UC PIQ: Describe an example of your leadership experience | Tevin

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

Planning a Community-Involvement-Project for a cohort of 200 juniors was as daunting as it sounded. I was appointed leader of the team organizing the CIP for all our juniors, and while it wasn’t my first time organizing an event this one was of the biggest scale by far.

Our progress started smoothly. Utilizing my prior experience, I led fruitful brainstorming sessions and discussions and we swiftly came up with a plan of action: to deploy groups of students to different residential blocks in Bishan for food collection with every team led by a member of the Organizing Team, finally donating all the food collected to a charity.

I still vividly recall the major hiccup. I was in the gym when I received a call a few days before the project was to commence, and was informed that the people in charge of applying for a permit to conduct our project forgot to. I immediately dropped the weights for this new, heavier problem. Wanting to find out for myself, I called the police department and was told what my colleague told me – that permits had to be applied for a week in advance and it was hence too late. Unfazed, I decided to visit Bishan’s police post but knew I could not go empty-handed. Armed with a presentation of our project, a letter of support from our beneficiary, and all necessary paperwork filled, I engaged in an hour-long discussion with the officer on duty. Not wanting to let a genuine mistake get in the way of doing good, the officer finally acquiesced and our project continued smoothly. A few more hiccups presented themselves (like the transport company backing out last minute), but were swiftly settled (I got my uncle who owned a lorry to aid in transport).

“We thought all was lost when we called you” was what my team told me during the after-action review. Smooth seas do not make a good sailor, and I remain immensely grateful for the hiccups that honed my ability to remain calm, my resourcefulness, and my adaptability.

Published in Successful College Essays, Successful UCLA Essays, Successful UCSD Essays, Successful University of California, Berkeley Essays

Tevin

University of California, Berkeley 2024
Top Rated
About the Author 🎓
Major: Economics (Intended)
Accepted Universities:
University of California, Berkeley
Hometown: Singapore
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Tevin

University of California, Berkeley 2024
Top Rated
Tevin is a verified Squired mentor from University of California, Berkeley. Sign up to connect with Tevin and other mentors from top schools including Stanford, MIT and the Ivy League. Whether you’re looking for advice on your essay, program selection or application planning, Squired’s mentors are here for you.

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