Personal Statement: Robert H. Smith School of Business
I have been dreaming of pursuing my Masters of Science degree in business since well before I graduated from secondary school. My family has always supported my dreams of leaving China for America and pursuing my education, but it is not until recently that these dreams began to seem achievable in the near future. After I graduated from Xi’An Jiantong University, I was fortunate enough to receive the good news that I had been admitted into the University of Nebraska’s Bachelor of Science program for business administration. At the University of Nebraska, I worked extremely hard and came to the conclusion that I wanted to pursue my education further, getting a Master of Science degree from the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Beginning my coursework in business changed my perspective on my future. I have an entrepreneurial spirit; beginning my education and coursework in business gave me the drive to integrate further into the business world. I have a number of skills that are excellently-tailored to business, particularly my excellent math skills, language skills, and interpersonal skills. I achieved CET-4 and CET-6 in the national English testing done in my home country of the People’s Republic of China; although never my biggest academic interest, I knew that without learning English extremely well, I could never pursue my dreams of becoming educated in America and receiving my Master’s degree in Business from one of the many lauded American universities or business schools.
Upon achieving my final goal of my Master’s degree, I will begin to work in the private sector in the People’s Republic of China. There are many problems in the business world in China today, and many of these problems stem from a lack of education in the proper ways to conduct business. By achieving my Master’s degree, I hope to change the way business is conducted in China, at least marginally. Today, businesses in China sometimes treat their employees differently than American companies; I want to use the education I have obtained in the United States to integrate the two cultural approaches, taking only the best aspects of each and applying them to business practices within my own company.
The opportunity presented by the Robert H. Smith School of Business fits my dreams extremely well. There is an international focus to the program that I find quite intriguing, as I will be working on the global stage once I have obtained my Master’s of Science in Business Administration. In the short term, I hope to pursue my degree while receiving practical instruction in business administration. I have experience with Chinese companies-- indeed, I have worked in Shaanxi province with a number of well-known businesses-- but I feel that, to truly succeed and become a more well-rounded person, I must obtain my Master’s degree and understand American business practices more thoroughly. This will make me a better businessperson in the long run, and the multi-cultural experiences I have obtained will give me a better perspective when administering my own business.
