Please describe the organization, program, school, or group. *

Please describe the organization, program, school, or group. *

 

Tzu Chi is a sizeable charitable volunteer organization that always participates in different types of volunteering events. We have been distributing food to the homeless in the Oakland community for a long time. Also, we pulled together and visited a place called Paradise, which was influenced by the California Forest Fire of 2018. We held fundraisers to raise money to support the victims during their time of difficulty financially.

 

Think about your experience and what you accomplished and learned while volunteering.

 

I worked as an activities director in the Tzu Chi community and was directly involved in the planning of many events, for instance, a Chinatown sweeping event that I planned and arranged different sweeping areas for everyone. We worked from 5  to 7 pm. In these two hours, I divided 15 members into five groups, and each team member held a different tool to compliment the others. Due to the orderly division of labour, we cleaned four blocks that spread around the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce within the required time.

 

 

 

QUESTION 1.  Description of personal preparation for selected major at university.

 

When the study began, I chose business as my major, because in my opinion, the difference between business and economy was that they occupy different facets in a company. Business involves understanding how to manage a company, while the economy is about how to predict the future direction of the market. After I read many articles about the economy and learned about economic-related careers, I suddenly had a vast interest in the economy. It is then that I had a dream of starting a company of my own, so I decided to change my major to economics, which I thought could ensure that I achieve my dream more practically.

 

In order to adequately reflect on my professional financial ability, I worked in a network technology company whose name was ‘Son of the Sun.’ First of all, I created an understanding of this company. At that time, this company attempted to create a platform for education whose main objective was to help international students adapt to the environment in the U.S. Afterwards; I investigated the market according to the current situation whereby I found that there were multitudes of students studying in the U.S. from all over the world. However, there was a large number of students that had some uncomfortable feelings due to environmental and cultural differences. Additionally,  many students might have had some trouble in the course of their lectures because of their language problems.

They would, therefore, lack knowledge in their course of study. Therefore, the company could provide some help to guide students on how to adapt to these environments, and the company could also provide tutoring for relevant courses. Finally, there were very few such companies in the market. Nevertheless, students need this kind of company to help them transition during this adaptation period.

 

After completing these analyses and reports on the market, I could feel that I could become an economics student. Although there were some obstacles in the process of analyzing, I still insist on asking the company leaders with humility. Then I gradually learned how to complete a well-informed report. I also understood how to observe the direction of the market. I hope that I can still use this learned knowledge to create more value for my future.

 

QUESTION 2. Instances when my leadership inspired the resolution of conflicts and completing the task at hand.

 

When we were working, I led a three-person group tasked with making a marketing program. I assigned them into three different types of market research surveys to provide me with sufficient data. My work was to create an adaptive marketing program on how to attract more international students to choose our company.

 

First, I assigned my first team member to do the observation survey in the market. The task that I gave to him was to observe the international students who chose the same kind of company like us. Then, I requested the second team member to do the questioning survey. Hence, he needed to consult students face-to-face about how they felt about choosing an education company if it was helpful or not. Finally, I asked a third team member to collect positive and negative comments for our company from international students on the internet.

 

Admittedly, we met so much setback when we were doing the research. The central reversal happened in the questioning survey because many students had resisting minds on being asked questions by a stranger. So my second member was a little bit frustrated, and the process of market research ended. However, I could not ignore his hardship; I decided to change the method of questioning the survey. Therefore, I suggested he consult the question between some clubs which contained different region international students in the school. Because of a reduction in the difficulty of work, he finished the survey very soon afterwards. He also built more confidence in working.

 

In the end, based on those perfect market research, I made a satisfying marketing program for the company. Besides, I also gained a meaningful friendship with them. I think I should not only work diligently but also have a tight connection with my partners. I want to continue this spirit in my future.

 

QUESTION 3 Personal efforts that improve the school and community

 

After completing the first semester of community college, I decided to be a math tutor. Because I saw that the school was lacking thorough faculty and teaching equipment, and the students could not get the same education as the four-year university. Most of the students in the community college were in the middle class or below. They did not have spare money to pay for tuition to help them learn. I then decided to give lectures to these people with my knowledge and do the best as I could.

 

In the course of my teaching, I taught so many students whose basic levels were uneven. What I did at that time was to give them different teaching methods according to the situation of each different student. There was a student who impressed me very much. He has disabled and had a wheelchair. Due to some physical defects, he could not follow the speed of the class, so he needed more time to write down notes than most other students. After that, I paid more attention to him and his learning situation, and slowly built his basic knowledge and interest in mathematics. Time went by, and I frequently found that the times that he asked me questions was less than before. Sometimes he even gave the solution to the problem for other students. Watching his development was the most enjoyable thing for me. We, tutors, tried our best to figure out how to teach more merely to let students accept knowledge. From his growth in his studies, we knew that our education initiative was working.

While tutoring mathematics at the school, I gradually learned more practical teaching methods and the significance of education. Also, I found that I can better understand the knowledge that I have learned. Teaching students was beneficial for me to understand the basic concepts in my study of complicated economic subjects.

 

QUESTION 4 How we overcame the challenges we met and their effect on academic excellence

 

We encountered numerous challenges; the most significant one being the economics knowledge that I learned in school was challenging to apply when I was working. Because the knowledge from school was theoretical, I could not get the experience I had gained in books in society. Furthermore, it was hard to use the knowledge in books practically.

 

I took part in the task of market research at work and found that this was difficult to connect with the theory that I learned. Because I wanted to know more about it, I read a lot of classic cases and the American newspaper to understand how the U.S. economy related to the circumstances. In the course of my research, the most convincing example of market research failure was the conflict between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in 1983. Since Coca-Cola used the wrong market research method, Pepsi became the winner. Pepsi used the “taste” method to research people’s thoughts and compare Pepsi to Coca-Cola. They then and deceived Coca-Cola, forcing them to alter the taste of their soda. Their decision to alter the taste did not belong with the American spirit for American consumers, so sales reduced. That was how Coca-Cola lost to Pepsi in the market at the time, so I learned how to conduct market research, including three significant aspects: observation, inquiry, and experimentation. After asking about these methods, the professor explained to me that there were many small dimensions for me to think about in these three broad aspects.

With the help of the professor, I gradually built up my confidence in market research and overcame this challenge. At the same time, I also understood how to realize the knowledge I learned through practical operations. Some of my partners were very mad at the selection of majors in community colleges. Then I used the information which I got in the market to tell them the strengths and weaknesses of different occupations in demand; let them compare and choose what they like before transferring.