course and to an international conference. When building a school in Vietnam, I understood lessons from politics and history in a new, deeper way. Taking lecture notes in French for a blind classmate allowed me to use my language skills in a service capacity. Finally, by participating in a Model UN course and conference, I had the chance to assess my understanding of the United Nations. My academic experience took place on different continents and in varied languages.

The overlap of disciplines inherent in my liberal arts education prepared me for a postgraduate year of volunteer work at a nonprofit that seeks justice for victims of gender-based persecution. A sociology class on marriage and family, a political science course on human rights, and an English course exploring female subservience and rebellion equipped me with theories, case studies, laws, and anecdotes that I drew upon in fulfilling my duties. Other courses such as philosophy and a writing seminar honed more universally applicable skills in critical thinking and communication, respectively. Making such interdisciplinary connections was stimulating and valuable.

Highlights of my academic experience also included more informal moments. I recall the office hours I shared with an economics professor discussing visions of my vocation that resulted in the selection of both my major and career. I likewise will never forget the image of an English professor’s office floor blanketed with small pieces of paper, each a component of a paper I was reorganizing. All of these moments—classroom experiences, extracurricular activities, and volunteer work—formed an interdisciplinary learning experience that sparked professional interests in international development and graduate business education. Harvard’s case-study approach well fits my preferred style of learning. Although I entered college as a declared business major, my undergraduate education yielded an economist who remains committed to service, continues to seek academic rigor, and pledges a career to a school motto and personal credo: Pro humanitate.

Analysis

This essay is memorable because while it highlights her commitment to social causes and describes her intellectual, social, and geographical interests, it also demonstrates the author’s personal development through practical encounters.

Rosita’s essay is also strong because it presents a tight thesis and drives home key messages. Notice that she doesn’t try to tackle too much. She shows the power in focusing on one takeaway from her undergraduate experience—something that really adds depth. Then we see her personal development through the essay.

Rosita also understands her audience well. In a few short paragraphs, she implicitly creates a connection to Harvard Business School’s mission “to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” Given her examples, the connection comes across as authentic.

Rosita could have strengthened her essay by adding more color to her school-building experience in Vietnam instead of adding to a catalogue of unconnected snippets, which distracts the reader from her Pro humanitate focus. As it is, the reader is left wanting to understand more about her experiences. Perhaps she could have used an entire paragraph to expand upon one of the brief anecdotes. Nonetheless, Rosita succeeds in building her case and standing out.

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