<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Please take a look at my personal statement below for the University of Washington in Seattle. I’m a business undergraduate planning on transferring to UW for the 2012 Fall quarter. </p>
<p>This personal statement is only for general transfer admission; I’ll need to write another separate statement later on in order to get into Foster Business School (UW’s business department) but that’s a story for another day. </p>
<p>You can see the requirements for the personal statement here:
[Write</a> Stellar Personal Statement | University of Washington](<a href=“http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Transfer/Statement]Write”>http://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Transfer/Statement)</p>
<p>The suggested length is 750-1000 words and I’m currently clocked in at 994 words. Please let me know your feedback and anything I need to improve. Thanks!</p>
<p>~Kory</p>
<hr>
<p>The sound of papers flipping filled my cubicles high noon atmosphere as I shuffled through a seemingly endless stack of documents. China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea Ah, here we go, I exclaimed, Vietnamese customs. Fortunately for me, I spent twelve years growing up in Saigon so reading Vietnamese texts wasnt too difficult of a task; it was much easier to comprehend than the badly translated English version. Within the next hour, I meticulously analyzed pages upon pages of documents on Vietnams export regulations, hoping to find some justification for an odd and unexpected $500 fee that Vietnamese customs had charged my company for an upcoming ocean shipment from Saigon to Seattle. As logistics coordinator, I have overseen many of my companys international shipments including those coming from Vietnam but this was the very first time I had encountered an unknown fee of this type. When I ended my research in vain, my boss finally gave me approval to protest against paying the suspicious fee.</p>
<p>For the next few days, a series of back and forth emails between me and Vietnamese customs filled up my inbox with no real progress made in resolving the problem. I gradually came to suspect that the fee was completely fabricated by customs officials on the other side since they did not thoroughly explain the fees purpose nor cited any specific regulation to justify its existence. In addition, corruption also happens to be a well-known and rampant problem that plagues the bureaucracy system in Vietnam. As the shipping deadline neared, my boss, worrying about further delays, reluctantly directed me to inform Vietnamese customs that we will pay the $500; our shipment couldnt be laden onboard unless payment was made before the ship date. Although we had to accept this malfeasance, I knew that a similar situation in the future can be avoided if I possess the right knowledge required to deal with it effectively. It was from this moment that my interest in international business began to take form.</p>
<p>I graduated from high school and started my college career not long afterwards. With memory of the customs ordeal still fresh in my mind, I chose to embark on a learning path that will ultimately expand and enhance my knowledge in international business. At Green River Community College, I took classes such as Economics, Accounting, and Business Law in order to fulfill the requirements for a business transfer degree; it was going to be my first step toward an international business major. Asides from this, however, I also desired to learn more about the complexities of global trade and how the issue of corruption can handicap economic growth of a developing country such as my homeland, Vietnam.
Much to my original dismay eight years ago, my family and I left the Fatherland to immigrate to the U.S. when I was twelve. To me, it was the heartland of the imperialists, as my old Party Ideology teacher liked to call Americans. We settled in Seattle and I soon started to enroll in American schools. My parents were able to find good jobs and we began to assume the ways of the American life as time passed by. Similar to the Berlin Wall, the wall of indoctrination built into me by the Party was eventually torn down by the freedom-loving American culture as well as its unbiased education system. My thoughts can now flow freely to new corners of perspective and understanding. Things are no longer black and white to me; I am able to think for myself. Through naturalization, my family and I obtained U.S. citizenships after five years of living in what Ive now considered my second home. However, we never discarded our Vietnamese citizenship status since we wanted to retain a sense of identity of where we came from. As a dual-citizen of both Vietnam and America, I feel that it is my duty to help in fostering relations and friendship between two nations whose soldiers had exchanged bullets on the battlefield just 40 years ago. </p>
<p>Since the U.S. lifted its embargo on Vietnam in 1994, commercial trading between the two has grown to enormous proportions in a very short time. Ive realized from this that mutual economic cooperation is Vietnam and Americas most important key to future friendship as trade is projected to continue growing rapidly in the next decades. Despite the promising outlook, pervasive corruption under a communist regime can still greatly hinder Vietnams ability to attract American investors. Case in point: the frivolous $500 fee my company was unfairly charged. In order for them to successfully conduct businesses in Vietnam, it is paramount that American companies understand how the system works there and what the risks involved are. In short, they need consultation from someone who knows the ins and outs of doing business in Vietnam and I yearn to become the person providing that much needed assistance. </p>
<p>Although my job in logistics has provided me with a lot of valuable experience in international business (especially in dealing with Vietnam-related issues), Im also aware that having a formal education in this field can undoubtedly propel me even closer toward my goals. For this very reason, Im more than certain that the Certificate of International Studies in Business program offered by the UWs Foster School of Business, with its focus on international and cross-cultural business practices, will help me obtain the knowledge and develop the expertise necessary to become a future business consultant. Above all, the UWs student body is known for its diversity and I believe that my cultural understanding, which is crucial in global business, can be tremendously enriched by immersing myself in this environment. After Ive earned my B.A. and C.I.S.B., I plan to go back and work in Vietnams freight-forwarding business in order to gain a better view of how things operate there so that one day Ill be able to offer sound advice to American investors looking forward to new business opportunities in Vietnam.</p>