MBA Admissions Essays - My Most Significant Leadership Role During the last three years I have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to the betterment of young entrepreneurs, who in this country are mistreated, stripped of opportunities, and looked down upon. In my quest to start my own business, I faced many obstacles that I later found to plague all entrepreneurs in my country. Established family heads discourage their younger members from starting separate businesses; they would rather their younger members join them in the so called "safe business." Moreover, companies and government organizations will not award contracts to young people since older people earn respect for their age rather than their ideas in this traditional sub-continental culture. With an uncooperative family and no sources of funding, young entrepreneurs face little chance of success. In these difficult conditions, I realized there were many young people who were full of potential but lacked support. By meeting with these people, I motivated them to believe that together we could help improve collective situation. In October 1996,the seventeen of us founded the "Young Entrepreneurs Society" (YES). I served as the coordinator for the first two years. We figured that in order to get our message heard, we needed to prove ourselves a significant lot. We started with social activities like helping poor students with registration fees for matriculation exams and organizing blood donation activities, etc. We held our first seminar on the "Prospect of Software Development Business in Bangladesh and the Government's Role, " and five months later we had our second seminar on the "Obstacles for Young Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh' with the finance minister as the chief guest.
The most meaningful and challenging experiences in my life have been through sports and the 4-H club. They have instilled the values of perseverance, confidence, and teamwork within me. I feel that my peers and others could learn valuable life lessons through participating in these organizations. They are not just clubs, but a guiding light for life. For example in sports I have had the opportunity to play on both losing and winning teams. This has given me a different perspective of looking at things. I now realize that even if you fail or lose that is no reason to give up, you still have to get right back up. Just realize your mistakes and errors. Then come back the next time, mentally and physically, ready to meet the challenge. To often in life youth and adults alike fail at something and automatically think that they cannot do it, and give up. Instead of just pushing themselves to run another lap, lift another set, study for another hour, or learn another theorem. Imagine a world if the early American settlers had given in to the British, if the North had given in to the South after the first loss of the civil war, or if Michael Jordan had given up after being cut from the team in high school. People just need to learn to have perseverance and believe in themselves. 4-H has been a series of stepping-stones for me. When I first started out at age four I was shy and afraid to do things that I had not done before, but now I have blossomed into a confident and outgoing young man. I no longer fear getting up in front of large groups and speaking because of the experiences I've had in public speaking events. In addition, 4-H has given me the chance to develop myself as a leader. Over the years I have held various leadership positions on the club, county, and district levels. Also, 4-H has given me the chance to go into the community and help people by leading youth in workshops, assisting the handicap and elderly, and also learn from what others have to teach. In both of these organizations I learned the need for teamwork. For example last year my football team went 0-11 and the main reason because of that was we were not a team.
Perret, Geoffrey. Jack: A Life like No Other. / Random House, Incorporated / October 2001
The house was a representation of Roderick, as it was dark and its physical features were declining, just as his mental and physical health was; while he perished, the house collapsed to the ground, which represents the deceased Usher family generation. His phobia began to build as the death of his sister neared, making her an allegory of his mental torture and the reason for his foreshadowing of his own collapse. Madeline also, in a way, represents Poe’s wife and cousin, Virginia, since incest was possible at the Usher household. As Roderick becomes more afraid of the house and what it contains, it can be said he is also not content with his family tree, since he would be the last living Usher, after Madeline’s soon demise. The ultimate result of Roderick’s last breath is a symbol of him being forever imprisoned in his fear, more likely the House of Usher, and will unfortunately never live again to know the meaning of true
During Edgar Allen Poe’s life he managed to make a name for himself, one that was much different then anyone else’s of his time. Despite living for only 40 years, the young genius was often times referred to as the “Tomahawk Man” for his voracious and critical reviews. Above all else, he is still considered today as the 19th century’s most prized possession for his poetry, literary reviews and tales of mystery and suspense. With many of his masterpieces still being read and celebrated today, Poe not only created remarkable works of art to read, but also very intrinsic, dark and often times irrational characters to share it with as well. In the gothic short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe creates the irrational character of Roderick Usher using his appearance, thoughts, and actions to his advantage.
"The Fall of the House of Usher," one of Edgar Allen Poe's most celebrated tales has captured the imagination of readers both young and old. With great skill, Poe has metaphorically succeeded to mirror unlike objects in nature. One can find examples of how Poe has succeeded this throughout this short story. Among one of the first examples that one can find is "...that ancient metaphor for the body...(Montgomery 373)." The "ancient metaphor" that one can find is that of Roderick Usher and the later being the Usher house. With some close reading of the story, one can see how these two unlike objects mirror each other. To commence an analysis of the different examples found in the story, one must get some brief some brief background information. Roderick Usher was excessively reserved during his childhood and there after. Roderick was the product of inbreeding which had caused him to lead a rather unhealthy life. According to Magill in the book Masterpieces of World Literature, since the Usher family had left only a direct line of descendants, the family and the house had become as one, the House of Usher(291). One can argue that this is true, but in my opinion, the relationship between the house and Roderick can be found in their descriptions. The story's narrator describes Roderick as more zombielike than human. This is due to Roderick's cadaverous facial complexion: large, luminous eyes, thin and very pallid lips, his nose of "a delicate Hebrew model," his small molded chin, broad forehead, and his soft and weblike hair(Magill 364). Throughout the story, the narrator describes Roderick's large eyes and hair with having a "wild gossamer texture" (Thompson 96). Roderick's unhealthy life has caused side effects to occur. They include such things as looking old for his age and at times trembling for no apparent reason (Bloom 60). The House of Usher is also similar to Roderick in their description. The house's facade, as the narrator describes, resembles a giant face or skull with its eye-like windows and the hairlike fungi that hangs on the house's facade(Magill 364). The stonework that covers the Usher house is in decay. This stonework reminds the narrator "...of old wood-work which has rotten for long years in some neglected vault." (Bloom59). The Usher House seems so fragile that it seems its instability will cause it to fall(59).
In summary, Stephen and John represent the two clashing cultures of South Africa. Stephen represents the old ways and tries to keep traditional values. John wants the new world and thinks nothing of the old ways. Never could there be two different brothers as Stephen and John. Their regards for family, religion, and corruption clash as a result of the newly rising culture.
Since elementary school I have been in Celina's Boy Scout Troop 69. Starting as a Tiger cub and after many years eventually becoming a Boy Scout. 10 years later it is my last year of being a Boy Scout and I will be aging out in April. From building fires, tying knots, and learning first aid, scouting has taught me life skills that I will never forget. The greatest lesson of all though has to be grasping the skills of being a leader. The character and roles of a leader are very important for everyone to understand. But they can also be hard to grasp. I was 16 and decided to run for the position of SPL or Senior Patrol Leader. The SPL is in charge on all troop activities and is tasked with running things smoothly. The
Based on the candid and allusive tone, Samuelson is writing to the dying breed of unique young entrepreneurs willing to take the risks required start businesses consequently providing jobs
In “ The Fall of the House of Usher” we first meet the narrator of the story who gives us a description of the area and background information. The narrator describes his arrival on that day as dull, dark, and soundless, this gives off an ominous feeling in the story. When he first sets his sights on Usher’s house he feels fearful of it. When the narrator arrives he is escorted through the manor to finally reunite with his friend Roderick Usher. The narrator then explains to us about how he received an eerie letter from Usher stating that he was being plagued by a “mental disorder.”
Many Scholars characterize the core qualities and skills necessary for an effective leader. Useem defines leadership as “Creating a vision and translating that vision into actions”. Historically, an effective leader was assumed to be exceptionally knowledgeable, authoritative, and dominate. Those leaders applied the command and control method to lead an organization. With the passage of time, this definition has been changed. The modern definition of an effective leader is honest, courageous, trustworthy, inspirational, and result-oriented. Today’s leaders create shared values and vision, and empower others to achieve their targets.
Roderick and his twin sister Madeline are the last of the all time-honored House of Usher. They are both suffering from rather strange illnesses which may be attributed to the intermarriage of the family. Roderick suffers from "a morbid acuteness of the senses", while Madeline's illness is characterized by " a settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent all though transient affections of a partly cataleptically character" which caused her to lose consciousness and feeling. The body would then assume a deathlike rigidity.
When reflecting on my leadership styles, strengths and weaknesses I am rushed with thoughts, memories, regrets and actions of personal ways that I have handled past situations in the work place and ways that I plan to handle new situations at my new work place. I have had many successes with the way I handle my leadership role but there are also things that I wish that I could go back in time and change. The way some situations are handled, I think to myself, well this could have been done differently or I could have done this instead of what I did to enhance the outcome of the situation. There is always room for improvement in whatever job or task someone takes on and this is just one of those things. During the development of my PLAP, I have had the chance to weigh out my strengths and weaknesses of my leadership and it has been very effective to seeing where improving needs to be met. The plan has also let me evaluate the direction I hope to head in to achieve my leadership goals.
“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a frightening story, and the narrator is an intimate observer of the strange occurrences. Poe’s story begins in a cautious and tranquil way, maintaining detachment from indescribable situations and occurrences. The narrator is anonymous, suggesting that his main purpose is to simply do as his title suggests, which is to narrate. Inexplicably, the narrator repeatedly suggests that all efforts to precisely depict the strange activities of the House of Usher are in actual fact useless.
There are a few different types of well known leadership styles, authoritarian, delegative, and democratic. To assess my leadership style I used two online tests to help me determine my style. I felt the results were accurate and I fall into a democratic style/participative style. If I am leading I prefer to include the group and get their feedback on solving issues. However, I still make the final decision after listening to the thoughts of the group on a particular topic. This is considered to be a positive style of leadership that is inspiring to the group involved. The leaders decision making tends to be more accurate due to the input of other experts. (Cite)
When we work together in a team, or in a broader sense as a society, the leader takes on the most important role. It is the leader that helps prioritize activities and direct people’s thought process in the right direction. They are the ones who have the ability to bring the group together as a whole. Because of this, not anyone can be a leader. Only people with certain qualities and abilities are able to fill this role. So what makes a good leader? There is a defined path and specific characteristics that makes someone a good leader.