Shining Through: Crafting a Personal Statement that Captivates Scholarship Committees and Colleges

1. Starring………YOU! Personal Statement AKA Essay

2. Why do I need to be the star of an Essay? • People want to know how you have come from there, • to here, • And how you will reach your goals!

3. Who wants to read my story? • College and Training Facilities • Scholarship Committees • Your Culminating Project Advisor • Your Teachers, Counselors etc. • Your Fans!!

4. How do I get started: • Think about who you are! • What makes you unique? • What do I have to offer an employer? • What are my goals for the future? • What challenges have I had? • How do I solve life’s problems? • What skills, knowledge, & interests do I have? • What have I done to contribute to my family, school, or community?

5. Ways to put it all together ! • Take these questions, write paragraphs, sum up YOU, equaling two pages …………OR…………….. 2. Log on to WHS website + counseling + Money Book + Personal Statement www.whs.wsd.wednet.edu

6. Topics to write about-- Topics to write about for CP are shown on the left! Choose some or all for…… Scholarships committees and colleges.. they want all six topics! Goals and Task Commitment Knowledge or creativity in a field Dealing with adversity or challenges Community Service Facing Discrimination--aka Handling systemic challenges Leadership or Group Contributions

7. Let’s get started…. • I will walk you through a few of the topics, then it is your turn!! • Here is how you can begin on any one of the topics………

8. Leadership/Group Contribution: Describe examples of your leadership and how they influenced others work ethic I don’t quit until done. I don’t procrastinate. Through high school I have been a quiet leader. I lead through being an example. lead by example I became the lead costume designer of two high school plays. One of two students picked. project leader I am good at hands on projects. I show this to friends. show how to sew I am in youth group and have strong values. High standards, goals Notice:IBegan writing down key words on the left, then developed sentences, advancing to a full fledge paragraph!

9. What comes after the worksheet? • You arrange the sentences in an order that makes sense • You use good word choice • You use transitions--connecting thoughts I brought the words on the left together to create a paragraph about the chosen topic! Here is my sample paragraph!

10. Create the paragraph from your notes-- “Throughout high school, I have been known as a quiet leader. I choose to lead by example, being determined, respectful, and mature. My leadership ranges from my experiences with costume design for school plays to youth group activity planner. I am one of two student costume designers. I am motivated to be a role model, quick learner, and problem solver by working with both my hands and mind. I am quiet, but achieve quite a lot by showing my friends how to lead with determination.”

11. Sample two: Goals --Express goals for yourself and your efforts to accomplish them. I have participated in high school and Local plays, designing costumes fashion design Research has helped me assess my skills, select a college, find my career goal, scholarships wois specialist costume I hope to achieve my goals of becoming a costume specialist by studying textiles, costume history, art, theatre in college WSU I plan to get a BA in Fashion Design with a focus on theatre I took some classes at WVC which will transfer to WSU--saving money too. Running start I have taken classes in sewing, art, history oftheatre, business, drama Classes taken

12. Draft Paragraph on ‘goals’. (using my notes as a guide) Throughout life I have been involved in drama. As a young girl I led friends in performing for our parents and neighbors. We used nursery rhymes for a script, creating costumes, props and a stage in the garage. We were on stage using all of our talents. I loved it and still do! In 4-H I learned techniques using fabrics, color, and clothing construction. I even took a career assessment in high school, scoring highest in arts and technical! I took a clothing construction class, various art classes and business classes too. Through high school drama, I began designing costumes for plays. In the program for Music Man, A Christmas Carol, Charlottes Web and Into the Woods you will find my name as costume designer! Running Start at Wenatchee Valley College gave me a chance to continue toward my goal, learning more through History of Theatre, textiles and auto-cad design classes. These credits will transfer to Washington State University, where I plan to earn my degree in Fashion Design, focusing on theatre. The spotlight so far has been on developing my skills and applying for various scholarships in order to pay most of my own expenses. I hope to one day make a living working as a costume or fashion designer. The spotlight then will be on the characters who wear my creations!

13. Complete all chosen blocks- Remember that for CP you do not need all six topics. Proof read each paragraph! Watch for convention and spelling errors etc. Now it is your turn!! Choose the method you prefer and git -r -done!