Application Essay for MBA Program

"Jay, never in my mind since you have been on this earth, have I ever doubted any of your abilities or the intelligence you possess…never forget what you went through to even be alive today.” I can remember this exact statement my mother told me as I held back tears. Not tears of sorrow or pain, but tears of gratitude and joy. She whispered them to me a few hours after I graduated from high school receiving an advanced diploma. Overcoming difficult obstacles has seemingly become the “story of my life.” Before being born, my mother had two miscarriages. During my birth, fluids were trapped in my lungs. This threatened my existence only hours after breathing air. During my extended stay at the hospital, my parents, who are devout Christians, named me after my father, Johnny. This is because the name Johnny is translated into “God is Gracious” or merciful. Given the hurdles my parents had to endure for me to be on this earth, I know they sincerely believed that. However, the obstacles and hurdles did not stop there. President Franklin Roosevelt said “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” This quote has been my motivation and encouragement throughout my life. For me, it spoke to my strong perseverance, my ability to keep pushing through adversity.
Often times, I jokingly told family and friends that adversity was my best friend. Sometimes in my life, I’ve honesty felt that it was only me, adversity, and a little piece of hope. That hope is what gave me the strength in life on a daily basis. As I grew up going through grade school, many times I wanted to just give up and not finish. I starting speaking this as early as the third grade when I was told by a teacher that because of my learning style, which is a ...

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...o “leave the world a better place” than we found it.
My early successes and achievements really helped me in my undergraduate and graduate school career. Being in a comfortable environment allowed me to take up to twenty-one credit hours per semester, become involved on campus, work a full-time job with the government, and succeed in my coursework. I entered my undergraduate studies not sure if I would succeed or not because of the struggles in grade school. However, because I worked hard and kept pushing, I look forward to graduating with a good grade point average and completing my requirements for my MBA degree while I am still young. It is my sincere belief that I will continue my pursuit toward excellence while attending Howard University. I am ready for the challenges ahead, and I am finally realizing my full potential to succeed at whatever I put my mind to.