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Personal Statement Example with Tips
The terms “Personal Statement,”
Personal Statement Example: (Limit 5500 characters)
Thomas Wolfe once said, “You can’t go home again,” but I now believe that
“buttery moments,” as stated by Katharine Brooks, can lead you there.
The DeSales Career Development Center was my home for four years as
an undergraduate student. I started off as a freshman by taking the Career
Development and Planning class and then applied and was accepted to become
a Career Ambassador. As a Career Ambassador, I thoroughly enjoyed helping
students edit their resumes and practice mock interviews, assisting the Advisors
with special projects, and creating and facilitating career-related workshops.
The most rewarding aspect of the position was helping students overcome the
unknown, next step in their own lives – choosing their path. I felt as if I were
making a real difference by offering counseling to students from a fellow
student’s perspective. But even then, I had not yet decided to act on that
buttery moment, and instead chose to follow a different direction.
The summer before my senior year, I accepted an internship as a technical
recruiter for an IT stafng and services company. At the time, I believed it was the
right decision, but after spending the summer nding individual jobs for clients, I
began to question my decision. The only part where I found genuine satisfaction
was with helping people nd lasting and fullling jobs. As I reected on daily
conversations I had with professionals about their positions, I began to ask myself
the same question I always asked them – “What are the top three things that are
most important to you?” I started to realize that a career in headhunting was not
what I wanted. I began to think about what a career would look like that fullled
my “top three” – one that allowed me to help others, provide a positive working
environment, and offered me the ability to grow.
Over the next fall semester, my thoughts shifted to my grandmother. She was
a teacher for thirty-six years and after she passed away, there was one thing
that stuck out in my mind from her funeral – how many students’ lives she had
impacted. I cannot even count the number of students who shook my hand and
said, “Mrs. Steele was my favorite teacher.” With that “buttery moment” burning
in my mind, I nally came to the conclusion about what I wanted to do with my
career and what would meet my “top three.”
I do not regret my decision on doing an internship as it helped me understand
my true calling is work in education, which will allow me to positively impact
people just as I did at the Career Development Center, in IT stafng, and as
my grandmother did. With those experiences, I feel I would make an excellent
candidate for the Master of Education Program at DeSales University. With the
ability to learn from seasoned faculty, develop with a small cohort, and gain eld
experience through an internship, I believe these potential “buttery moments”
will not only allow me to grow, but will lead me to develop future students and
professionals. As I think back upon my “buttery moments,” I am ready to come
home again to the DeSales community as a master’s student in the Education
program.
*Avoid unnecessary duplication. Your personal statement should not simply restate what is in
other application materials.
*Edit your paper and get help! Don’t just rely on spellcheck and grammar check!
*Be honest, sincere, and humble.
*DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.
*Be unique and memorable!
“Statement of Purpose*,” and “Statement
of Intent” are used interchangeably.
Don’t start by writing to the character
count: Get it all out on paper and then edit
what works.
Grab the reader’s attention with a strong
opening.
Connect your stories between paragraphs
with a connecting sentence.
Be specic. Refer to experiences such as
work, research, courses, or professional
readings.
This is a personal statement, so using the
rst person is acceptable. However, avoid
overuse of the rst person pronouns I,
me, my or mine. This can get repetitive; it
should all be about you. No need to say it
over and over.
Be sure to state that your desire to pursue
a specic education route is logical and is
a result of the story specic examples in
your statement.
Explain why previous experiences
make you a t for the eld of study and
use assertive language regarding your
candidacy.
Showcase the reasons why you choose
that particular school/program.
Carry themes throughout the statement to
show the angle of your statement.