Personal Statement
When I moved abroad to study in the UK (and then America) from my home in Macau, China, one strong connection to my parents was through the family business - construction and engineering. While I studied in the UK, my parents urged me to just focus on school, as I needed to make sure to get a good education; however, I wanted to help them with their business. My grades suffered somewhat in the UK, because I was not really used to such a foreign environment; moving to America for my studies and changing my environment further has already helped my grades tremendously. As someone who wanted a future in business, I soon asked my parents to allow me to learn about the company by helping them. Though they were nervous that I would slip in my studies, I could see they needed help, so they relented.
I had a great deal of difficulty learning the ins and outs of the business at first; employees would complain, schedules would be delayed, and my confidence was shot. However, my parents were fantastic in giving me advice without giving me help; this allowed me to learn without having my hand held. By learning from them and spending time with them, I learned how personnel management works, how to build a business from the ground up, how to handle customers and address their needs, and so on. After a while, I was able to pick up on the nuances of running the business, and productivity rose to their highest levels in a decade. I felt an immense sense of pride and accomplishment in my ability to help support the business; that was the moment where I decided that working in business could provide me with the fulfillment I was looking for.
