My grad school application is due in 11 days; the program I'm applying to is the Master's of Communication in Digital Media at UW. I've been working on the essay for months now, and am finally almost done. I've posted it below in case anyone has free time on their hands and would like to give me any feedback; I appreciate all the help I can get. The essay needs to state "in 1 to 1.5 single-spaced pages, ... how your background, skills, achievements, and goals make you a good match for this program. The letter also serves as a writing sample, demonstrating your skill in organization, clarity, analysis, and English."
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When I went off to college, the Facebook was a section at the back of the school handbook with a black-and-white picture of everyone in the entering class. By the time I graduated, it had become synonymous with online social networking. Today, even my mom is on Facebook and has 21 friends. As technology advances and makes information easier to obtain, the weak economy pushes consumers to free online alternatives, and people grow more aware of the detrimental effects of paper on the environment, printed media grows obsolete. Well-established newspapers such as the Christian Science Monitor are stopping the presses as their audience looks to online news sources. In this past election, digital media even shaped how people voted: Barack Obama emailed me personally, and Sarah Silverman's YouTube video may have convinced a few retirees to cast their ballots.
My interest in the MCDM program springs loosely from my undergraduate major: Russian. Most people laugh when I tell them what I studied. Some even say, “what a waste of time!” I’ve found this to be quite the opposite: learning a foreign language heightened my awareness of communication as a whole. When perfecting my Russian grammar, I also turned a critical eye on my English composition. When I lived in Russia for a semester, social networking sites helped me stay in contact with my friends and family 11 time zones away. My elderly host mother still practiced folk remedies and washed her clothes by hand, but used a brand-new cell phone to keep in touch with her granddaughter; in one lifetime, she has gone from Stalin to SMS. It’s Occam’s razor: the most effective way to communicate is often the simplest, even when backed by complex technology.
My professional experiences have also shown me the value of new media. As Coordinator of the Practice Department at the Boston Architectural College, a title that essentially translates to Career Counselor, I managed the school’s first job search website. I was amazed by all of the program’s possibilities: customized searches, automatic notifications, and infinite options for messages and uploads. It allowed employers to log in and post jobs, which the students could then view and apply to. Before we implemented this website, I personally wrote, edited, classified and emailed job descriptions to students, which took time away from advising them face to face. This experience showed me that while technology has the potential to eliminate the need for human interaction, it can also enhance it.
Digital media allows everyone to voice their story. My alter-egos are environmental journalist and food critic, thanks to two blogs I started because of my interest in these areas. Before the internet, if I wanted to write regularly for the public about either topic, I would need to land a coveted job at a newspaper or magazine; I write from the comfort of my couch. Anyone can read my blogs, and I can discuss any issue that I wish. Blogging allows me to combine my love of writing, research and graphic design. I can develop these skills on my own, but want to learn more about how they fit into the greater social context through the MCDM program.
Digital Media is an ever-evolving way to adapt traditional writing and design to the 21st century, and the MCDM curriculum is especially relevant in the current job market, as virtually every industry embraces new communication technology. Social networking, online marketing, and user-generated content can easily be integrated into almost any discipline; my goal is to use them in the non-profit sector. I like that the MCDM program gives its graduates the ability to work for an established company or to run their own business, which will be invaluable down the road when I want to balance my career with a family. Technology is constantly advancing, and I look forward staying on the cutting edge.
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6 comments:
It sounds good to me. I think you did a good job of incorperating your accomplishments with your understanding of the importance of technology and the advancements there of. You know what the future is and you want to be apart of it.
Do you have a specific carear goal?
Nice. I think the first paragraph needs some work, particularly the sentence:
As technology advances and makes information easier to obtain, the weak economy pushes consumers to free online alternatives, and people grow more aware of the detrimental effects of paper on the environment, printed media grows obsolete.
This either has too many dependent clauses or is a run-on sentence. I think you can make the point more clear if you split things up.
Also, do your opening and closing paragraphs complement each other? Your opening should state what you are going to say, and your closing should reinforce what you said -- or does that only apply to a longer piece?
You assume the reader knows your mother's familiarization with technology -- you might want to state that, and also strengthen the point by referencing her 'friends' level of comfort:
'My formerly technophobic mother now maintains her own Facebook page, and her friends include people I never even knew owned computers.'
That's my biggest worry: I have a general understanding of what I want to do, but no specific goal yet. At the info session I attended, all of the other applicants had very specific ideas of how they wanted to apply the program to their careers, whereas I am hoping that the program will allow me to narrow my focus in a broad area of interest.
Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for the suggestions, Dan! Good call on trying to tie the first and last paragraphs: I've been struggling with both
Also, check out this post about parents using Facebook:
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/01/04/the-horror-your-parents-on-facebook-befriending-you/
You can always make up a goal that sounds good. Every one has the right to change their mind. I am only suggesting it if you think its going to be that important to your application.
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