Do I have a strong personal brand?

Answered

Hi! I'm planning on applying to UPenn Wharton early decision and I plan on concentrating in management and social responsibility. I've essentially finalized my topics and have written rough drafts for all essays, but I'm wondering if I show enough of a personal brand through my extracurriculars and essays.

Here is some context:

Extracurriculars:

1. I started a non profit organization to provide students with accessible resources to business career exploration resources (reached 5000 students)

2. I published an app for people struggling with an eating disorder to chat with one another one on one for emotional support. I created this community because other resources are inaccessible for many, and community would foster that sense of belonging.

3. I started a campaign to bring underprivileged youth in chicago books (4000 books donated and over 35000 impressions on social media through campaigning)

4. Youth leadership board member for non profit that closes computer science gender gap. I worked with brand growth to spread message of hope through an interviewing initiative.

5. Editor in chief of school newspaper, mentored new writers, edited over 60 articles in total

6. CFO of non profit that closes teen financial literacy gap. Ran a fintech conference with over 100 participants and secured sponsorships of over $1000

7. Student Council Board Member: ran a food drive for low income students, donated over 3000 units of food, packed bags of food for low income students, planned winter dance and increased attendance from typical 100 students to over 800 students.

8. UPChieve tutor: tutored underprivileged youth for free online, volunteered 5 hours a week, certified in 8 subjects

9. Business professionals of america: won 6th place in state competition for accounting

10. Cultural awareness club: performed a dance in group in annual international fair

Essays:

Personal statement:

I'm writing my personal statement on how cooking helped me step out of my dependence on certainty and predictability. I was previously afraid of failure and stuck to activities and making foods with safely predictable outcomes. However, when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was forced to assume household responsibilities, which included cooking for my family. I initially stuck to making simple and easy meals, but I felt helpless watching my mom in pain and decided to make her favorite comfort food for dinner. It was a complex meal of rice and lentils, and though I put forth my full effort with meticulous precision, I fell short on salt. I initially shut down, but I quickly realized that by actually giving cooking a meal a go, I learned more about flavoring and basic cooking methods in indian cuisine. I started to explore my creativity in cooking with cultural fusions, and cooking helped me break away from my dependence on certainty and predictability. I started to seek adventures and add spice to every experience, no longer viewing failure as something to hide from and instead accepting every instance as a new and unexpected experience.

^^this is very condensed and maybe a rough outline, but I wanted to get the main point across

Supplementals:

1) Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)

I'm planning on writing this thank you note to the founder of the computer science non profit org that I've worked with because she has showed me that though societal expectations may seem to dictate what I can and cannot do, I have the power to forge my own path. She empowered me to be my own leader and to break away from societal norms that restrain me from expressing my individuality and power. She gave me the confidence to release my own app and start a campaign.

This is also a work in progress so my ideas and points aren't concrete

2) How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words)

I plan on talking about expanding on my work with eating disorder advocacy by starting a club that promotes healthy relationships with food and one's appearance and body. I plan on starting the essay through a depiction of a moment when I discovered the power of community in eating disorder recovery and how I hope to expand that community to upenn by starting an organization that spreads awareness about eating disorders and promotes intuitive eating and healthy relationships with food through speaker events and also teaches kids about eating disorders.

3) Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, describe how you intend to explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania. (150-200 words)

I want to start with a depiction of my meticulous business strategy during garage sales as a kid and also my fascination and passion for closing opportunity gaps throughout society. I'm going to connect this to how I want to combine my business savvy with my goal for equal opportunities for everyone through a concentration in strategic management and social responsibility. I plan on talking about my own non profit organization and how it closes the opportunity gap in business education and how I hope to use a course to expand my knowledge on organizational growth through strategic partnerships. I also plan on talking about my work with brand growth at the computer science non profit and how branding is at the heart of every successful company, and I also want to join social consulting clubs and PennAppetit to explore the food in philly. I also want to join the penn food initiative to bring my love for making healthy and wholesome meals to local kids.

I know this is a lot, but do I have a personal brand? Also, should I mention more of my bigger extracurriculars in my supplemental essays?