Personal Narrative: My Personal Growth Experience

Writing Skills

Please write an essay of 750-1000 words on the topic below.

Professional and personal growth experiences can be found in a number of different experiences. Excluding travel, what one experience or event has had the greatest impact on you personally or professionally and why?

The MBA program at Texas Tech University is the one experience that has had the greatest impact on me personally and professionally. The high level of creativity and intelligence in the classroom brought the best out in me because it motivated me to improve on all my shortcomings. I studied how the brightest professionals in the classrooms conducted themselves and incorporated their practices into my own. I acknowledged that seeking help was not seen

as a weakness, but rather an opportunity to better myself and take myself out of my comfort level.

Personally, I developed as a more mature and responsible individual. Prior to the program, I saw life in a series of short-term goals. During my time at Texas Tech, I became more focused on the long-term and adjusted my goals. I transformed and restructured my way of thinking to create choices that bettered my life. I acknowledged that there would be certain things that would no longer fit into my long-term goals. I become more positive by envisioning my life to be full of energy and passion. I focused on getting rid of thoughts that included my fears of failure and those that were holding me back from success. The program provided me with the tools and confidence that I needed to pursue my dreams, but I knew that it was up to me to make my dreams a reality.

The MBA program created an environment where everyone was striving to better himself or herself and it gave its students the ability to make an impact in the world in their own way. I found myself to be surrounded by a variety of individuals who each had a personal story and who were in the pursuit of their own dreams. It felt okay to be different, to ask questions, to not know an answer, and to challenge ideas. We had a small but powerful community of individuals that shared the same hunger for success. We learned together, we studied together, and most importantly we dreamed together. We were dreamers and we were in a pursuit of achieving our goals. However, at the same time we shared the same fears; the fear of failure —we questioned what if things did not work out—and the fear of success—what if things did work out but we could not handle it. We flocked together because we all wanted the same thing. This sense of belonging and culture created a sense of urgency to achieve and be a part of success. This competitive but collaborative environment helped me to develop as a more mature and responsible individual ready to take on the toughest of challenges. We worked on our dream day in and day out. We knew it was necessary to know that others will not see the same vision, but it was up to us to make it happen.
ABRAHAM ARAUJO
2736 Monet Place, Dallas, TX 75287 | Cell: 915-820-8222 | [e-mail]

I believe I took away more in a semester of graduate school than all four years of undergraduate work, based on knowledge of concepts, best ethical practices, and growth as a matured professional.

Through it all, the one class that made the most impact on me was my ethics course in my first semester of the program. The ethics course was really an eye opening experience for me. I had a basic understanding between the factors that made a decision right or wrong, but after the course I had a better understanding of the implications an ethical decision can have on many parties, not just the primary parties. I believe this course is by far the most important course I have taken in my educational career because it made the most impact on me professionally and personally. I always conducted myself in a manner that was respectful towards others by following the principles that were set for me by my father. I carried these values my whole life, adhering to the principles of giving it my best, staying humble, being honest, and being a man of my word. My father and mother implemented these values in my household since a young age, and it was not until graduate school that I linked my values to a code of ethics. Throughout my life, although I was never introduced to ethical decision-making, my parents had already rendered upon me a strict code of values. However, I felt that having a better understanding of ethical decision-making, gave me the strength to hold myself to a higher

standard than I have before.

In general, the MBA program put me on a journey to find my true value.

I made it a priority to discover the person who I was meant to be so I could separate and differentiate my product from others. Every day that passed, I invested a little more into my mind, and knew that my profits are my knowledge and memories of those who I can positively impact. My profits amount to the times I have made my mother cry tears of joy for my accomplishments. My performance appraisals are not letter grades, nor are they feedback from others; they are the experiences I share with individuals in which I have touched and influenced. I rather live my dream and be happy with my life and what I stand for than be rich and unhappy. My humility and integrity will make me richer than any monetary value. My measure for profits is based on how I live my life and I believe the MBA program has prepared for the challenges that this opportunity will present

itself.