Special Factors (400 words max.

)
Write an essay describing any additional personal information that you want considered as
part of your admissions application. You might include exceptional hardships, challenges,
or opportunities that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials,
personal responsibilities, or exceptional achievements or talents.

During my time at Concordia International School Shanghai, we were told the

importance of being an “active global citizen”. I did not understand what that meant at first,
but over the two years I was there, I learned what it took to be an active global citizen and how
to carry it out into my own life. When you attend Concordia all high school students go on an
interim trip for one week in September. During my first interim trip I had only been in China for
two months, and had no clue what to expect. I was assigned to a trip that went to a rural village
in Guizhou, China. It was one of the hardest but most rewarding experiences of my life as I was
truly pushed to my limits. Throughout that trip, I learned the first step to being a global citizen
is to respect other cultures no matter how different they are from yours. Even through
language barriers you can still communicate love and understanding through actions.

After this trip I started immersed myself into the Chinese culture even more. I would use
my broken Chinese to speak to the locals, and started to volunteer in Shanghai. One of the
places I fell in love with most was the Shanghai Healing Home, an orphanage for children with
cleft lip and palate. It started as a twice a month thing, but I soon fell in love with all of the
children there and began to volunteer twice a week. These children and the time I spend with
them played a big part in shaping the person I am today. Outside of China, I also had the
experience to go to Sri Lanka through Habitat for Humanity. It was amazing being able to work
with the locals and help renovate and build their homes while experiencing Sri Lankan culture. I
even kept in touch with one of the families I grew closest to during the trip. My experiences
both inside and outside of China taught me just what an active global citizen is supposed to be:
someone who immerses themselves in different cultures, builds relationships with the locals,
and reaches out to them. This shaped my ability to make meaningful relations with people
despite language barriers and cultural differences, which is very useful as I finish my career at
USC and go out into the business world.