Evening MBA and Online MBA Essay Example for Free

Evening MBA and Online MBA Essay During my undergraduate studies and my work experiences, I have achieved a number of significant accomplishments that have prepared me for the W.P. Carey MBA. As part of my undergraduate studies, I did an internship at Stora Enso’s Wisconsin Rapids paper mill. My capstone project at the mill involved designing and installing an operator information display, which required me to utilize the services of an interdisciplinary team. For my senior project during my undergraduate studies, I was part of the engineering enterprise team, which expanded my knowledge on business and product development. After graduating college, I joined the United States Air Force, which provided me with a wealth of leadership opportunities. I have held several leadership roles both at the Air Force and afterwards in civilian jobs. While in the Air Force, I was given the opportunity to be the squadron physical fitness leader. I was responsible for the physical training of 200+ personnel and their tests. As part of this duty, I designed a special training program for personnel that were not successful with their tests. As such, I was able to effectively and successfully train staff using the training program I had developed. My superiors at the Air Force were instrumental in mentoring my development and leadership skills, and provided me with the opportunities to lead various projects. These experiences pushed me to improve my supervisor abilities. With this knowledge, I have had great success leading small teams of enlisted personnel in various projects and roles. After separating from the Air Force, I transitioned to the civilian world to further develop and strengthen my skill set. During that time I worked for Dynetics and developed test plans for a variety of military projects. Following development, I would lead a small team to run the tests and write up the findings. This experience improved my technical writing and detailed planning skills. Following a move to Phoenix, I accepted a position with General Dynamics. I was involved in supporting different functional areas such as test and development, while at the same time I expanded my knowledge of program management. I am confident that with my academic potential, team-working abilities, innovative spirit, and leadership skills, I will add significant value to the W.P. Carey MBA program. Essay Question #2 How will the W. P. Carey MBA help you achieve your personal and professional goals? Please reference any area of emphasis you plan to pursue and discuss your career goals after the MBA program. During my time in college, I did an internship at a large paper mill. Observing various roles in the company I realized my ideal position required getting a MBA. By the time I graduated from college, I already had some experience in company management through our schools engineering enterprise program. With seven years of experience now, I have gained expertise in technology and leadership. However, my experience has been limited to operating as a team member in an established organization. Now I would like to understand industry from the viewpoint of a project manager. I want to learn how to manage a technical program from conception to implementation. A MBA will provide me these skills through learning modules, case studies, and projects with fellow students and interactions with peers from assorted professional backgrounds. During my MBA studies, I plan on taking the supply chain management area of emphasis. The ability to understand how the pieces integrate into the whole, combined with my pre-MBA experiences, will set me up to be able to excel in roles as the project manager or team lead. To reach my career goals, I need time-proven business knowledge and practical exposure to all areas of business disciplines, such as management fundamentals, marketing, operations, and most importantly, supply chain management that will complement my engineering experience. The W.P. Carey MBA program is my top choice because of its top-ranked Department of Supply Chain Management. Whereas the core courses will give me a good groundwork of business fundamentals, courses such as â€Å"Management of Technology/Innovation and â€Å"Project Management are in my area of interest. W.P. Carey will provide me with the academic foundation and network that I need to realize my career ambitions. I am positive that with my academic potential, group skills, and leadership potential, I will add significant value to any employer. Essay Question #3 Please address any weaknesses in your W. P. Carey MBA application or provide additional information you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. Concerns to be addressed may include past academic performance or GPA, work experience and/or GMAT scores. The biggest weakness on my MBA application is my college GPA. When I was an undergraduate student I did not fully appreciate the work level that was required to truly excel in my studies at Michigan Technological University. However, if you take a closer look at my GPA throughout my undergraduate years of study, you can see that that there is progressive improvement from the beginning of the year as I got acclimated. Moreover, there is also a positive trend in my grades from my third year of studies up to graduation. There were two main reasons for this shift in my grades; firstly the classes became more focused and specific, which allowed me to excel in these courses, and secondly, I matured during my course of studies. The improvement in my studies was reflective of the successful completion of the engineer-in-training exam, which was obtained at the end of my undergraduate degree. Even though I vastly improved during my undergraduate program of study, I realized that my GPA would continue to be a deterrent for my future goals. To acquire the necessary discipline and expand my skills and knowledge, I joined the United States Air Force. Upon joining the Air Force, I went to Officer Training School, and learning from my previous mistakes at college, worked exceptionally hard. As such, I excelled and graduated Officer Training School in the top ten percent of my class, earning several honors along the way. My time in the United States Air Force was instrumental in expanding my skills in leadership, self-discipline and planning while implementing the knowledge I had gained as part of my undergraduate study. After the Air Force I worked in several challenging jobs, where I was responsible overseeing multiple projects and personnel. I have excelled in every project I have worked on, and my attitude is vastly different to how it was back in the early years of my degree. My college and work experiences have prepared me for the W.P. Carey MBA. Likewise, my GMAT scores demonstrate my future academic potential should this application be viewed favorably.